Last week we had a wonderful lunch at Trinity Restaurant in Clapham Old Town, with Dirk Niepoort and his wines. Trinity is a great place, and Adam Byatt had prepared…
The New Douro Tasting 2016
So, today: the New Douro Tasting at the gritty Vinyl Factory in Soho. I went and tasted widely. I’d just been in the Douro with the Douro Boys, so I…
Four Douro table wines from Poças Junior
Founded in 1918, Poças Júnior is one of the few Portuguese-owned Port companies still in the hands of the original family. Port is still their main focus, accounting for 80%…
In the Douro: Niepoort
Next stop on the Douro trip: Niepoort. It was a real pleasure to spend a few days at Quinta do Nápoles with one of my favourite people in the world…
In the Douro: Vallado
After visiting Vallado’s property in the Douro Superior earlier in the week, it was time to visit the original Quinta, which is on the border of the Baixo and Cima…
Foot-treading grapes at Quinta de Vargellas, Douro
One of the remarkable things about Port wine is foot treading grapes. For top quality Port, it’s necessary to extract as much as possible from the skins as fast as…
In the Douro: Quinta do Crasto
Quinta do Crasto is one of the most beautiful properties in the Douro, perched on a steeply sloped promontory sticking out from the right bank of the Douro, in the…
In the Douro: Quinta do Vale D. Maria
We arrived at Vale Dona Maria late afternoon in a torrential downpour. A rather sodden Cristiano Van Zeller walked over to us and greeted us warmly. It was nice to…
In the Douro: Vale Meão
Vale Meão is an important property in the Douro Superior. It traces its history as a Quinta back to the end of the late 19th century, when Dona Antónia Ferreira…