PORTUGAL
JC and I had intended to visit Portugal in 2020. We were hugely excited since it was a wine tourism destination we had heard so much about while entertaining many top Portuguese winemakers and tourism destination visitors at Creation. It didn’t happen then, thanks to Covid-19 but we finally realised our dream this September when we visited Glenn, our winemaker son, on his internship at Niepoort in the Douro.
Porto
On Monday 9 September, we were welcomed at Porto Airport with a fan and a glass of the finest. Wine tourism is immediately at the forefront of visitors’ minds, and part of the welcoming celebration of agri-culture.
Our first stop was the restaurant O Valentim Terrace next to the fish market, and the fish shown to us was fabulously fresh, even impressing one of our travelling companions, Marcel Martin, a fisherman from Ligerz. We were introduced to a fantastic range of Vinho Verde wines by our expert guide, Joao Carvalho, a lecturer. I highly recommend a guide and driver if you visit Portugal.
We then visited the Niepoort Cellar Porto in Vila Nova de Gaia, by appointment only, where ports are matured and stored, some of them for hundreds of years. We walked along the river, with the beautiful port houses on either side, and had a white port and tonic. (Watch this space at Creation! We have been working on a limited edition for some time!)
Our evening was spent at Michelin restaurant Oficina, owned by chef Marco Gomes, with a lineup of DOC wines from Portugal.
Douro
Lunch on Tuesday was at Wine&Soul, owned by Jorge Serôdio and Sandra Tavares da Silva, who produce extraordinary quality wines with so much dedication. Each barrel is fermented in the white wine cellar using its own cooling system. The juxtaposition of an innovative and rustic winery follows through in the winemaking philosophy, and in our experience of a beautiful tasting and lunch. Serendipitously, we met South African intern Shanice du Preez, who was hard at work in the cellar. A harvest lunch followed our exceptional tasting. Highlights were a traditional cabbage soup (which unlike all other cabbage dishes, especially Brussel sprouts, did not make me gag), roasted almonds, a harvest cake drenched in port, quince jelly (my favourite) and a fabulous semi-soft creamy sheep’s milk cheese (yummy). We were very fortunate to be given such attention in the middle of harvest!
A sunset boat cruise down the Douro River with a glass of port concluded the late afternoon. It was vertiginous to get to our Villa Hotel, Quinta Vale Dos Lobos, overlooking the river. We were rewarded with spectacular views, a chef show-cooking traditional Portuguese food that evening, and a selection of wines for blind tasting, including a South African surprise.
I could hardly sleep that night; I was excited to see where our winemaker son Glenn had worked as an intern for the last eight weeks. To be so near and able to visit in just a few hours, for lunch and a tasting at Quinta de Nápoles (Niepoort wines in the Douro), was a privilege as a parent and a wine lover.
The landscape is spectacularly beautiful, and the cellar is hidden in the earth. We can see the innovation, invention and entrepreneurial spirit of the Niepoorts in everything they do: creativity in the cellar and new brands like NatCool to attract a younger, fun-loving wine audience. We were privileged to have lunch with Daniel van der Niepoort, so humble, gentle, down-to-earth, and honest about the sustainability of fine wine in the Douro, not to mention the weight and responsibility that the Niepoort brand carries. Impressive.
We tasted Niepoort Charme 2022, Niepoort Duriense Pinot Noir 2021, Niepoort Rendoma 2021, and some remarkable older vintages of port that are more than 70 years old and paired perfectly with the most delicious crème caramel. JC was particularly struck by the white field blends he tasted, especially the Niepoort Coche 2021.
We then visited the Douro’s most important sparkling wine producer, Murganheira. Who does not like bubbles? A fun and patient sommelier took us on an extensive cellar tour through the blue granite caves where the sparkling is matured, and we tasted eight sparkling wines.
Finally, dinner was at Castas & Pratos in Régua, where winemaking consultant Filippa led a fascinating tasting that was all about different regions and old vines.
We left the next day after a fully packed three days in Portugal, where I highly recommend having a guide. Please email me if you’d like Joao Carvalho’s details.