It was October, just after the harvest, when we visited Quinta do Portal, a boutique winery in the Douro Valley. It was so much fun to stay at a quinta (or vineyard) where the grapes are grown and the wine is produced. In fact staying at a Douro Valley quinta was the perfect place for this Spaswinefood enthusiast. Quinta do Portal offers great accommodations (Casa das Pipas) and there is a gourmet restaurant right on the property. Moreover, little did we know when we booked Quinta do Portal that we would get to spend quality time with winemaker, Paulo Coutinho. During our stay we (1) dined with Quinta do Portal wines, (2) engaged in wine conversations and (3) toured the winery. Quinta do Portal also made appointments for us to explore other Douro Valley quintas, such as Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo and Froncesca's Quinta do Panascal. Quinta do Portal was our doorway to discovering Douro wines.
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| Quinta do Portal's Casa das Pipas © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal Vineyards in October © Spaswinefood |
Needless to say while at Quinta do Portal we enjoyed great food and wines and fabulous hospitality. Check out Great Western Wine, MartaVine and Roy Herst articles on this quinta. Now a few highlights from our Quinta do Portal wine experience.
Discovering Quinta do Portal Wines
We totally enjoyed our dining experiences at Quinta do Portal. Chef Milton Ferriera prepared gourmet meals that were paired with wines selected by winemaker, Paulo Continho. Quinta do Portal is know for its wine blends. It was also a great opportunity to get to know Douro Valley wines. Sure Spaswinefood had come for the port but learning about other Douro Valley wines was also exciting. Here are some of the Quinta do Portal wines that we were introduced to during our stay:
White Wine
We often started a meal with Quinta do Portal's white wine, Colheita Branco DOC 2006. Colheita Branca is a blend of Rabigato, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Viosinho and Moscatel.
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Quinta do Portal Colheita Branco DOC 2006 © Spaswinefood |
Rosé Wine
We were introduced to Quinta do Portal's Colheita Rosé DOC. Quinta do Portal's Colheita Rosé DOC is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.
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| Quinta do Portal Colheita Rosé DOC © Spaswinefood |
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Rosé Time at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood
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Red Wine
Quinta do Portal makes some amazing red wines. During our stay we sampled quite a few of their reds. Also during our winery tour we tasted red wines and ports.
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| Wine tasting at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
Moscatel and Late Harvest Wines
Quinta do Portal's Moscatel and Late Harvest wines were a special treat at desert time.
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| Quinta do Portal Late Harvest 2004 © Spaswinefood |
The Muscatels were a pleasant surprise for me.
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| Quinta do Portal Moscatel and Moscatel Reserva © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal Moscatel Reserva (on the left) © Spaswinefood |
Port Wine
No Douro Valley dining experience is complete without some port and desert.
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| Quinta do Portal Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003 and Vintage Port 2003 © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003 and Vintage Port 2003 © Spaswinefood |
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| Desert time at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
Of course there were other port occasions and here are a few:
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| Quinta do Portal Extra Dry White Port and 10 Year Old Tawny Port © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal Porto Alegre 20 Year Old Tawny Port © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal Vintage Port 1995 © Spaswinefood |
Wine Conversations
During our stay we interacted with the winemaker over dinner and sometimes we talked after dinner. Often these conversations centered around the wines. Sure, some of the conversations focused on port but there were other wonderful wine discoveries.
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| Dining at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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| Dining at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
Discovering a Potential Vintage Port
I remember an evening when we tasted a special port. For me it was an introduction to what makes a vintage port. Paulo offered a small group of us a number of ports to taste. Then he asked us the age of one port that we tasted. Of course I guessed and was absolutely wrong, except about the port's potential. Something about that port tasted very special to me. The port was only one week old. It was an amazing discovery of how potential vintage ports can be identified so young. Only time will tell if this port ages well enough to become a vintage.
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| Tasting a potential vintage port at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
Touring the Winery and Tasting
One afternoon we had a special tour and tasting lead by Paulo. We began first with a tour of the winery. We started in the area with the grapes are crushed.
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| Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
We checked out some fermenting grapes. Mid-October is just after the harvest and so there was lots to see.
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| Spaswinefood, Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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| Touring Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
The barrel room was our next stop.
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| Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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| Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
After the winery tour we sat down with Paulo to taste some red wines and ports.
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| Wine tasting at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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| Wine Tasting at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
The Red Wines
Paulo had carefully selected some wines for us to taste. We tasted the following red wines:
Paulo had carefully selected some wines for us to taste. We tasted the following red wines:
1. Quinta do Portal 2010 Colheita Tinto, a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca
2. Quinta do Portal 2009 Reserva, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca
3. Quinta do Portal 2007 Grand Reserva, blend is mainly Touriga Nacional
4. Quinta do Portal 2009 Touriga Nacional, blend of the Douro's top varietal, Touriga Nacional
From the red wines the 2007 Grand Reserva and 2009 Touriga Nacional hit high marks for me.
The Ports
We did a side-by-side tasting of:
1. Quinta do Portal 2000 Porto Colheita and
2. Quinta do Portal 20 Year-Old Tawny
Then we did another side-by-side tasting of:
1. Quinta do Portal 2007 Late Bottled Vintage
2. Quinta do Portal 2009 Vintage
Amongst the ports who would not love the finish on the 20 Year-Old Tawny Port. Then the 2009 Vintage Port was my favorite.
Quinta do Portal is where you get quality time with the winemaker and an opportunity to learn about the wines. Staying at Quinta do Portal made our wine visit to the Douro Valley, Portugal super special. Spaswinefood was certainly excited to have visited the Douro Valley. I am so looking forward to more tasting and learning about all things port and Douro Valley wines. You will find more on my travels in Portugal and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.
Sharon
October 2012
Douro Valley, Portugal
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