We woke up early to take a regional train from Porto to the Duoro Valley. It is here that the grapes for port are grown. We stored our bags at the Campanhã train station and grabbed a small breakfast from the onsite corporate cafe. Unfortunately, the place was understaffed, and commuters rushed to get their baked goods and coffee. Sam got to the register and ordered the avocado toast being promoted above the counter. Never have I seen a worker and the remaining queue of people more annoyed by that order. Now a worker had to go smash an avocado and smear it on toast. It was funny for us, but likely not for the Portuguese.
The train took about 2 hours from Porto to the town of Regua. We hired a guide for the day. Antonio Rodrigues is a local and was fantastic from start to finish. I highly recommend him. Our first stop was a pleasant cruise on the Duoro River. We picked up the boat in Pinhão, and the landscape was stunning.
When we finished, we went to the Quinta da Roêda, where Croft Port is made. Croft is a famous port winery. Antonio had previously worked there, so he knew a lot about port wine. While at the winery, we joined a few other groups for the official tour. The tour’s design is such that first, you get the education, and second, you get a tasting. Antonio got us to the winery a bit earlier than the other groups, so he arranged for us to have a port wine cocktail on the veranda while we waited. DISCOVERY! Port and tonic over ice is absolutely delicious and will likely become a new summertime cocktail. I loved it.
The tour was good, but I’ve done wine tours in many places over the years. At some point, I could probably recite the phylloxera plague speech that all European winemakers give. After the tour, the entire group returned to the veranda for a tasting. I did not realize we’d get a premium experience when booking with Antonio. Sam and I got our own table with more ports and a cheese plate just for us. It was funny because we were sitting amongst these tourists and receiving special treatment. I, for one, was not embarrassed.
We left the Croft winery for the small town of Sabrosa. We were going to have lunch and taste port at Casa dos Barros. The Duoro Valley is beautiful, and the drive between any 2 points is breathtaking. At one point, Antonio pulled the car over for us to get out and take a look from the top of one of the mountain roads. While we were snapping photos and enjoying the view, we turned to return to the car, and Antonio surprised us with a glass of port wine and a pasteis de nata! His family does some small port wine production, but the system is highly regulated, so they do not sell it commercially. The wine we were tasting was from his farm, which was terrific. We enjoyed it and brought an unlabeled bottle back to the United States. Antonio is a great guide, and this little flourish added to the entire experience.
Casa dos Barros is a hotel, winery, and restaurant. I don’t want to say it is a tourist trap, but it is designed for tourists. It’s a beautiful old building, with a garden, and a good tour after lunch. The meal is traditional Portuguese food that I do not remember very well. Sam had a salt code and potato dish, and I had beef. It was good, and we got to try some non-port wine from the region. They were nice and it was a nice break from the port wine.
We finished lunch and did a small tasting in the cellar with another group. We met an older Lebanese couple who tried to hire Antonio, but we had booked first. We chuckled about this with them, but I felt pleasantly vindicated for my advance planning. Antonio drove us back to Regua, where we waited for the train to return to Porto. I hadn’t noticed how charming the Regua train station was when we first got there; it’s small but has a cafe that serves small glasses of beer, wine, sandwiches, etc., while you wait for your train. It feels distinctly European. We were stuffed and a bit day drunk, so we refrained from anything. We boarded the train and promptly fell asleep until we returned to Porto.
We had tickets on the Portuguese high-speed line from the station we returned to, so we had little to do but wait for the train. I heard there was a place that sold the Portuguese bifana sandwich near the train station, but it was closed when we arrived. We got a table at a place that had coal-roasted chicken. It was called Eusébio dos Frangos, and it was delicious. This was probably one of our cheapest and most delicious meals. We had grilled chicken, fries, salad, and rice, for less than 12 euros. Incredible.
We eventually boarded our train for Lisbon. The trip was about 3 hours, and we both got a bit nauseous on it. Also, the train shakes a bit at its top speed, giving it an unsteady feeling. That, plus a stomach swimming in booze and greasy chicken, made for a bit of a long journey, so we were happy to get to our Airbnb in Lisbon when we did.
Next: Portugal Day 4 – Lisbon