The Journey
After Lisbon’s urban scene, we ventured out into the country. We planned to drive through the Douro Valley to Porto, then fly to Madeira.
The second week of September was a perfect time to be in the Douro. The colors were beginning to hint at autumn, and the sun was gentle and forgiving.
We took the highways from Lisbon to Casa do Rio to save time and have more time there.
It sits among the organic vineyards planted by Quinta do Vallado, about ten kilometers from the Spanish border.
We stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the amazing food, much of it from their own garden.
Casa do Rio is a ten-room boutique hotel, a wooden house with the Douro River on one side and vineyards on the other. A well-known architect, Francisco Vieira de Campos, designed it. It received first prize in the National Awards for Wooden Architecture (PNAM’19).
We watched the valley’s stillness and its meticulously tended vineyards. I was taken by the effortless harmony of this place.
Of course, it wasn’t effortless to maintain it!
They work endlessly there, and with great enthusiasm and thoughtfulness.
We enjoyed Casa do Rio
We enjoyed the amazing food, much of it from their own garden.
They bake bread and cakes and make jam. My favorite was a walnut cake. If I had known it was that delicious, I would have skipped breakfast for one more piece. Speaking of breakfast, yogurt and farm cheese are local.
The Infinity pool
The large outdoor infinity pool is where we spent most of our time.
The pool is lovingly hugged by the Douro bank on one side and the vineyards on the other. It looks as though it has melted into its surroundings. Everything around it is humble and visually coherent with the landscape.
With clouds reflecting on the pool’s perfectly flat surface, you witness a natural, magnificent mirror effect. You want to believe in this wonderful hallucination while listening to the silence of the surrounding mountains.
Nothing interferes with the natural velvet of the greenery.
Even an outdoor shower by the pool is almost invisible. I noticed it. My husband didn’t. In fact, he stumbled on it. Sorry, honey.
The Landscape
Then your eye travels up and around.
The perfect, almost painterly rows of the vineyards, shapely hills, tall cypresses forming the edges at the tops- nothing distracts. Everything adds to the complete bliss.
Even lazy ants enjoyed themselves. They occasionally showed up here and there, affirming their right to exist at an organic winery. Perhaps they were oblivious that they had entered a five-star hotel, where only select proteins were welcome. The elegant solution might have been the special print on the cups, creating perfect “ant-friendly” camouflage.
Journey to Porto. Hello, the Atlantic Ocean!
The next morning, after a lovely breakfast, we headed toward Porto by an alternate route, avoiding the highways and following the Douro through the valley. Along the way, we passed one quinta after another.
OMG, I had never seen so many rows of grapes in my life!
The Ferreira Winery
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop anywhere else. We had timed tickets in Porto for the Ferreira winery tour. It was impossible to miss after we’d seen Portugal’s main wine country!
We arrived literally five minutes before our scheduled tour. Tired but giddy with excitement, we were curious to learn more about the woman who became one of the most important figures in Douro wine history.
Her name was Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, known affectionately as “Ferreirinha.”
She lived in the 19th century. Widowed twice, she chose not to remarry and retained control of the family wine business. She expanded its vineyards and, by the time of her death, had built an extraordinary wine empire
Share Certificate No. 1, issued in 1899 by the company that succeeded Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira’s
Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira’s 19th-century carriage, preserved at the Ferreira Cellars.”
Celebration
So, in a way, we had traversed Portugal’s wine country from source to conclusion.
We started far upriver at Casa do Rio, where the landscape is dry and steep, and the grapes are actually growing. Then we followed the Douro west to Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, ending at Ferreira. It took us only a few hours — not so bad by New York standards. The rewards were tremendous.
We celebrated with some of Ferreira’s best Ports. Perhaps too many, because somewhere along the way I apparently mistook myself for Ferreirinha.According to the old advertisement, the wine sings in the glasses; carícia means “caress,” and Ferreirinha provides the sweet music.
Apparently, I provide the guitar!
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