Wine experiences in the Alentejo

In the Alentejo, one of the most prominent places to stay is the L´AND Vineyard Resorts, an architectural wonder, combining structural innovation and splendor with traditional vineyards and experiences. With this, a lot of wine related experiences can be enjoyed, such as a balloon ride over the vineyards and the entire estate, wine tasting sessions and wine and food pairing classes. Another possibility is the emblematic Torre de Palma Wine Hotel, a modern hotel located in a traditional area of the Alentejo. This hotel also provides experiences such as wine tasting sessions and wine and food pairing sessions, but it also provides unique experiences like bike tours through the region and the vineyards, trips to the local market with the hotel´s chefs and accompanying the entire vindimas, from observing the workers pluck the grapes to stomping them and finally tasting the end product at the end of the session.

Experiences in the Douro Valley

There is a large plethora of experiences and places to stay in the Douro Valley related to wine and wine production. One of these is the Vila Galé Douro Vineyards, a premium hotel with a variety of experiences on offer, such as: visiting the vineyards; visits to the wine cellar, where wines like the Val Moreira Tinto DOC (DOC meaning the highest quality) and the Porto Val Moreira Tawny 20 Anos can be enjoyed. Another great place to stay and partake in experiences is the Six Senses Resorts Douro Valley, which also provides some fun experiences: wine tasting, wine courses and during the vindimas, participating in the ancient grape stomping ritual.

The vindimas

The wine harvesting process in Portugal is one of the oldest and most traditional and untouched industries in the portuguese country. Most vineyards still have the harvests performed manually, hiring mainly locals from the area to collect the grapes. The process itself is one of the reasons why the vindimas have kept its originality: the harvesting begins early in the morning, with hundreds of people (mainly women) throughout the estate harvesting the grapes by hand, covering themselves from the heat with straw hats and cloth around their bodies. After the grapes are gathered and undergo a selection process, they are stepped on, thus commencing the wine production process in itself.

Wine Harvesting in Portugal, 2019

Portugal is mainly known for 3 things: Cristiano Ronaldo, the beaches and great wines (not in any specific order). In this newsletter, we will be talking about portuguese wine harvests (commonly known as vindimas), more specifically about this process in two of the greatest wine producing regions in the mediterranean: Alentejo and Douro Valley, home to some of the most well known wines of Portugal. A lot of Portugal´s tourism derives from wine tasting and attending the sites where the grapes and vines are grown and harvested, and Portugal´s wine export figures keep increasing, thus the portuguese wines represent a major tourism attracting factor, possibly the next reason your clients visit Portugal. Hope this newsletter makes your clients want to learn more about portuguese wines and perhaps come and try some!

Pure Relaxation

The unique design of each room in this boutique hotel is overwhelming... Enjoy an outdoor meal by the lake with all natural ingredients, a glass of wine at sunset by the bonfire, and end the day with a relaxing bath to balance your spirit and mind.

Indulge in the best SPAS of Portugal

Wine Valley Cruise

Enjoy a private sailing or yacht cruise along the Douro river, taste the best Port Wine or participate in a wine harvest. Do all of this with the Douro Valley vineyards as a backdrop, while staying at the loveliest boutique hotel on the river front or a luxurious resort hotel with an amazing river view!

Experience our Wine Valley Cruises!

Sá Pessoa is the chef of the year to Wine Magazine

Publication of the Wine Essence awarded once again “the best of the year” in the wine and gastronomy sector. 

The Wine magazine already elected the “2016 best of the year”, distributing 15 awards between different categories connected to gastronomy and wines sector.

In the wine section, one of the biggest winners was the red from Alenjeto, Dona Maria Grande Reserva 2011, producted by Júlio Bastion in Estremoz. Elaborated from selected grapes in plots of old vineyards Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot e Syrah, was then fermented in mills, following a phase of a year in new French oak barrels. 

