Solar do Vinho in Porto closed
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:13 pm
Hello Friends,
With a certain sadness I saw today that the Solar do Vinho do Porto in Porto is closed - already since January, and maybe forever...
Here is the article: http://www.publico.pt/Local/solar-do-vi ... 550755?p=1
I was somehow surprised that nobody mentioned this here in our Forum before - which somehow seems to proof the point that the Solar wasn't so important as I thought it was. I must confess that I have been there only a few times - and if I have to chose between spending a few hours at VINOLOGIA or the Solar, I would absolutely pick VINOLOGIA.
However, Port and Porto is about traditions. And the Solar do Vinho do Porto was a good place to get people interested into Port. Beautiful location. However, it seems like everything in Porto gravitates towards the river and Ribeira - what tourists can't reach by foot they normally don't notice... And it seems like the Solar was just too far away.
As I understand the article, the Solar made last year a loss of EUR 44,000... Well, I personally prefer that the IVDP loses this amount while providing a nice setting for the "normal public" to experience some Port rather then closing down the place and not to lose any money... while waiting that the government realizes that the IVDP still has some money and confiscates it... like the EUR 8 million in the past... A tiny part of that amount would have been enough to re-model the Solar and to make this a state-of-the-art entertainment-facility...
We see many port shippers openeing nice lodges in Gaia or re-modeling the old lodges; even in these difficult times of the national crisis - which makes me appreciate these brave decisions even more.
I hope that one day the Solar will open again - it wasn't my preferred place - but it was one of the few places on this planet dedicated to the appreciation of Port.
With a certain sadness I saw today that the Solar do Vinho do Porto in Porto is closed - already since January, and maybe forever...
Here is the article: http://www.publico.pt/Local/solar-do-vi ... 550755?p=1
I was somehow surprised that nobody mentioned this here in our Forum before - which somehow seems to proof the point that the Solar wasn't so important as I thought it was. I must confess that I have been there only a few times - and if I have to chose between spending a few hours at VINOLOGIA or the Solar, I would absolutely pick VINOLOGIA.
However, Port and Porto is about traditions. And the Solar do Vinho do Porto was a good place to get people interested into Port. Beautiful location. However, it seems like everything in Porto gravitates towards the river and Ribeira - what tourists can't reach by foot they normally don't notice... And it seems like the Solar was just too far away.
As I understand the article, the Solar made last year a loss of EUR 44,000... Well, I personally prefer that the IVDP loses this amount while providing a nice setting for the "normal public" to experience some Port rather then closing down the place and not to lose any money... while waiting that the government realizes that the IVDP still has some money and confiscates it... like the EUR 8 million in the past... A tiny part of that amount would have been enough to re-model the Solar and to make this a state-of-the-art entertainment-facility...
We see many port shippers openeing nice lodges in Gaia or re-modeling the old lodges; even in these difficult times of the national crisis - which makes me appreciate these brave decisions even more.
I hope that one day the Solar will open again - it wasn't my preferred place - but it was one of the few places on this planet dedicated to the appreciation of Port.