Quinta do Portal, a boutique winery in the Douro Valley is the perfect place for a food and wine enthusiast. Quinta do Portal's gourmet restaurant is in fact an absolute foodie's delight. During a mid-October stay at Quinta do Portal our dining experiences were awesome. Chef Milton Ferriera prepared gourmet meals that were paired with wines selected by winemaker, Paulo Continho. However, Quinta do Portal was not only a food and #winelover's delight but there were also great Douro conversations. Yes, this was our first time in the Douro Valley and so we were excited to learn about port and other Douro Valley wines.
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| Quinta do Portal Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003 and Vintage Port 2003 with desert © Spaswinefood |
Lunch with a Vineyard View
Just imagine an early morning flight from Barcelona to Porto, where you pick up a rental car and drive to the Douro Valley. Also imagine that by lunch time you are seated at a table with a vineyard view.
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Lunch at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood
The setting is just perfect for a glass of wine. Quinta do Portal is know for its wine blends. We started lunch with a Quinta do Portal white wine blend, Colheita Branco DOC 2006.
Here are the dishes we had for lunch:
Yes, there were other wines during lunch. We finished lunch with port and desert. Needless to say, our first Douro Valley dining experience was excellent.
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Our Douro Valley Gastronomic Adventure Continues
Over the next few days we engaged in wonderful wine conversations over lunch and dinner.
Over the next few days we engaged in wonderful wine conversations over lunch and dinner.
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| An October evening at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
After dinner one evening we explored port wines with Paulo.
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Tasting a potential vintage port at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood
Then another evening we joined a group at the big table for more wine conversations. |
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| Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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Wine Conversations at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood
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Chef Milton Ferriera, Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood
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This tasty pasta later appeared at my table © Spaswinefood
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Another evening's desert was a great opportunity to explore more Quinta do Portal wines.
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| Desert Time at Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
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| Exploring Quinta do Portal Moscatel and Moscatel Reserva wines with desert © Spaswinefood |
Throughout our stay we were introduced to Quinta do Portal wines that were wonderfully paired with great food. We toured the winery and did a wine tasting. Using Quinta do Port as a base we also explored other quintas in the area, such as Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo and Froncesca's Quinta do Panascal.
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| View onto the October vineyards, Quinta do Portal © Spaswinefood |
Finally, we got to visit the Douro Valley, Portugal. It goes without saying that the Douro Valley, Portugal is a must for #winelover_s. This Spaswinefood #winelover appreciates learning about port. Quinta do Portal was a wonderful place to start that Douro Valley journey. I am so glad we discovered Quinta do Portal. You can check out Great Western Wine, MartaVine and Roy Herst articles on this quinta. I am so looking forward to continuing the journey of tasting and learning about all things port. You will find more on my travels in Portugal and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.
Sharon
October 2012
Douro Valley, Portugal
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