Portugal Trip 2018 (3): A rainy day's Port lodge crawl in Vila Nova de Gaia, and an inaugural Francesinha sandwich.

I've prefaced the travel narrative of our visit to Portugal (which has been backdated) with a series called Focus on Portugal, which provides background on a European destination that's scandalously little known to Americans. Previously: "São Bento Railway Station, Mercado do Bolhão, Jardim da Cordoaria and a big Liverpool win."

For breakfast, we stopped at the Mercador Cafe on Rua Flores; prices are reasonable across the board, and the Eggs Benedict a pure delight.

Once again heavily draped against the rain, our route led through the Ribeira to the lower level of the Dom Luís I Bridge, and access by foot to Vila Nova de Gaia for a few hours of aimless Port samplings at the many companies doing business there. Some of them are centuries old, and embody timeless rituals of imbibing.

At various times, we stopped into Kopke, Ramos Pinto, Ferreira and Quinta do Noval -- famous brands all -- and the latter was the clear favorite.

The 557-mile long Douro River flows from east to west, from Spain into Portugal, and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Porto.

The Douro vinhateiro (winegrowing), an area of the Douro Valley in Portugal long devoted to vineyards, has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Traditionally, the wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats called rabelos, to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. In the 1960s and 1970s, dams with locks were built along the river, allowing river traffic from the upper regions in Spain and along the border. Nowadays Port wine is transported to Vila Nova de Gaia in tanker trucks.

Porto was, and remains, the river-to-sea transit and finishing point for Port wine. A couple dozen lodges/cellars are situated on the the hillside in Gaia; they offer tastings, tours and retail sales. There's nothing quite like sipping on Port wine on a rainy, misty morning, not as an exclamation mark following a fine evening meal, but as the prelude to lunch.

At midday, right by the river in Gaia, we enjoyed our first Francesinha sandwiches, which I previously explained here.

In case you're wondering how the view from Gaia back toward Porto varies on rainy days ...

 ... as opposed to sunny ones:

Filters don't hurt, either ... but Porto probably never looks quite this good.

We hit a few curio shops on the way back to the hotel.

It was a quiet and early night; Diana didn't eat again after the massive sandwich, and had only a nibble across the street at the Italian eatery. We'd be rising on Friday morning at 4:00 a.m. to hop a cab to the airport for the flight to Funchal, Madeira, and so for my nightcap, two 10-year Tawny Ports at the hotel bar worked far better than sleeping pills.

Next: A visit to Madeira.

Focus on Portugal: Vila Nova de Gaia, the Douro and other tasty aspects of Port wine.

Vila Nova de Gaia (photo credit).

Port’s longstanding popularity as an after-dinner drink can be credited to its fortification: About halfway through the fermentation process, a dose of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardiente is added to the wine, both fortifying it and halting the fermentation before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol. The resulting wine is both stronger and sweeter than traditional table wine, and comes in several varietals.

If memory serves, it was my Danish buddy Kim Wiesener -- intrepid and long-suffering tour guide for our 1987 fact-finding journey into the USSR and Poland -- who introduced me to the considerable glories of Port wine.

I recall the two of us drinking Port together on several occasions, from Moscow to London and various points in between, during a time when he was known to be cellaring prime vintages and periodically pulling out a bottle just to make sure all was well.

Since then I've become passably fluent with the language of Port, and we used to have regular holiday gatherings at the Public House of the Pants Down Pot Luck Port Tasting Circle, or some such, which was great fun while it lasted. This past Christmas my friends Kira and Ed resurrected the idea, but I was unable to attend and surely will make amends in 11 months.

In 2000, I visited two or three of the "lodges" at Vila Nova de Gaia, where tours can be taken and samples of the "basics" nipped.

Vila Nova de Gaia is just across the Douro River from Porto (Oporto). This is the real Port Wine town; it's where the lodges of the historic port wine producers are strung out along the "Ribeira" or water-front with their caves, aging tanks, and tasting rooms. Signs emblazoned with English names dominate the rooftops of lodges in the upper areas of the steep bank, while the home town producers' modest lodges are more often found tucked into the lower slopes.