The Herdade of Portocarro, located in Torrão (Alcácel do Sal county), leaded by José Mota Capitão, eas elected “producer of the year”; meanwhile the Azores Wine Company, António Maçanita’s project with Filipe Rocha and Paulo Machado, with head office in Pico Island, was considered “Producer of the year revelation”. 

Still in the wine section, three more awards: Vasco D’Avillez, current president of the Wine Commission of the Lisbon Region, was elected “2016 Personality of the year”; Jorge Moreira has received the “Oenologist of the year” award, at the time he celebrates two decades of his career; and António Coelho, sommelier e maître in the Spanish restaurant Lasarte (with three Michelin stars), was considered “sommelier of the year”. 

In his turn, João Rodrigues, bartender in the Columbus Cocktail & Wine Bar, in Faro, Algarve, conquered the award of “Mixologist of the year”, after won, last year, the World Class Portugal competition final and represented the country in the world final in United States.  

In the gastronomy area, highlights to the awards delivered to two new Michelin stars in Portugal. After having conquered the first star in the last year, Henrique Sá Pessoa, from the Alma restaurant, was elected “Cuisine Chef of the Year” and Loco, from Alexandre Silva, was considered the best “Gastronomic Restaurant”. Duarte Calvão, gastronomic and director of the event Fish in Lisbon, is the “2016 Personality of the year in gastronomy”.   

The Mealhada region, famous for its roasted piglet in wood oven, left de ceremony with two awards. It was elected as “Gastronomic Destiny of the year” and saw one of the region’s restaurants, Rei dos Leitões, being distinguished with the “best wine service”.   

Among the awarded, are still added Herdade do Esporão, in Reguengos de Monsaraz, Alentejo, with the “Wine tourism of the year”; the salt flower of the company Salmarim, based in Castro Marim, Algarve, is the "artisanal product of the year"; and Jaime José de Barcelos, owner of the Ostradamus restaurant in Florianópolis, was elected "personality of the year in Brazil".

Source: Fugas

One day on wine harvest in Douro

The wine harvest is the high moment of viticulture and there are even people who pay to cut grapes. But for those who work by need, the party is only in the first and last days. This is a report/story of a day spent in one wine harvest in Douro, which this year was destroyed (more than 20%) by the mildew and hail.

One more day, the same routine, always with their backs bent, sometimes squatting or even on their knees to reach the most hidden bunch. The harvest starts at seven in the morning, but after ten the heat starts to difficult the job. However, the day only ends at 4 pm.

First hours. Each one with their group and their row of vines. This is the most productive moment of the day.  The conversations are about soap operas, the last football game and the crisis, anything to break the monotony. The boxes begin to fill with grapes, one after the other.

Midmorning. At 11 am, the youngest start looking at their watch. Lunch is only at 12 am, still one hour to go. Now, there is just one break per day to eat something that we bring from home with friends and family. One hour to rest our backs and legs.

We are about ten people, but no one sings. What we hear is just complaints of a sad and poor life, without money for anything. The school is starting and the money they raise isn’t enough for children´s books and to survive.  

This year was tough in Douro because of mildew and hail. There are people who lost everything. The break in the whole region, if there are not many grapes from the neighboring regions and wine coming from Spain, should be higher than 30% percent. The quality is still unknown. In one of the hottest seasons ever, the grapes have reached the point of ripeness with surprisingly low levels of alcohol. But that is a subject to be talked in the cellar.

Any shadow is enough to have a snack. There are Portuguese and Romanian workers, people who were sent by the contractor and other people from the nearest village. At the peak of the harvest, it is a daily struggle for everyone, whether young or older, native or foreign from Ukraine, Romania, Moldavia, Bulgaria or elsewhere. The Douro and the whole Portuguese countryside is today a place of multiple languages ​​and religions.

This time there are only adults. In another day, it was different: "Do you already have Portuguese nationality?", I asked the young Romanian woman who had been harvesting with tiredness, not very enthusiastic about the idea of ​​cutting grapes, with her Romanian boyfriend, always beside her watching the other men. She, timid and ashamed, answered in perfect Portuguese: "Not yet. I can only apply for it at the age of fourteen". Until that moment, she was a worker like any other. After all, she was a 13 years old child, with a woman's body, but a child, half-Portuguese from the years she takes in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, studying and working in the countryside like her parents. "Shouldn't you be in school?" "Not worth it. In a few days we will go to Romania to work in the vineyards too. We miss it".

