Portuguese Voyage - Stop 1: Porto (Day 2) - Ruby, Tawny, LBV? Não obrigada!

Rise and shine in Porto, Oporto (in English), "A muito nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto" (The very noble, always faithful, and invincible city of Porto) - invincible because of Porto's resistance 'Porto's Siege' during the civil war in the 1830s [learnt that from my walking tour guide, more about that later].

Just like Champagne, it's easy to guess where Port wine is from - it is Porto's world known export. Well, there is no guessing what I did first thing that morning: a Port wine tour 

 

The Port wine cellars are located across the Duoro River from Porto at Vila Nova de Gaia. There are so many lined up along the river - and after some research, I decided to go to Graham's. It is further up on the hill (only a 10 - 15 minute walk after crossing the Ponte D. Luis I). To be fair, I think most of the Port wine cellars are almost similar, but I am glad I went to Graham's - due to its location, I had a great view of Porto, from Gaia.

Not the best picture, but imagine if you are there in person!

Truth be told, I hate Port wine! (I apologise to all the Port wine lovers out there!). It is thick and sweet and to top it off, I had a really bad experience back in university :S Since then, I refused to even touch a glass of Port! Yet, nothing has changed, after the first taste of Port in ages - I STILL HATE IT! (please forgive me!)

Despite my feelings for Port, I learnt that it is harder to make Port wine than regular wine... 

Did you know that:

• Port wine is only made from grapes grown in Duoro valley.
• The Duoro valley is the first wine demarcated region in the world!
• After the 'crushing' process, the Port wine is fortified with spirits (usually brandy) to stop the wine from fully fermenting. It is stopped when the ideal sugar level is reached. 
• Then Port wine expert tastes the samples to determine the 'future' of the Port wine. It could be: 
• Ruby - usually the sweetest and stored in the smallest oak barrels or tanks made of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative aging
• Tawny - less sweet/ intense than ruby. Aged in the larger wooden barrels, exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation
• Vintage - made entirely from the grapes of a declared vintage year. Not every year is declared a vintage in the Douro. The decision on whether to declare a vintage is made in the spring of the second year following the harvest. The decision to declare a vintage is made by each individual port house. Usually aged in barrels for a maximum of two and a half years before bottling, and generally require another 10-40 years of ageing in the bottle before reaching what is considered a proper 'drinking age'. There is speculation that 2015 may be declared a vintage year... so make sure you get your bottles in 2017!
• Late Bottled Vintage - could have been vintage, but unfortunately didn't make the cut..lol

It certainly made me appreciate Port more. :D

As, I am not a fan of long blogs/ articles - to ease your reading, I shall end my post here...My first half of day 2...  Don't worry, I will post the second half...