Port Houses in Villa Nova de Gaia

[*Mike Koob]

I thought I'd post some information for those of us novices on the site. As I've mentioned in other posts, my husband and I spent our honeymoon in Madeira, the Douro Valley, Porto and Lisbon. Our best experiences with Port were in the Douro Valley, and we'd definitely go back. However, since many people get to Porto and not to the Douro Valley, it seems appropriate to provide a comment on notable Port Houses in Villa Nova de Gaia.

We didn't visit too many Port houses since we'd already been to the Quintas themselves. We picked a few that seemed a bit more off the beaten path, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the more geographically removed houses - the ones that required a longer walk up the hill - seemed to be less frequently visited by the tourists.

We had an incredible visit at Cockburn's. We arrived at the gatehouse and the guard called down to the welcome area to let them know we were coming. We were met by Rachael, an employee who does their PR. She spent the next hour with us, giving us a private tour of the facility and their private wine cellar. I tend to ask a LOT of questions, and Rachael answered them with poise, and she seemed to enjoy talking to us as much as we enjoyed having her at our disposal. We finished the tour in Rachael's office, tucked among their corporate offices, with a port tasting of their standard free port tastes.

It was a really great visit, and it was hard to believe we were in the middle of Porto, it was such a secluded experience!

[Roy Hersh]

Lauren,

Thanks for your post. I love the Douro for the feeling it provides as soon as I arrive. Inspirational is the only single word I can find to describe it. I also am a big fan of Oporto and Gaia and find the people friendly and helpful, the restaurants varied in scale and so very different in terms of the cuisine. The stores, sidewalks, doors and doorways, laundry hanging everywhere, all of it adds such charm to this bustling small city of Oporto. Although I am only back 3 weeks, I can not wait to head over there again in a few months. What a grand place to spend your honeymoon. Maybe our paths will cross here in WA at a Port tasting one of these days.