Culture

Japan, the country that everybody should discover

For the first time in my life, I have visited Japan. I was not there in a personal trip, as I had wished. Actually, I’ve spent only three days on business, as we are determined to find distribution for our wines in the land of rising sun. I had a lot of expectations for this [...]

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Construction of the future Tua dam in the Douro valley

Humans have always used nature to take advantage for their own interests. For many centuries that the Douro river was used for Port Wine transport, from the area we know as Douro valley to Vila Nova de Gaia, where Port would then be shipped for exports. The boat people used was the rabelo. With the [...]

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Life on the Douro in the Douro Film Harvest

The 2011 edition of the Douro Film Harvest, which starts today on September 5th, is the festival elected by Zev Robinson to present his newest documentary already mentioned on this blog for a couple of times, Life on the Douro. Zev started shooting for the film over one year ago, which at that time would [...]

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Tokaji Aszú and Tokaji Essencia – why it is worth to visit Hungary

Tokaj is the name of the oldest demarcated wine region in the world, located in the northeast of the current boundaries of Hungary. The region gives its name to the wine, Tokaji, which together with Port, are two of the most well known wines in the world. Although there is also dry Tokaji, the sweet [...]

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Villar d’Allen 20 Year Old Port, the restart of a family with a long tradition

I have already talked here about one of the most interesting discoveries in the Port history of the last years. I’m talking about Villar d’Allen, a family with a very respectable and fascinating past as Port Wine producers and merchants. Fortunately, for the Port Wine lovers and collectors, Allen family is back in business. Few [...]

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People from the Douro say, and believe…

A couple of weeks ago, my sister, Claudia, came across old texts about the Douro, written by Portuguese writers. I think it is worth to share it: “People from the Douro say, and believe, that they have the best cabbage in Portugal, the best wine in the world, bread like no one still makes it, [...]

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Proud to be local

A few days ago I was in England for a Port and Douro wine tasting in The Square & Compasses, an old pub located in Fuller Street, in Fairstead, Essex. Fuller Street is a very small village, with under 50 people, where everybody knows each other and where life is relaxed and very enjoyable. The [...]

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Old wine press from 1630 stands out in Esterházy Museum, Austria

During the EWBC – European Wine Bloggers Conference in Vienna, Austria, we visited the Esterházy Museum. One of the most impressive pieces I saw, was a press device from the 1630. It’s around 5 meters long, all in wood, and with a pretty small compartment for crushing the grapes. Check the video and you will [...]

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Tasting 1827 Villar d’Allen Port: the origins of Quinta do Noval

Contrarily to what my friends say, my job is not always easy. I work hard throughout the year, but the harvest is by far the most challenging. Sleeping is cut to a minimum, and at the end of the harvest, I’ll be thinner by three or four kgs. That’s hard to avoid, but I love [...]

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Life on the Douro – a documentary by Zev Robinson

Do you remember when I talked here about the documentary Zev Robinson is making about our life in the Douro? After a second visit to Portugal, late July, where Zev recorded more material, a new trailer is now available, which you can see above. Zev is coming to the Douro and Porto for a couple [...]

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