Taste and travel in great taste!

Travel, taste, discover, get the best of life and degustations here in the one of the most beautiful places in the world
Douro river Valley. An art of world best wines gem.

The stunning Douro Valley provides extraordinarily good conditions for producing red, white and port wines.
A plethora of grape varieties can be found in the Douro, including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Castelao.

Happy travelling! Happy tasting!!

Douro. Much more.

Speaking of the great Douro Valley of Portugal is not just talking about a river or a region. 

It's much more than that ... It is its heritage, beauty, history and its people that make it so special.

Getting to know Douro is a pleasant journey, discovery of unique places with a history, culture, gastronomy and amazing people

There are many ways of exploring it 
And a boat, smaller and more private one or more of a party-group traveller - is a great choice 
Water brings balance and good vibes into life. And River Douro waters certainly do so, arranged in colourful valleys and delicious wine producing areas 
Do not forget to stop and indulge in various  tastings 

Happy travelling! 

Luxury River Cruiser to Cruise Portugal's Douro.

Amazign news
We will have even more opportunities to discover this fascinating Douro Valley region.. Taste regional gourmet food and.. Famouse Portugues wines from Douro region!

Award winning luxury river cruise line AmaWaterways is set to return cruise the River Douro after an absence of nearly two years, with two new cruise itineraries operating between March and November 2013, on board the brand new luxury cruiser, AmaVida, which launches in March 2013.

The new 108-guest luxury AmaVida features balconies in the majority of its spacious staterooms and suites, which range up to 323 sq. feet. Guests will enjoy fine gourmet dining with free-flowing local wines, in addition to a casual al fresco dining option. The AmaVida also features a sun deck swimming pool; fitness centre and spa; complimentary in-stateroom Internet access on a 42” flat-screen and ship-wide Wi-Fi.

The two new Douro itineraries are:-

`The Enticing Douro’: The cruise is offered as 7 nights, cruise only, or as a 10 night land-cruise holiday. Guests taking the 10 night `Enticing Douro’ land & cruise itinerary will spend three nights discovering Lisbon with 5* hotel accommodation (b&b), then embark in Porto to cruise to Régua, Barc d’Alva, Vega Terrón, Pinhão and Bitetos. The itinerary will include complimentary excursions to the countryside of the Trás-os-Montes Region; Salamanca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; a Castelo Rodrigo tour; Palacio de Mateus palace tours and the 14th century Alpendurada Monastery.

`Port Wine & Flamenco’ – This 13 night luxury land-cruise holiday starts with a 3 night stay in the Spanish city of Madrid, known for its great cultural and artistic heritage, before meandering along the Douro between the Spanish border town of Vega Terrón and the northern capital of Portugal, Porto, before concluding with a 3 night stay in Lisbon.

Guests will visit the small town of Pinhão, known as the wine lovers Mecca, then venture to the beautiful region of Trás-os-Montes; the former Roman village of Bitetos and its 11th-century Alpendurade Monastery and the northern capital of Portugal, Porto

by ftnnews.com

Unique Portuguese wine. Alvarinho caste.

Alvarinho is one of the greatest treasures of Portugal.
It is from the sub-region of Monção and Melgaço that Alvarinho reveals and achieves the maximum of its potential, in a unique territory, due to natural reasons related to soil and the microclimate.

It is considered by recognized experts the best Portuguese white grape and one of the best grapes in the world.

Monção and Melgaço, not far away from the Atlantic Ocean, keep themselves protected against sea winds by mountains in a natural relation that allows the perfect conjugation between the rainfall, temperature and the number of hours of sunshine necessary to the best maturation of the Alvarinho grapes.

The vineyards cultivated in amphitheaters of natural beauty are placed in a sunny location refreshed by the Minho river.

Alvarinho is a white grape from the vitis specie, which originates very small bunches, winged and compact, leading to an unproductive grape, aspect that is contemplated in the Statutes of The Region, which gives it a maximum efficiency per hectare of 60 hl against 80 hl for the other grapes.

It originates unique wines, easily identifiable, combined qualities, such as its strong temperament and personality.

With citric colour and splendid flavor, Alvarinho is exquisite, bond and robust, besides its elegance, balance and minerality. Its acidity and freshness make Alvarinho a vibrant and cheerful wine.

The alcoholic strength of Alvarinho wine is 11,5% vol., all above the traditional standards of other green wines (9%).

There are several theories about the origin of Alvarinho caste. It is said that it came from Reno, others say that it came from Greece and others (maybe the right ones) say that it came from the Northeast of Iberian Peninsula, more precisely from this Sub-region, where, all over the centuries, Alvarinho adapted itself to the soil and climate characteristics.

By the Decree-law 275/73, the tradition was confirmed and legalized in Portugal.

The designation of origin Alvarinho was assigned to the wine produced exclusively in the Sub-region of Monção and Melgaço of the Demarcated Region of Green Wines, where there are the ideal conditions of microclimate and soil to the cultivation and maturation of this unique and genuine grape.

by quintasdemelgaco.pt

Douro Museum. Heritage, History and Beauty. Learn... Then go and taste its best!

The Douro Museum can be defined as the Museum of the Douro Territory, as an expression of the cultural identity of the Demarcated Region of Douro, a Community Museum, as it expresses the identity of the Man who built, builds and looks after the landscape of the region and produces wine of highly renowned special features: it is therefore also a Wine Museum.
The Fundação Museu do Douro (Douro Museum Foundation) was established on 23 March 2006 by Decree-Law No. 70/06. It is an institution of private law and a public utility with legal personality.

