what quinta should i visit this time?

[Bert VD]

I've been working all summer with no holidays so october 27 or 28 i will go for another vacation in Portugal. And as you would expect there's a big chance i'll pass by the Douro so i'm thinking about possible visits and tastings.
So far i've visited and participated in tastings at Vieira De Sousa, Bomfim (Dow), Napoles (Niepoort), Amendoeiras (Negreiros), Tedo, Alves De Sousa and Panascal (Fonseca).

Where should i go next? What quinta's are interesting to visit? Just thinking about the ports they make (not if they are open for visits) my wanted list would include: Taylor, Churchill, Noval, Meao, Quevedo, Crasto, Vesuvio...

[Eric Menchen]

Taylor, Churchill, Noval, Meao, Quevedo, Crasto, Vesuvio...

Of those, I think Noval and Vesuvio aren't normally open for visits. For Taylor, you need to think of which quinta, but I'm also skeptical that any are open for visits.

Crasto sounds like a good choice to me. It is out of the way, but not far away, and they are generally open to visitors. I would try Quevedo too. Meao is far away, but might entertain you as well. I don't recall hearing anything about Churchill. Quinta de la Rosa might be worth considering. I've not been there, but they have hotel options and I've heard good things about their restaurant.

[Bert VD]

For Churchill i know Quinta Da Gricha is open for visits. but that's quite recent. i was wondering if anyone from ftlop has been there?

Noval or Vargellas would be super nice but you are right, i don't think they are open. Distance is not a big issue because i will travel with my van.

[Bert VD]

hmm after the harvest tours i expected some enthousiastic reviews and tips.

[Andy Velebil]

hmm after the harvest tours i expected some enthousiastic reviews and tips.

I’ve just gotten home. Give me a short bit to settle in and I’ll get back with some.

[Andy Velebil]

Excluding the ones you've already been too;

Quinta de la Rosa has a new tasting room area that is in their barrel room. Really cool and I won't ruin the surprise.

I do believe Kopke's Quinta Sao Luis is now open to tourists. I've stay the night there many years ago when it was still closed to the public and it's a cool property to explore. So if they've opened it that's even better.

Sandeman's Quinta d. Seixo is always a good visit for the views and I like the layout of the tasting room.

Wine and Soul has a relatively new tasting room in Vale d. Mendez, at their winery. Worth the 10 minute drive up the hill from Pinhao.

Quevedo is also worth the drive, so recommend it as well.

[David Spriggs]

Yes, we went to Churchill's Quinta da Gricha last year. It's in a Beautiful spot. What a view! The wines are solid. You could do both Quevedo and Gricha easily on the same day.

[David Spriggs]

Yes, we went to Churchill's Quinta da Gricha last year (2018). It's in a Beautiful spot. What a view! The wines are solid. You could do both Quevedo and Gricha easily on the same day.

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Bert,

I really liked Gricha that we visited in 2018, although having Johnny Graham show up, made it extra special. However, I'd follow David's advice and try to do it on the same day with Quevedo and do them in that order.

I would also suggest Vale Meao, it is accessible by train, but now, also by highway. Great wines, great people, great olive oil (buy some!!) and excellent quality Ports. When you make an appointment ahead of time, IF by train, ask if they could possibly provide transportation to/from the Quinta, (10 minutes).

Have a great time!

[Bert VD]

thank you!

[Bert VD]

i was at Quevedo today, then Pessegueiro and also visited Quinta da Gricha. i'll write more about it soon.

there is nothing planned for tomorrow but maybe i'll quickly improvise before i go further south

[Bert VD]

i nearly forgot about this but here goes:

so i was staying at Mesao Provesende again with Jet and Ronald. They have their B&B but Ronald is also a wine merchant. When Jet prepares dinner for guests (only on demand, not every night) it is clear why this is a great combination of professions. Every time it's a treat!
I don't remember many of the wines we had because i don't usually take notes. There was a couple of wine bloggers from Spain who took notes and made photo's of the bottles but i can't find it on their site: nosvamosdevinos.com
We did have Vieira de Sousa fine ruby and i bought 8 bottles without much thought because in my opinion it is not only cheaper but also better than Noval Black, 6 grapes or bin 27.

As i mentioned i went to visit the Quevedo winery and had one of the best winery tours i've had so far. Not that the winery is super special but the amount of information and explanation i got from Mélanie was just great. We tasted some ports in the cellar. 2016 and 2015 LBV if i remember correctly. And then a very young colheita (i forgot the year, something between ruby and tawny) and a 1995 colheita.
When waiting for a table for lunch at a nearby restaurant Oscar and others from Quevedo came in and we ended up having lunch together. Good times

In the afternoon i went to visit Quinta do Pessegueiro. They have an impressive brand new winery but everything is very slick and catered. I like a more laid back approach when visiting a winery. For me it's a farm making a natural product. All the way from caring for the vines to selling bottled pleasure. Not a factory
But i think for someone who hasn't visited a winery before it is a good starting point. All is very clear and they are super friendly. Also since the winery is new they didn't have the constraints of an existing building but they got to design the building around their particular work process. They avoid using pumps at any part of the winemaking process by using a central elevator in the building to move the wine between vessels.

After this visit i saw Churchill's Quinta da Gricha was close by so i went there. I didn't have any appointment and they were setting up for a big event the next day but i did get a quick tour of this super beautiful quinta and bought some wines. And then i realised i only made photo's of autumn colors in the vinyards.

After a short stay in the Douro i went to my friend in the Dao region where i didn't visit a single winery. Next time...

[Bert VD]

so. pretty autumn colors.

1.png (878.12 KiB) Viewed 4354 times

2.png (1.55 MiB) Viewed 4354 times

3.png (881.54 KiB) Viewed 4354 times

[Bert VD]

4.png (940.97 KiB) Viewed 4354 times

5.png (712.27 KiB) Viewed 4354 times

view over Pinhao

6.png (1.64 MiB) Viewed 4354 times

[Bert VD]

7.png (2.04 MiB) Viewed 4353 times

view over the vinyards on the way from Provesende to Pinhao. (the sign at the top of the hill is Taylor's)

8.png (815.94 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

9.png (1.36 MiB) Viewed 4353 times

[Bert VD]

Quinta da Gricha

10.png (674.28 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

11.png (1.76 MiB) Viewed 4353 times

12.png (920.53 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

[Bert VD]

Last one of Gricha

13.png (1.16 MiB) Viewed 4353 times

14.png (911.67 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

15.png (650.01 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

[Bert VD]

16.png (678.49 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

17.png (655.66 KiB) Viewed 4353 times

too much?
i have some nice black and white ones from the olive harvest we did with the local village commitee in Midoes (Dao region)

[Glenn E.]

Those are great pictures, Bert, thanks for posting them!

[Eric Menchen]

view over the vinyards on the way from Provesende to Pinhao. (the sign at the top of the hill is Taylor's)

Taylor Quinta de Terra Feita if memory serves.

Very nice photos--makes me want to visit in the fall some time.