Porto
Porto, designated a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1996, and a
European City of Culture in 2000, has an urban landscape as rich and
diverse as its long and lively history. It is the second largest city in
Portugal, occupies a unique position geographically, historically, and in
the wine world.
Porto, which existed before it was settled by the Romans, really became
established as a trading city in the Middle Ages. It is defined by the
Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River. The Atlantic provided food (bacalhau),
the cod that is dried and salted, was fished in the northern waters of the
ocean), and trade. It brought the English and Dutch merchants and their
trading goods – mainly cloth- and enabled them to return with Portuguese
wine, oil and fruit. The Douro River provides the terraced slopes for
vineyards, and in days past, provided the transport for the wine to its
cellars downstream. In Porto itself, the red-roofed brightly coloured
houses that cover the hills look across the water to the cellars of Nova
de Gaia.
This is a city that reveals itself most clearly during a walking tour.
Almost every street and building, and every street name, has a story to
tell that links past, present and future. In the Ribeira district (the
river bank), for example, there’s the rua da Alfandega, the street of
the customs house. The 1324 customs house is of great importance, because
it represented the start of the division between Church and Crown (the
Crown took control of the city’s resources.) It is also thought to be
where Henry the Navigator was born. From the end of the 14th century,
Prince Henry and encouraged the exploration of the West African coast. It
was the beginning of the voyages of discovery that took to Portuguese to
India, China, and Brazil and gave them great influence and wealth.
Those voyages were also the start of the nickname of those from Porto.
They are known as tripeiros, tripe-eaters. Legend has it that the
inhabitants gave the best meat to the sailors for their journeys, and kept
the tripe and other offal. Tripe is still one of the specialities of the
city’s cooking, along with seafood, and delicious cakes that owe much to
the past baking skills of the convents.
The legacy of the influence and wealth of the Discovery days is
wonderfully expressed in a mixture of architectural styles that show the
city’s openness to new influences, even as it maintains its old
traditions. See the azulejos, the distinctive blue painted tiles that
decorate buildings from cathedrals (Igreja do Carmo in particular) to
railway stations, and in the tiles that cover the exterior of buildings.
Look out for Julio Resende’s modern tiled gift to the Ribeira district.
The Palacio da Bolsa, the Stock Exchange Palace whose individually
decorated rooms pay tribute to a range of architectural and decorative
styles, is an indication of the power and wealth of the Stock Exchange in
the 19th century, just as the Town Hall, presiding over the Praca da
Liberdade, expresses Porto’s pride in itself (and a rare moment of
French influence).
The long commercial exchange with England is evident in the port
cellars and the names on them – Taylor, Sandeman, Croft. There are
Portuguese names, too, of course. The port cellars are reached by crossing
the Luis I bridge, one of the six bridges that span the Douro at this
point. One of the others was designed by Gustav Eiffel; still others are
elegantly modern. The cellars, or lodges, are where wine from the Douro is
brought to age in oak casks before being bottled. Most of the cellars are
open for tours and tastings, some even have their own restaurants. Some
have won Great Wine Capitals Tourism awards.
Modern Porto includes the Serralves Modern Art Museum, that combines
contemporary art with public spaces, vast gardens, and an outstanding art
deco house. There’s the House of Music, a new Concert Hall on the edge
of Boavista, the area that developed as old Porto outgrew its needs and
that leads to the Foz, the Atlantic seaside, and its walks. Portugal’s
climate is as hospitable as the city.
Porto has changed, evolved, and developed into an exceptional modern
city, one that its patron saint, S. Joao, would be proud of. The entire
city joins in the celebrations for his festival on June 23.
The wines
Port begins its life on the steep slopes of the Douro river, starting
100 kms to the east of the city. The slopes are protected from the weather
the Atlantic blows in, but these are difficult slopes in a harsh climate,
producing small quantities.
Traditionally the wine that was made in the autumn was brought down
river by boat (rabelos); now it comes by road to be aged in oak casks in
the port cellars at Vila Nova de Gaia. The wine was fortified by adding
brandy from the 18th century by the English, who wanted to protect it on
its journey. It was shipped in wooden casks, known as pipes, and bottled
in England. These days, all port is bottled in Porto.
There are about 60 grape varieties that might be used in the making of
port, but in reality, it comes down to a handful. The red grape varieties
are Touriga nacional Tinto Roriz, Tinto Franca, Tinto Barroca, and Tinto
Cao. White grape varieties include Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, and gouveio.
There are three basic styles of port:
Ruby ports are those which maintain their deep red colour and
the fruit and strength of a young wine. In ascending order of quality, the
categories are Ruby, Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and Vintage. The
finest category wines, especially Vintage, followed by LBV, are good for
storing as they age well in bottle.
Tawny are blended of different wines that have aged for
different lengths of time in casks or in vats. With age, the colour of the
wines slowly develops into tawny, medium tawny or light tawny, with a
bouquet of dried fruits and wood; the older the wine, the stronger these
aromas. The present categories in this style are: Tawny, Tawny Reserve,
Tawny with an indication of Age (10, 20, 30 and 40 years old) and Colheita.
These are blends of wines from several years, except for Colheitas, which
are wines of a single year that are similar to an aged Tawny of the same
age. These wines are ready to drink when they are bottled.
White Port varies in style according to whether it has aged for
a shorter or longer period of time, and different degrees of sweetness
according to the manner by which it is made. In addition to the
traditional White Ports, there now are other wines with a floral and
complex aroma and a minimum alcohol content of 16.5% (Light Dry White
Port) capable of meeting the demand for less alcoholic Ports.
Port has the distinction of having the oldest designation of any wine.
The area was demarcated in 1756 by the Prime Minister of Portugal, the
Marques de Pombal. There are three sub-regions: the Lower Corgo in the
west, the Upper Corgo in the centre (the heart of the demarcated region)
and the Upper Douro to the east. These days, the regulators are the Port
and Douro Wines Institute, an inter-professional council.
The wines of Porto are not only fortified. The red table wines of the
Douro Valley are balanced and beautifully flavoured.
The vineyards closest to the city are those Porto is also the gateway
to the region that produces Vinho Verde, the young fresh white wines of
the Minho. The local grape varieties include Loureido, Trajadura, and
Alvarinho. The Minho is Portugal’s greenest region, as rich in history
as Porto itself, and as satisfying for visitors.
See: Porto
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Contact: porto@greatwinecapitals.com |