The Foundation’s purpose is to pursuit cultural activities, including the facilities, maintenance and management of the Museum of the Douro Region, created by Law No. 125/97 of 2 December, and the fulfilment of the duties established in this law.

O Museu do Douro, criado pela Lei 125/97, foi concebido como um museu de território, polivalente e polinuclear, vocacionado para reunir, conservar, identificar e divulgar o vastíssimo património museológico e documental disperso pela região, devendo constituir um instrumento ao serviço do desenvolvimento sociocultural da Região Demarcada do Douro. Numa perspetiva de "museologia de comunidade", o Museu do Douro assume-se como processo cujo desenvolvimento deverá envolver a colaboração ativa com as instituições locais, regionais e internacionais.

A gestão do Museu do Douro é da responsabilidade da Fundação Museu do Douro, criada pelo Dec.-Lei 70/2006, instituindo-a como pessoa coletiva de direito privado e utilidade pública. A Fundação Museu do Douro tem como fim a instalação, manutenção e a gestão do Museu do Douro.

Para atingir a sua missão o Museu do Douro preserva, estuda, expõe e interpreta objetos materiais e imateriais representativos da identidade, da cultura, da história e do desenvolvimento da região do Douro, independentemente da época histórica, de vários tipos e fabricos, com especial incidência nos elementos associados à vitivinicultura, atividade primordial na região.

O Museu do Douro pretende assumir o papel que lhe cabe na formação de valores culturais, em articulação ativa com os demais agentes e instituições, promovendo não só uma função educacional de divulgação e contextualização da cultura e história da região mas, sobretudo, proporcionando experiências capazes de motivar a participação e o envolvimento ativo do público que serve.

by museudodouro.pt, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto

Portuguese Red Wines Come of Age, Steal Spain’s Thunder

Back in the 1990s Spain seemed to be Europe’s most forward looking wine producer. But as overproduction and high alcohol wines increasingly dominate Spanish viniculture, it now appears Portugal can steal some of its thunder. 
Such an achievement would simply not have been possible 10 years ago. Prior to 1986, when Portugal joined the EU, its wine industry was wracked by political directives and a lack of any dependable system to make sense of its wine regions.

After joining, EU subsidies and investments poured into Portugal for the regeneration of old and the building of new wineries, attracting a young generation of winemakers, including an impressive number of women, who now account for 60 percent of the students at the oenology school in Vila Real.
Today there are 31 DOC and DOP appellations and 14 approved wine regions in Portugal, including the beautiful Douro River Valley, famous for its fortified Port wines.
Indeed, Port’s historic renown has blinded many to the charms of Portugal’s modern red wines, 30 of which, all from the Douro, I got to taste at a recent Wine Media Guild luncheon in New Yourk.

Modestly Priced

My overall impression was that many were so very good and so modestly priced, with some of my favorites retailing at only $10 - $16. In fact, none cost more than $40.
My second surprise was that very few topped 14 percent in alcohol, with most at a reasonable 13.5 or below, indicating that, at least so far, Portuguese winemakers have resisted going for that bold but imbalanced style that plagues international wine markets and destroys any subtleties of individual terroir.
One of my colleagues at the luncheon said he thought too many of the wines tasted very much the same, but I reminded him that all were from the same Douro region and therefore shared identifiable characteristics.

Some of the newer blends -- and Portugal offers a wide palate of grapes to choose among -- include the robust touriga nacional; the late-ripening baga, sometimes used as a base for sparkling wines; the widely planted, zesty castelao; the aromatic touriga franca; the fruity, herbal trincadeira; and the increasingly impressive tinta, in Spain called tempranillo.

Fuzzy Reservas

These were young wines we tasted, and the laws about “reservas” are a bit fuzzy: a reserva must spend at least one year in oak and one in bottle -- rather liberal for a wine that is held back for more maturity -- and a garrafeira must spend three years aging, at least one in bottle, but the rules allow for a good deal of flexibility.

Most of the wines were recent vintages from 2009 and 2010 vintages, with the oldest going back only to 2007. I enjoyed the younger, fresher wines, including a lovely, sweetly juicy and floral Vinho Oscar Quevedo Douro Oscar’s 2009 ($10) that makes for very easy drinking. Sales-wise, Quevado is cutting edge: the producer markets only through its social network.
At $13, the 2009 Quinta dos Murcas Assobio, is a terrific buy, with a remarkably assertive bouquet and fine texture felt from the tip of the tongue to back of the throat. “Assobio” means “whistle,” in homage to the winds in the Douro hills.

Persuasive Blend

The 2009 J. Portugal Ramos Colheita ($20) is a persuasive blend of two touriga varietals plus tinta roriz, with plenty of complexity.
If you want a sense of what a “typical” Portuguese wine tastes like, try the 2009 Quinta de Roriz Prazo de Roriz ($16), which is a little rough around the edges but would be perfect with Portuguese dishes like caldo verde soup, the salt cod dish called bacalhau, or just with a handful of the country’s wonderful roasted chestnuts.

My favorite wine, at just $21, was the PV Mutante 2007, whose age mellowed its tannins and acids, revealing layers of integrated flavors of fruit and woodsyness.

At $30, the curiously-named Twisted Tinto 2009, a blend of the two tourigas, roriz, amarela, and barroca, by Niepoort (one of the finest Port producers) had medium body, a rich, fat quality and plenty of dense fruit flavors, ideal with suckling pig or lamb.

Yet not one of these wines went above 13.5 percent alcohol, while providing real depth of flavour.

by blomberg.com