I went on a day long tour of the Duoro Valley, the famous wine region in Porto. We started off the day at a vineyard called Quinta dos Castelares. Here, we tasted 1 white, 1 rosé, 2 reds, 3 types of honey (chestnut, rosemary and heather flower), and their olive oil. I learned so much about wine throughout the day, I started taking notes so I could remember everything!
I was fascinated how different wine and olive oil tastes based on what comes before during or after each taste. We tried a red wine aged in a California oak barrel, before and after eating a piece of dark chocolate — it truly felt like I was drinking two different wines! The host also gave us two pieces of bread, one simply drenched in their olive oil and one with the same olive oil but sprinkled with sugar. Again, such a small change that made a huge difference.
After lunch at another winery, we tasted a 10 year, 20 year and 30 year aged port. We were instructed to swish around the port in our mouth as if it was mouthwash and after about 15 seconds we were allowed to swallow. She explained that the spicier the feeling in our throat and tongue, the younger and less aged the port. It was my first time doing a port tasting so I enjoyed learning the trick about the spice.
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