WineNot Boutique Wine and Gastronomy Tour 2020 Douro Valley & Porto Saturday September 19th - Saturday September 26th, 2020 Welcome to Porto, one of the most beautiful towns of Europe! Welcome to Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe! Porto is both the city that provided a nation with a name and a fortified wine famous world-wide: Port Wine. It is the capital of the North of Portugal and a World Heritage City, having a Historic Centre with over 150 classified monuments. This recognition by UNESCO is undoubtedly a tribute to its wealth of over two thousand years of history. From the remains of Visigotic and Celtic villages, Roman roads, bridges and Castros to Romanesque and Gothic churches and Cathedrals built during the Medieval Age, centuries of mankind-built heritage are to be discovered in and around Porto. In Porto, you will find a traditional welcoming and conservative environment, but also a contemporary and artistic city. This is shown in the streets, in the architecture, monuments and museums, and in the lively terraces, restaurants and leisure areas at the delightful sea coast and in the medieval Douro River side. - 2 - Portugal wine regions to be visited: Vinho Verde wine region Douro and Port wine region - 3 - 1. Program Day 1, Saturday Arrival at Porto airport Welcome at the airport by your English-speaking guide Bus private transfer to a nearby restaurant, at 10 minutes from airport Lunch at a modern casual restaurant by the beach This casual nice restaurant has an exceptional location on the beach, offering a summer terrace and a superb interior room spacious and airy, with large windows and views to the beach. The decor is modern and sophisticated. This is a very pleasant restaurant, with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and good cuisine. Included a three courses menu, coffee, white and red wine and soft drinks. After lunch, bus transfer towards the Douro Valley Region. - 4 - Douro Valley Winemaking Region, classified as a World Heritage Landscape by Unesco The valley is spectacularly beautiful with the hills falling steeply down to the water’s edge becoming more and more sparsely populated and wild the further inland one travels, with more of the land being given over to terraces of vines and, to a lesser extent, olive groves. This is port country and was, in fact, the world’s first demarcated wine region being established in 1756. Evidence of the port industry can be seen along the valley with all the famous company names – Ferreira, Cockburns, Taylors, Sandeman and others – appearing on large placards on the hillsides. The colour of the land changes throughout the year as the vines mature. Discovering the home of Port and the Douro Wine “Famous as the home of Port, the Douro is now also an exciting source of table wines. With its spectacular scenery and the recent emergence of some exciting new producers, the Douro is pretty close to wine geek heaven.” (Wineanorak.com) Check-in at the Visconde da Várzea Hotel in the Douro Valley Winemaking Region (description in annexe). Guests will enjoy relaxing in the swimming pool of the hotel with an astonishing view over the mountains and vineyards, or get the best of the pure air of Douro in a walk by the vineyard paths. Dinner at the hotel The Douro cuisine is full of delicacies whose origins are in our ancestors and in the way they let food earn exquisite and natural flavors. Dinner will be a traditional 3 courses menu with a selection of local specialties. Drinks and Wines included. - 5 - Day 2, Sunday Breakfast at the hotel Visit to Palace of Mateus and its magnificent gardens Also known as the Solar de Mateus, and famously depicted on bottles of Mateus rosé wine epitomizes the flamboyance of Baroque architecture in Portugal, this baroque recreation was built in the early 18th century, probably by Nicolau Nasoni. His descendants still live here, but visitors can tour the gardens and part of the house. Its granite wings shelter a forecourt dominated by an ornate balustrade stairway and overlooked by rooftop statues. Behind the palace is an Alice in Wonderland garden of tiny box hedges, prim statues and a fragrant cypress tunnel. Inside, you can visit a few rooms, heavy with velvet drapes and fussy period furnishing. Departure to one of the most renowned wine estates of the Douro Valley for a visit and lunch. Visit and lunch at the outstanding wine estate Quinta do Crasto, Douro and Port producer A responsible of the famous Quinta do Crasto, will be pleased to receive the group for a visit to the vineyards and wine cellars, followed by a taste of its red Douro wines and Ports. This ancestral Quinta is located in the Cima Corgo area of the Demarcated Region of Douro in the right bank of the Douro river. It is planted with 60 hectares of excellent