The Charmings of the Douro Valley
Douro Valley is considered one of the prettiest wine regions to visit. The Douro Valley wine tourism region is quoted by several reviewers, as one of the most unique and enriching wine tourism experiences in the world. The wine region is quoted alongside huge tourism destinations like: France, Argentina, and Italy.
But why? What can we expect from this region? What is the pearl of the actual wine tourism experience?
In this blog post, I will briefly describe my Douro Valley experience, the amazing, the good, and if there are the bad points. And of course, together, we will discover and reveal whether it is a complete wine tourism experience, or not.
Located in the North of Portugal, the Douro wine region is well known for its aesthetic looks. The Douro contains a huge number of wineries, winemakers, and its huge hectares are covered with vineyards.
Everywhere you look, be sure, Wine will be written all over.
Our experience started in Peso-da-Régua, one of the most notable wine cruize regions. We went on a half-day cruise with a gastronomical experience included. And it was an amazing one!! The focus words were: gastronomical experience, esthetic, and most of all escapist.
In Douro Valley, get ready to be taken far from any reality you think you know about wine tourism.
Douro Valley: A Wine Tourism immersive and esthetic experience
Wine tourism in Douro Valley is one of a kind. Most wine tourism experiences focus on entertaining tourists, as well as educating them regarding wineries, grapes, wine varieties, and much more.
In the Douro, just get prepared to see something more unique than ever. The beauty of the landscapes covered with vineyards, everywhere you look, be sure you’ll breathe wine, beauty, and feel happier than ever if you are a true wine tourism lover.
An unique and green beauty
One highlight of the Douro beauty captured my attention: a green river. The actual phenomenon of the river being surrounded by vineyards reflects a green beauty above the river which is unique. During the cruise, you can see several cellars identified with unique signage, get to know every wine producer of the region while you make a super enjoyable boat tour.
Going up and down: a 30 meters uneveness
In Douro Valley, there is something that I had never seen before. Due to the fact that there is a daw in the Douro river, you have the opportunity to go up and down in the boat. The cruise stops in a container that gets filled with water while you are inside the boat and, like that, you are 30 meters higher than you were. Super impressive as it is!
Pinhão: New discoveries in Douro Valley region
As a truly immersive experience, this cruise allows you to discover different sorts of places, and views. After a lunch served aboard, we did 40 minutes stop in a village located nearshore called Pinhão. Very pretty to see and highlight how it is amazingly entertained for a small village.
Gastronomy and wine tasting aboard
Wine in different flavours
This unique experience involved a gastronomical degustation for all cruise participants. And, could it be a wine tourism experience without a wine tasting? I don’t think it would be as amusing.
The wine experience started from the moment we stepped on the boat. We were immediately directed to our table which had our name on it. A few minutes later, time to appreciate the boat and surroundings, we were presented with an appetizer: A Porto wine. However, it was not the one we are all used to. It was white Porto wine, a rare combination that even in Portugal, may be hard to find.
Then, to accompany the main dishes, we were offered a white or red wine by regional producers. Amazing wines from a well-known region of Portugal, served at a perfect temperature, perfect glasses, and perfect aroma and flavor to combine with an amazing boat tour.
A true portuguese feast a board
As stated before, we did choose a gastronomical experience. Who does not want to eat a beautiful meal on a boat surrounded by vineyards, at least once in their lives?
That’s what we did: a gastronomical experience above the green waters of the Douro Valley. The meal had four parts:
- Appetizer: a White porto wine, very rare, sweat, to “open the appetitie” with some crackers to balance the sweatness of the wine.
- Entrée: 3 typical portuguese dishes: Mushrooms seasoned, porc ear (yes,it sounds weird, but it is increably tasty), and finally, cod fish portuguese migas. It is not in vain that Portugal has more than a 100 different bacalhau dishes right? that is mandatory to taste at least one f them, in any portuguese tourism experience.
- Main dish: A really tasty steak, classical from the north of portugal where meat is often the start of the plate.
- Dessert: A cheescake just to finish the meal with a light flavor. Portuguese people say “humans have two stomachs, one for food, and the other one for desserts”. That is wy, there is always room for a nice dessert and portuguese coffee at the end of every meal!
This amazing mix between visiting the Douro Valley, and eating a very typical meal is just breathtaking. However, I would like to highlight that the cruise found the sweet spot between the elegance of the trip, combined with keeping the tradition alive.
Douro Valley: A truly portuguese pearl
Portuguese Music showcase
Get ready for a full-on Portuguese music showcase. It is always pleasant when you engage in a Touristical activity and you actually feel immersed in another culture. This Douro Valley cruise was not an exception. It was all about transmitting the Portuguese culture to everyone on the boat, with the elegance that a wine experience must have.
You must all be asking “Was it Fado all the way?”. Well, I wouldn’t personally matter. However, there is much more to Portuguese music than just Fado. There were of course very enjoyable fado songs during the cruise, but there were also more modern songs from the most well-known Portuguese artists. Showcasing all Portuguese culture has to offer to your ears and soul.
The experience was amazing, very pleasant, and a truly escapist environment that is rare to live while engaging in other wine tourism experiences. It is actually a feeling of freedom, uniqueness, and a thought that constantly crosses our mind “Does this really exists?”. Yes, it does.
But, is it a complete wine tourism experience? Can we actually taste the sweet spot of the 4 E’s wine tourism realms? Regarding my own specific experience in the Douro Valley, there were not a lot of educational activities. The trip was mainly focused on letting tourists enjoy by themselves and appreciate a good time. Nevertheless, the other three realms were very present: “entertainment, esthetic and escapist”.
What are you waiting for? Make your reservation to visit this unmissable place. It was a morning ride, but do not hesitate to make the all-day cruise, it surely will make this experience even more magical.
