It was indeed an absolute pleasure to visit the newly opened Poças Vistors Centre, Porto in July. Poças is an independent family owned winery with a tasting room in Porto. Their visitors center is located in Porto's historic Vila Nova de Gaia, home to many excellent port lodges. Some of these port lodges have a long history while others are more recent arrivals. In the case of Poças, it all began in August 1918 when Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior established a company to sell grape spirits to port wine companies. He later opened an office in Vila Nova de Gaia. As the company has grown, it has continued to be a family affair. Today Poças has three quintas in the Douro Valley and a visitors center in Porto. Poças's Douro Valley quintas (vineyards) include Quinta Das Quartas, Quinta Sta Barbara and Quinta de Vale de Cavalos. Quinta Das Quartas is Poças's winemaking center.
Poças Wines
One of Spaswinefood's fist stops in Porto was Poças Visitors Centre in Gaia. It was delightful to visit this family owned wine company. While Poçcas is known for its tawny ports, it is also engaged in the production Douro DOC still wines.
Fortunately for me, while at Poças's Vistors Center we tasted both their still wines and port wines.
Maria Manuel Maia shared the Poças family story, and introduced us to the wines we tasted. Maria is in responsible for managing the family's wine estates. She first took us to the cellar downstairs.
Visiting a port cellar is always fun because who can resist those rich aromas in the air.
Moreover, there are always some old port vintages to discover. Even in a newly opened visitors center I did manage to spot some 1964 and 1967 port barrels.
After the cellar visit, it was back upstairs, as lunch was on the agenda. The chef had prepared a wonderful lunch for us.
While Poças is known of its port wines, I delighted in getting to know Poças still wines. First, I tasted some of the white wines.
Poças, Coroa D'Ouro
There were also some red wines to taste.
Poças Reserva, Douro 2015 and Vale de Cavalos, Douro 2013
I loved all the still wines I tasted. My favorite port wine was their Colheita 1992.
After a fabulous wine tasting, we walked down the hill to Niepoort. A wine tasting was in progress.
Whenever I took a walk in historic Porto, there was always rich architecture to observe. That day was no exception.
With a busy agenda, it was a quick stop at Niepoort.
I took a quick look, and then boarded a taxi back to the hotel.
Douro Valley and more
No trip to Porto is complete without a visit to the Douro Valley. Fortunately, for me next morning we were off to the Douro Valley.
We drove by some stunning quintas that day. Even though we did not visit any of Poças's quintas (Quinta Das Quartas, Quinta Sta Barbara and Quinta de Vale de Cavalos), we had an amazing visit to Quevedo's that day.
It was a stellar lunch with excellent wines, such as Covela's Rosé and Quevedo's 30 Year Old White Port. Without a doubt we were treated royally.
Needless to say, it was a hot July day in the Douro Valley. Before leaving we took a dip in the Douro. It was the perfect way to cool down on a 38 degree Celsius day. Hot or not, no true wine enthusiast can get enough of the Douro. There are many breath taking views of Douro Valley. The Douro Valley port wines and its other wines sure leave a lasting impression.
Porto's Port Lodges
Let me not forget to note that the port lodges in the historic Vila Nova de Gaia. It is hard to pass up a tasting at a place like Taylor's Port Lodge at the top of the Gaia hillside overlooking Porto.
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| Poças Port © Spaswinefood |
One of Spaswinefood's fist stops in Porto was Poças Visitors Centre in Gaia. It was delightful to visit this family owned wine company. While Poçcas is known for its tawny ports, it is also engaged in the production Douro DOC still wines.
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| Poças Júnior © Spaswinefood |
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| Poças Wine Time © Spaswinefood |
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| Maria Manuel Maia, Poças © Spaswinefood |
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| Poças Wine Cellar © Spaswinefood |
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| Poças Port Barrels © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch, Poças Port Wine Lodge © Spaswinefood |
Poças, Coroa D'Ouro
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| Poças Wines, Coroa D'Ouro, Douro 2015 © Spaswinefood |
Poças Reserva, Douro 2015 and Vale de Cavalos, Douro 2013
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| Poças Reserva, Douro 2015 and Vale de Cavalos, Douro 2013 © Spaswinefood |
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| Poças Junior Port, Colheita 1992 © Spaswinefood |
Whenever I took a walk in historic Porto, there was always rich architecture to observe. That day was no exception.
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| Porto's Amazing Architecture © Spaswinefood |
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| Niepoort Wine Tasting © Spaswinefood |
Douro Valley and more
No trip to Porto is complete without a visit to the Douro Valley. Fortunately, for me next morning we were off to the Douro Valley.
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| A Douro Day © Spaswinefood |
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Quevedo, Douro Valley © Spaswinefood
During our Quevedo visit first, we did some wine sampling. In this case we began with some port wine sampling from the wine barrels. Without a doubt wine sampling from port wine barrels is so much more tempting than most wine barrels. This was followed by a wine tasting of Quevedo and Covela wines over lunch.
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| Tasting Quevedo and Covela Wines © Spaswinefood |
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| Quevedo 30 Year Old White Port © Spaswinefood |
Porto's Port Lodges
Let me not forget to note that the port lodges in the historic Vila Nova de Gaia. It is hard to pass up a tasting at a place like Taylor's Port Lodge at the top of the Gaia hillside overlooking Porto.
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| View from Taylor's Port Lodge © Spaswinefood |
The view from Taylors is absolutely majestic. Remember to take a walk down the hill towards the Douro River waterfront. There you will find the other well-known port lodges, such as Sandeman's. I still remember visiting Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo in the Duoro Valley during an earlier visit.
Yes, it was a Poças Port Wine Affair and more. Special thanks to Catavino for organizing our visit to Poças and the Douro Valley. I left Porto with fond memories, knowing that I will have to come back soon. Obviously, Porto is place that should top most #foodies and #winelovers list. Spaswinefood looks forward to further adventures in Portugal. I invite you to join me in my travels in Portugal and elsewhere in search of the best in Spaswinefood.
Sharon
July 2016
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