For The Love Of Port

At less than an hour from Porto, this is a region which is easy to fit into a Port/Douro related itinerary.

I have only been up to the Minho on two occasions and have spent half a day at two distinct producers of Vinho Verde: Aveleda and Quinta de Gomariz. Both offered white and red, and the latter also had rose bottlings. Has anyone else visited the VV DOC before and if so, what do you think of the area and/or producers there? Any other "do not miss" visits up there?

Who produces Broadbent's VV?

We have visited the lush Vinho Verde/Alvarinho wine producing region of the northern Minho several times in the last few years. It does, indeed, make a good extension to an Alto Douro wine tour.

A good place to start, we found, was in Melgaco, a charming, well-kept town in the Minho Valley, right at the Portugal-Spain border. In Melgaco visitors shouldn't miss a stop at the Solar do Alvarinho in the Three Arches building, with an exhibition space where one can learn about Alvarinho wine and the region and a tasting room, where most all the best alvarinho labels are available.

Our favorite adega here is the Quinta de Soalheiro, just outside Melgaco. Of their production, we especially enjoy the Soulheiro Primeiras Vinhas, made from 30-year old vines. www.soalheiro.com/en/enoturismo.php

After a winery tour, we highly recommend lunch at the charming Restaurante Adega do Sossego, on the Peso-Melgaco road, tucked away, down a cobblestone alleyway in the hamlet of Peso. This two story rustic house with stone walls and beamed ceiling just oozes with atmosphere and is a major draw for wine lovers on both sides of the border.

In addition to visits to the member wineries of the Rota do Alvarinho, in the northern Minho Valley, the towns of Ponte de Lima (with its amazing bi-monthly Monday outdoor market, feira), tiny Vila Nova de Cerveira and Viana do Castelo with its lovely Sanctuary of Santa Luzia on the hill, are also "do not miss" sights.

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