We had a leisurely start to Saturday with our rendezvous at the bus being midday. We headed back to Regua and the family owned estate of Quinta de Tourais. This is another small, family domaine with 14 hectares of vineyards and both a conventional and non conventional approach to winemaking. The family are totally involved in the visit and lunch with Manuela, Liliana, Fernando and Antonio all playing their parts. Youngest family member Antonio welcomed us and took us round the small, traditional winery with old concrete lagares before heading onto the balcony for an overview of the vineyards.
We moved into the family dining room for a very leisurely, but light lunch. Everything is home made and a delicious soup preceded a help yourself buffet – packed full of local salads, cheeses, pies and meats. We washed it all down with their white and reds including an aromatized wine using fresh hops! A first for many of us. This was a delightful occasion revealing another side to the Douro Valley mix.
From Tourais, it was a 30 minute hop to Quinta Seara d’Ordens – very high up in the hills with stunning views. Though it has to be said we spend most of this trip experiencing amazing views. Ordens is very long established – dating back to 1792 – and still family owned with three brothers currently running the show.
A quick talk outside in the beautifully manicured gardens was followed by a skip around the winery before we arrived in the very elegant tasting rooms. We tasted through another exceptional range of whites, reds and ports before moving onto the final stage of our day – dinner at Bomfim 1896 – the new restaurant at Quinta do Bomfim, the home of Dows Port.
The dining room is wonderfully elegant with fabulous views over the river and an open plan kitchen with all the staff all bedecked with very stylish uniforms.
A superb dinner ensued: pate en croute, cod with fava beans, pan fried duck and a delicious meringue tart. Symington estate wines and Grahams 10 Year old and 20 Year old Tawny port accompanied the meal. A great final meal, though not the final event of the tour…