"Porto is called the grey city which is in complete contrast to its counterpart Lisbon, the white city and the capital of Portugal,” says Joao Almeida Silva, an architect in Porto. With granite being liberally used in Porto due to its easy availability, the city gets the label of “grey city” from the colours that dominate it. Portugal’s second largest city, Porto is edgy and quite unlike Lisbon. Its Unesco-listed clustered old neighbourhood of Ribiera, the Sao Bento railway station, with its blue-and-white ceramic tiles or azulejos depicting Portugal’s history, and, Douro, the river “of gold” or the Douro are a few of the many attractions across the city. But the city, which lent its name to the country, has much more to offer. There is an exciting culinary scene as well, with its tripas à moda do Porto (dish made of tripes and beans), bacalhau (salted cod) and, of course, the port wine which gets its name from the port city. The fascination for this fortified wine, which now has connoisseurs across the world, has long enamoured Russian tsars and English lords. And so, one afternoon, I cross the Douro river from its famed Ribiera and head to Vila Nova de Gaia where most of the wine cellars are located. I take the road to Taylor’s to taste its port wines and also to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city. It is here that Ana Margarida, a wine expert, gives me a lesson on the port. “Port has a long association with the English. The English ships would dock here, goods would be unloaded and, from here, wine, olive oil, salt and other local products would be loaded into the ships to be taken back to England,” she says. In those days, the acidic wine produced in the humid conditions of Minho province wasn’t much to the liking of the English. So, wine merchants like Taylor’s moved inland, behind the Marao mountains in the upper Douro valley, where the hot climate on the hillside helped viticulture. “The hot and dry climate of Douro valley are perfect to produce thick-skinned, concentrated grapes with high sugar content, lending a beautiful aroma, intense colour and flavour. The best port is tread by feet, as its crushing is gentle and intense at the same time,” says Ana, as we walk towards their cellar. After the crushing, it is fortified and the wine stays in Douro till the end of winter. It is then transported to Gaia, beside Porto. We walk through the cold cellar where casks lie one above the other and large vats are lined up across its length. “There are three types of aging in port wine — in wooden oak casks that produce tawny ports with high oxidation; wines that mature in huge vats are full-bodied ruby ports, and, late bottled vintage. Vintage port, after staying for about 22 months in the vat, is aged further in bottles for at least 20 to 30 years, and has no contact with air,” Ana says. I taste the port wines, each with its unique character and colour. Its sweetness is rich and smooth on the palate that leaves a lasting impression. My interaction with Ana piques my interest and I am keen to stomp on the grapes and watch the locals in action. The next morning, after a two-hour drive traversing the sinewy mountainous landscape beside the Douro river, and crossing many quinta (wine growing estates), I reach the little town of Pinhao. Then I head to Quinta da Roêda that belongs to the wine-makers Croft. Here, I join 59-year-old Maria Helena to stomp the harvest of the season. As I enter, calf-deep into the cold red slurry of the vine fruit inside a large tank, I wonder if I would slip and fall into it! Maria puts her arm around my shoulders and I follow suit. We take three steps ahead and then tread back three steps in a criss-cross fashion in unison, across the lagar (treading tank). As we work our way, Maria breaks into a Portuguese harvest song which I don’t quite understand, but thoroughly enjoy — it is perfectly synced to our rhythmic steps. The air has a fruity smell of crushed grapes fermenting, and, soon, I lose track of time with all the treading and the punching of the grape skins down with macacos (long wooden plungers). As we finish our exercise and prepare to head home, I exclaim in my rudimentary Portuguese, “Obrigado!” (thank-you), and hug her. She gives me a smile that is as sweet as any port wine of the land. And I remember American journalist Margaret Fuller who said, “Wine is earth’s answer to sun.” Rathina Sankari is a freelance writer in Pune.
