Portugal Revisited – 11. Dinner At Quinta do Noval

“The name Quinta do Noval evokes for me above all a place. A magical place, an historic place. A piece of the earth capable of producing wines that are among the world’s greatest. The wines of Quinta do Noval express the greatness of this terroir, of this majestic landscape. They evoke also the centuries…

Footloose In The Douro – 12. Train To Porto

The little train leaves Pinhão and snakes through the valley hugging the Douro River. The scenery is breathtaking. Many say it is one of the great railway journeys of the world On a bright and sunny afternoon last June, we took the Douro train to Porto. We had just come down the winding mountain road…

Footloose In The Douro – 9. Quinta do Bomfim

We went to Bomfim after lunch with Dirk Niepoort. The road runs along the Douro back to Pinhao. You cross the river and turn right just after Vintage House Hotel and the entrance to Bomfim is right in front of you. It is only 200 yards from the railway station. One of the Douro Valley’s…

Footloose In The Douro – 7. Days At Bom Retiro

Quinta do Bom Retiro on the Toro River, lies in the heart of a sumptuous garden built many decades ago. It has a swimming pool which is one of the oldest in the Douro, and fruit and exotic trees brought from different corners of the world. Today, the 110 ha estate owned by Ramos Pintos,…

Footloose In The Douro – 6. Train To Pinhao

“A true engineering marvel when it opened in 1887, the Linha do Douro (Douro Line) still thrills passengers today. In its heyday it crossed the boarder to Spain (for a through service to Salamanca and Madrid) and sprouted some stunning valley branch lines, but even though the branch lines are no more, it’s still some ride – 160km…