Inês Duarte, Pedro Félix and Tiago Rio, the three students from the Padre António Martins de Oliveira Secondary School who were the winners of the Wine Bottle Label Contest, enjoyed their “Viagem ao Douro” award, between 15 and 17 April, in an offer by the Municipality of Lagoa, organizer of the event.
The winners and their companions were accommodated in a hotel in Porto, but could not take the Douro cruise, as planned, due to the weather conditions at the time. Alternatively, they benefited from a different program with several visits to the Douro region.
On the first day, the delegation visited a Quinta at the confluence of the Tedo and Douro rivers, between Peso da Régua and Pinhão. With stunning views over the river, this farm practices solely organic agriculture and produces port, table and olive oil, offering visits to the mills and wine aging warehouses, as well as tastings.
In Pinhão, they had lunch in a traditional restaurant, then visited a company in Casal de Loivos, which produces and sells wines from the Douro region and where it was possible to observe by students and taste some of its products by the companions: red wines, whites, rosé and grape juice, as well as the oil from the olive trees on the property, characterized by its smoothness and low acidity.
The trip continued to a Vinification and Logistics Center, in Alijó, with a visit to the facilities that include a winery with a capacity of 6 million liters per year and a storage cellar for about 22 million liters of aging wine. Since this company does not have its own vineyards, it uses raw material from around 3.200 winemakers.
On the second day of the trip, the delegation took a guided tour of the city of Porto, where they had the opportunity to see Foz – where the river and the sea mix and create a magical environment – a place where you can hike to the Parque da City, one of the favorite places of Porto for physical exercise.
In the imposing Cathedral of Porto, a building with a Roman-Gothic structure from the XNUMXth century. XII and XIII, it was possible to see the beautiful gilded carvings, paintings, sculptures, sacred art treasures, a romantic rose window, covered with polychrome marbles and beautiful baroque tiles in the cloister.
They followed the streets of the old city to the S. Bento station – considered one of the most beautiful in the world, where they had the opportunity to see the walls decorated with tiles that depict the history of transport and Portugal – and on Avenida dos Aliados, a from the postcards of the city, the place where the people of Porto gather to celebrate special moments, to the old center where they visited the Torre dos Clérigos and the baroque-style church, completed in 1763.
After lunch in Vila Nova de Gaia, they visited one of the main and most prestigious tourist attractions, the Port wine cellars, a brand created in 1751 by a family of wine growers from the Douro region – which has a rich tradition and a prominent role in the history of Port Wine – and where you see the cellars where the sweet and fortified Port wine is produced from grapes grown in the Douro region and sent to the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, where it is prepared and aged.
Finally, everyone enjoyed a moment of relaxation in the Ribeira along the River Douro, in the heart of the city's historic center – with a privileged view of the wine cellars and the D. Luís bridge – with its narrow streets and typical houses with facades colors that preserve history, contrasts and uniqueness.
The rest of the day on Sunday was free, used by the delegation to stroll through the streets of downtown Porto.
Comments