A Taste of Porto

The building at the end of this promenade was just visible from out the window of our pensao in Porto. We hadn't exactly planned to arrive in Porto when we did. In fact we thought we might find something that captured our interest on the drive southward from Santiago. We didn't and that worked out just fine since Porto did not disappoint. It felt very laid back as we sipped "green" wine at a curbside cafe our first afternoon in town. Green wine is actually white, thankfully, since I'm not sure I'm big on drinking things that are actually green. And it is a specialty for the area. But not as much of a specialty of course as Port which is so named for originating in Porto.
We did a cellar tour to learn about the intricacies of Port making (and for the free tasting promised at the end of the tour). Porto port makers consider their vino as the French consider champagne. It is only real if it comes from the place for which it is named.

This is from the cellar across the river Douro looking back at Porto. Most of the cellars are on the other side of the river. The grapes actually come from more than 100 kilometers upstream in the Douro valley. But since the beginning of port the barrels were transported down to Porto by boat for aging and storage. The boats in the foreground aren't used anymore but are still stocked with barrels to create the effect for tourists like us.
I actually haven't been a fan of port when I've had it in the past. But I now believe that's simply because I never had good, true port from Porto. At the very least I now know what kind I like, tawny not ruby.
Tastes like sherry... and I like sherry.
All in all a very tasty introduction to Portugal. And the green wine tastes pretty good too!