vineyards, some with almost 80 years old. This special visit will allow participants to discover one of the mythic wine estates of Douro Valley, considered to be one of the 3 top Portuguese wine producers. Lunch served outside, including traditional appetizers, 3 course menu paring with the outstanding wines Quinta do Crasto including Reserva Vinhas Velhas (old vines). Coffee or tea. - 6 - Short transfer to the nearby river dock Douro River cruise in a charming and typical Rabelo boat, until Pinhão (private, 50 minutes) Delight discovering the Douro River and its Valley in a cruise aboard a beautiful wooden boat. From the river we have a unique view to the less visited winegrowing area of the World Heritage classified region of Douro. Some of the mythical Quintas (wine estates) producing great wines will be part of this unique landscape. Return to the hotel and time at leisure In the evening bus transfer for dinner - 7 - Cooking experience and dinner at a boutique wine estate producing Douro and Port wines The boutique wine estate, family managed, was a small monastery just before the forming of the nation at the 12th century. The sublime countryside, the calmness, the swaying of the trees and the light waves of the Douro, hidden between houses and vineyards, lead us to the property producing amazing Douro and Port wines. In this cooking experience guided by the owner, a lady passionate by culinary, guests will taste the magnificent wines and the jams made of must (freshly pressed grape juice). In a workshop organized in a traditional kitchen participants will be involved in cooking different local specialities. The lesson with the owner will start in the vegetable garden where guests will learn about local vegetables and pick ingredients to the dinner (subject to seasonal availability). Then, in the kitchen the convivial cooking experience will end with the lunch at the estate. A winery guided visit is included. Dinner menu will be based in a selection of several specialities. Menu sample: Starters: Traditional cheese au gratin with aromatic herbs Cured cheese with raspberry sause Regional bola (traditional stuffed bread) Codfish fried cookies Alheira sausage fried bolls Assortment of salads Main course: Rice duck at traditional style Desserts: Strawberry mousse Pineapple semi cold Pasteis de nata (cream custards) Sliced fresh fruit Wines: Douro Rosé wine Douro Red wine Port Wine Old Tawny - 8 - Return transfer to the hotel Accommodation Day 3, Monday Breakfast at the hotel Visit and wine tasting with Alves de Sousa, Portuguese Producer of the Year in 1999 and 2006 Alves de Sousa was awarded as “Producer of the Year” in 1999 and 2006 due to his professionalism and determination on the production of quality wines. Guests will have the opportunity to get to know the passion of Alves de Sousa visiting Quinta da Gaivosa. The total surface of vines occupies an area of 110 ha, distributed between 5 estates: Gaivosa, Vale da Raposa, Caldas, Estação and Aveleira. The ecological diversity (in terms of microclimate, soil and altitude), the terroir, the specificities of each "Quinta" allows obtaining wines of great character and quality. The visit to this producer – author of the most acclaimed wine by Robert Parker in 2008 - will include a tasting of 5 wines from the Alves de Sousa collection. - 9 - Lunch on your own at Régua or Lamego Guided visit to Lamego, the monumental town of the Douro Valley Roughly 12 kilometres from the banks of the Douro, Lamego a very ancient city, enjoyed a period of great prosperity in the eighteenth century when the city produced the so-called "fine wine" that later gave rise to the world famous Port Wine. Remaining as evidence of these mediaeval times are the castle, on the hill overlooking the city, the Cathedral and the small church of Santa Maria de Almacave. Particularly impressive are the Church of the Convent of Santa Cruz, offering a delightful view over the city and the sumptuous and monumental baroque shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in the form of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, who, from her lofty position some 600 metres above the town, responds to the appeals of distressed worshippers by granting them a remedy for their afflictions. - 10 - Transfer back to the hotel Arrive at the hotel and refresh In the evening transfer to DOC restaurant Gourmet dinner in an excellent restaurant with scenic views over the Douro River, the DOC This beautiful scenic restaurant was built in a pier on the Douro River, offering a fabulous view over the quite river waters and vineyard terraces around this Unesco site. In the outside, a relaxing deck connecting with the dining room with an only-glass wall facing the river and allowing visitors to have a unique scenario during the meal.