They're all here because in 1225 King Alfonso gave Vila Nova de Gaia town status, then quickly handed it off to the aristocracy because the bishops of Oporto were charging unreasonable shipping charges on the wines. Despite the "new-sounding" name, Gaia sits on a pre-Roman hamlet. It has a longer history than you'd think when folks call it a "suburb" of Porto.

Later I traveled up the Douro River by train to the town of Pinhão, in the epicenter of vast tracts of vineyards. Pinhão historically functioned as a collection point for the wine being shipped downstream to Vila Nova de Gaia for aging and storage.

We'll see what happens this time around. Diana likes 20-year Tawny, while I'm content with Ruby on a daily basis. But if an appropriate vintage presents itself, almost anything can happen.

Port Wine: Portugal's Douro Valley, Making Port Wine & the History of Port

Port is a fortified wine from the remote vineyards in Portugal's Douro Valley. Here, in the Douro Valley, time has almost stood still. You will not find the latest wine making techniques and fancy equipment. Instead, you will find a wine industry much the way it was over a hundred years ago. Yet, in spite of it, or because of it, vintage Port is one of the world's greatest wines.

Port takes its name from the city of Porto that is situated at the mouth of the 560-mile long Rio Douro or River of Gold. Although many port-style wines are made around the world – most notably Australia, South Africa and the United States – the strict usage of the terms Port or Porto refer only to wines produced in Portugal. It is these wines that we will explore here.

Reminder: Pants Down Potluck Port Drinkers Circle, tonight.

Tonight is the occasion of the annual gathering of the Pants Down Potluck Port Drinkers Circle of New Albany, Southern Indiana, Oz and points afar.

Last year's gathering was especially memorable ... wasn't it? Come to think of it, I can't remember. I feel cheated somehow, even deprived ... but so it goes.

As before, we'll be imbibing in the Prost banquet and special events wing of Rich O's Public House/NABC. Specifically, we'll be in the "gallery" to the left of the main seating area. Starting time is 7:00 p.m.

Note that because we're "bringing our own," both in terms of alcohol and nibbles, one goal of the gathering is to be self-sufficient, and to permit the wait staff to garner vast profits from non-port-drinking customers. If you will be dining at the pub prior to the port tasting, please allow sufficient time and go through the usual drill. I will instruct the servers to expect that some people will be keeping their tabs open for drinks later in the evening.

Aside from that, as always, this year's tasting is open to all comers, with no cover or minimum, but with the only firm requirement being that participants bring a bottle of Port and a snack (cheese, salami, olives or other munchables) to the gathering.

Of course, in lieu of a contribution, it remains conceivable that a fine cigar for the hosting Publican might buy your way inside, although remember that Prost is smoke-free, and we'll have to retreat to the bar for the consolations of tobacco.

Coverage from stellar events the last three years can be viewed here:

2007: This year's gathering of the Pants Down Potluck Port Drinkers Circle will be Thursday, December 27.

2006: Pants Down Port Drinkers on December 28: A recap.

2005: Port wine is a holiday tradition.

Regrettably, traditional co-conspirator Tim Eads cannot be with us this evening.

Briefly googling in preparation, we find:

Into Wine: Enjoying Port

The Vintage Port Site (operated by the Symington Family Port Companies)

Prior to my only visit to Portugal in 2000, the Danish gonzo journalist Kim Wiesener, a longtime friend, recommended Richard Mayson's "Port and the Douro" as the finest overview of all things Port. Indeed, it is excellent, and if you're interested in Port, it's a must-have.

There's a newer edition available, and for future reference, I'm sure that Randy Smith at Destinations Booksellers would be able to track it down for those interested. Here's a capsule description:

Mayson recounts the history of this great fortified wine up to the present day, including an assessment of major vintages back to 1896. He examines the physical condition of the region, grape varieties and vineyards with an appraisal of each of the main quintas, providing a directory of individual producers and shippers.