Child labor, a crime which the inspectors of the Authority for Working Conditions are investigating. They all pay: the agricultural contractor who hired the teenager and the winemaker who hired the contractor. The teenager, like any woman, receives 28 euros a day from the contractor (men receive 30 euros) and the vineyard pays the contractor 38 euros for each worker (whether male or female) plus taxes. The contractor offers the transport and pays the insurance and contributions of the workers (except the children, of course!). It's business.

One party?

When I was 13 years old, I almost begged to cut grapes or pour buckets. We used to earn a few pennies and then we returned home at sundown. It was hard, and yet, every year we longed to go back to the vineyards and the wineries, while the school did not reopen. But the vineyards aren't for children, nor for old people, much less in the Upper Douro, where temperatures reach over 40 degrees Celsius.

Three in the afternoon. The last hour is always torture. The thermometer should be closer to 50 than 40 degrees. It looks like fire is falling from heaven and rising from the earth, and the wind – when it comes - is also made of fire. Everything burns: the wires that hold the vines, the sticks that hold the wires, the leaves that protect the grapes, the grapes themselves. You can only find some comfort in the filtered shadow of the streakiest vines, still living from the rain that fell during the spring and the first weeks of summer. The fresh water refreshed the mouth for a moment, but soon the sweat became salty ardor in the eyes.

The vineyards are not in the desert, but in Foz Côa, in the Upper Douro, there are vineyards and the place is almost desert: it rains as much as in the Sahara, the landscape is arid and in the summer months there is always a steaming slush in the air.

You can see by their faces and their walking that they have reached the limit: the retired septuagenarian of France who agreed to give a few days "at the request of his nephew" and the constructor; the girl who cuts grapes with cigarettes in her hand; her mother; the sad widow who barely speaks; the sexagenarian, newly separated, limping; the man in charge, proud of the production; the Romanians who always walk together, whispering in Romanian and asking in Portuguese: "And now, chief?".

And now we're leaving, half an hour earlier. No one speaks, but the silence is the sign of thanksgiving and relief. The ordeal is over, but the men still have a truck to carry with boxes of grapes for a few extra euros. For many, the next day, the hottest of the year, is going to be worse. Who said harvesting is a party?

Source: Fugas

THE MISSING ISLAND

You probably heard of Atlantis an island kingdom mentioned in Plato’s work. Controversy abounds around the real versus mythical nature of this island. Atlantis is one of the biggest mysteries in world history and literature.

What’s this to do with Portugal?... Well some say the Azores are the lost Atlantis… of course some others say Atlantis is now underwater and closer to the Bahamas, and still others that it never really existed. Those trying to push the Azores theory argue based on the location, its natural setting, and more recently even tried to use some underwater vestiges as extra evidence. Regardless of the real truth, the Azores and their pure untouched vegetation are a magical destination.

An archipelago with nine islands, the Azores are the result of a cultural melting pot which cooked over many centuries. Here you can see dolphins and whales flirting in a boundless ocean. In fact, the Azores are currently one of the world’s largest whale sanctuaries. You can spot more than 20 different types of cetaceans... that’s a third of the total number of existing species! Diving is another exciting activity available in the Azores. Day or night, sand or rock, caves or shipwrecks, you chose which diving experience you want… or you can also bring it down a notch and enjoy some calmer snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters around the islands. Finally if you want to pay homepage to those courageous whale hunters, the Azores are a world top destination for big-game fishing. The Azores are known among others for its large quantities of bluefin tuna and enormous blue and white marlins.

