We’re referring to the new white wines from the region, because the region is most famously known for being a producer of Port wine – a fortified red wine.

The first non-fortified Douro wine was produced back in 1952 and was named Barca, but the heavy leaning on making high quality red table wines didn’t really exist till the last decade or so.

Now there’s a different story being told in the region, with a few producers starting to make white wine from the local grapes. One has to keep in mind that only eight percent of all grape plantings in the region are white, and even so the bulk of them is used to produce whitep ort.

Those who have tried to develop an elegant white point to the soil, the terroir, as the reason behind the creation of a unique taste; the forty degree Centigrade summer temperatures aren’t a bad thing either.

The mineral blend of elements also points towards creating a crisp white blend from the local grapes, which contrasts with the traditionally rich and tannic red wines that are the trademark of the region.

One of the white wine producers is the Dutch-born Dirk Niepoort who owns the noted Tiara. Jorge Moreira is also in the white wine field who says that there is a definite increase in the interest toward producing whites and admits freely that he is trying to produce a sparkling white. He owns the Poeira label and has planted up the white grape alvarinho on a one hectare area of his highest and shadiest slopes.

The British couple who leads Romaneria agree with the two saying that white wines are capable of expressing the terroir more than the red, and that one can taste stones in the wine, and thanks to the very hot climate the wines have never had to be acidified.

We have talked about what makes Algarve wines special when compared to others, but today we’ll look at how the winemaking industry in Algarve evolved throughout the centuries to the award-winning industry that it is today.

It’s difficult to mark the beginnings of winemaking in the Algarve, however the first official documentation of the industry comes from 1272 when Afonso III granted particular rights to several towns and cities in the region – including Tavira – in regards to their wines.

Algarve really came into its own as a wine producing region during the Middle Ages when its wines became a large part of the commercial exchange that was taking place. It is interesting to note that even though Port wine stems from the Algarve region it posed and still poses serious competition to the other types of wines that the region produces. This competition started in the 16^th century and pretty much carries on to this day.

Algarve wines have stayed in the shadows mostly, nothing particularly notable taking place in recent times, even though they were highly satisfactory table wines, however that has changed quite drastically in the past decade or so.

The last ten years or so have seen a number of new and award-winning boutique vineyards establishing themselves thanks to a bunch of entrepreneurs who believed in their products’ capability of returning on the international agenda.

We’ll talk more about how the modern winemaking landscape of the Algarve looks in future articles, till then consider our Algarve car rental services if you’re planning a trip to the sunny region.

Portugal is a very popular tourist destination amongst Europeans and Brits especially, but oftentimes most of the attention is directed at the southern region of the Algarve as that is the most popular, but the northern regions shouldn’t be overlooked when planning a trip there. The city of Porto for instance, is located in the north of the country and is a rather interesting tourist destination for several reasons.

 

The city of Porto

Porto Portugal

The city is most well known for the fact that it has given its name to a type of wine made from the local vineyards, the world renown Port wine, but Porto is a busy industrial and commercial center as well as being quite a great place for a holiday.

The city is built along the hills which overlook the Duoro river estuary and it has been continuously inhabited since at least the 4th century, the Romans referring to it as Portus Calle.

The city has always benefited from great weather, even though due to the influences of the Atlantic ocean it is considerably cooler than other cities within the same climate type; this has also made it a mercantile city and this is most evident in the style of the buildings which line the Avenida dos Aliados which is at the center of the downtown area. As opposed to most other old centers in Portugal who tend towards the Baroque style of architecture, the old center of Porto is populated with monumental granite buildings which reflect the increased wealth of its inhabitants.

Historically speaking, the city is known to some as “a Cidade Invicta”, which means the invincible city, a title bestowed upon it by Porto’s resistance against Napoleonic troops during the Peninsular war.

The city’s main tourist attractions can be found off the Avenida dos Aliados, the Rua Santa Catarina and the Rua Clube dos Denianos.

Another idea would be to start your sightseeing in Porto with the river front Ribeira area, where you can join cruises on the Duoro river in traditional boats which were once used to ferry the wine from the vineyards. On a nearby hilltop you’ll find the 12th century Porto Cathedral which resembles a fortress and then after visiting that you can straight up hit the Praca da Ribeira which is a short walk away. In order to get some great views of the city you should also visit the Torre dos Clerigos which is also close to the Avenida dos Aliados.

As far as the architecture of the entire city goes, Porto is rather varied, with medieval and modern structures side by side but while it is pleasant to the eye, the city’s geography can be a bit hard on one’s feet since it is built in a hilly region and in fact several buildings are actually built into the cliff face which overlooks the river.

The locals are very friendly to outsiders, they are actually known in the region as Tripeiros because it is said that the entire city subsisted on tripe soup so that all the meat could provision the fleet left to conquer Ceuta in 1415, tripe soup has remained a specialty of the city till this day.

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Porto – Portugal – Travel Destination

Being located in the rather well-known Duoro port-wine region of Portugal, the city of Porto or Oporto as it is very oftentimes referred to as, is the second-largest city in Portugal and wildly different from the country’s capital. Lisbon is a very elegant place, focused on showing off its assets, Porto on the other hand is a busy industrial and commercial center, it’s a much more down to earth type of place.

Porto – A place with a rich history

And a varied array of sights and attractions

Porto Sightseeing

The city of Porto is not only responsible for naming a world renown type of wine after it but also the entire country is named after it. Centuries ago, the Lusitanian settlement of Cale was on one side of the Duoro and the Roman settlement of Portus was on the other and they were known as Portus-Cale. In time the two settlements merged and the resulting town acted as the capital or the Portucale lands between the Rio Duoro and Rio Minho. After the Reconquista the entire kingdom took the name of Portugal.

While it is highly likely that you will be landing in Porto for your trip there, if you happen to already be in the country and in a nearby city, you should definitely consider approaching the city via the Duoro train line or river cruise. Both of these options will take you through extremely beautiful scenery and most tourists would consider them an end in themselves. Regardless of the method that you will choose to get in the city, once you reach Porto you’ll see how active the city is, especially if you’re coming from Lisbon. There’s a local saying which boils down the characteristic of Portugal’s main cities which says: “Coimbra studies, Braga plays, Lisbon shows off and Porto works”.

The commercial success of the city is very well attested to through the five spectacular bridges which span the Rio Duoro. The Ponte Luis I joins the main town with the suburb of Vila Nova de Gaia – this is where the port wine lodges can be found and as a result this is where many tourist head to first.

However one must keep in mind that Porto is a rather ancient city and it features quite a few ancient monuments which are also of great interest to visitors. The place is very interesting to see especially from the architectural point of view because it features a mix of styles, with the medieval and the modern coexisting side by side.

One example of medieval architecture is the 16th century Capela ou Emida de Sao Miguel-O-Anjo. This monument was built on a rocky island in the river. On the inside the building is octagonal in shape but the chapel has a traditional cupola featuring spiral stairs to its top.

On the other hand, examples of modern architecture can be found especially when it comes to Porto’s commercial centers which are extremely varied and always busy, keeping in line with the city’s reputation.

Of course this short description doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it would be to visit Porto, the best you can hope for is to get some good Porto car hire services so that you can have a car at your disposal in order to better explore the city and all of its offerings on your own schedule.