The Azores are much more than its surrounding water though. Of volcanic origin, its islands display blue and green lakes, deep green pastures, extinct volcanic craters, and rare plant species. One of its islands, Pico Island, is classified as World Heritage and boasts the highest mountain in Portugal (“Pico”). With its pristine vegetation, Mount Pico is home to some of the best views and hikes in the world. The volcanic origin of its islands also allows for some unique food experiences. In the Azores you can cook underground using the heat from special holes on the ground called “fumarolas”. Finally, other experiences include horseback riding, hiking, golfing, canyoning, bird watching, surfing and paragliding.

Whatever brought these nine islands together, made sure each of them kept its own identity. When you visit the Azores, make sure to save time to visit as many as possible. You’ll understand why being Atlantis or not is irrelevant, and how magical places still exist just a few hours away from Europe’s mainland.

Don’t wait until Atlantis disappears again: visit the Azores!

ALENTEJO NOMINATED FOR "BEST WINE REGION TO VISIT"

Until the next 4th of August several regions of different countries are collecting votes in order to win the title of "Best Wine Region to Visit", a part of Readers' Choice Awards of the tourism site 10Best.

One of the nominees for this category is Alentejo, a region that offers a wonderful and unique view, with wavy and soft plains that extend themselves for approximately one third of Continental Portugal. If you consider this amazing region worthy of this title, you can vote for it in "Best Wine Region to Visit".

VILA VIÇOSA

 

Everything around Vila Viçosa's peaceful broad streets lined with orange and lemon trees seems to be made of marble. Benches, pavements, framing of windows and doorways, and even the toilets in the bus station are made of this shining "white gold," the local marble from the enormous quarries outside the town. 

This was once home to the Bragança dynasty, whose kings ruled Portugal until it became a republic (Dom Carlos spent his last night here before his assassination). There is also a fine castle – one of the few nonmarble structures in town – an excellent archaeological museum, appealing churches and a friendly laid-back citizenry who are proud of their sparkling town.

 

BAY OF SAN LORENZO

 

The mostbeautiful vineyards in the world are in Portugal and Italy. Things areas they are and this is so. Vineyards like this Dorado called San Lorenzo Bay.

  

You cannot love the wine and stay in the cellar. An obvious truth that's hard to believe during the first years of a wine lover. These first years in which everything is beautiful and we collect corks and bottles and we visit wineries. Majestic Wineries, designed by artists such as Calatrava, Foster or Genhry. Wineries with paintings by Antoni Tàpies and Eduardo Chilida and rooms with more computers than one room at MIT. Wineries that are castles, where a man who is also winemaker speaks of the cup mix and you look and nods saying "aha".

DISCOVERING OPORTO BY TRAM

Discover the city of Porto through a beautiful tram ride. 

The number 1 tram line runs along the waterfront into a tourist circuit that allows you to enjoy various points of interest - Tram Museum, Museum of Transport and Communications, Museum of Port Wine, Arrábida Bridge - the marginal Douro River combining the richness of program with the ability to travel to a means of transport centenary.

TRIP TO PORTUGAL

Porto

"A number of people asked us - Why Portugal? and we said Why not?… it’s a beautiful country, great people, excellent food and the wine…oh the wine is just great! We loved Porto and it was a great thing that the airline planned a strike for the first few days. The changes to our itinerary were just right since we got to see a bit more of this beautiful country. Travel Tailors put together a great itinerary for us and went out of their way to make sure our vacation was perfect. They stayed in contact even when we were in Portugal, from meeting us at the airport and sending us off. Our vacation was effortless and we thank Paula and Travel Tailors for this!!!"

Read more testimonials!

The Green Wine Route

This TravelTailors culinary and wine program discloses the second most exclusively Portuguese wine in the world: green wine. It also promotes the discovery of the gastronomy of Minho and its rich heritage and landscape, with palaces, manors and the typical vinha de enforcado .

More information here 

The Green Wine Route - 4 days

This TravelTailors culinary and wine program discloses the second most exclusively Portuguese wine in the world: green wine. It also promotes the discovery of the gastronomy of Minho and its rich heritage and landscape, with palaces, manors and the typical vinha de enforcado.


More information