Domingo 06/11/2011 AlexClark

VINHODOPORTO
VINTAGEPORTO

THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

20,000 blueandwhite tiles (azulejos) depicting With its 14thcentury walls, bell tower and ornatetiles,thereismuchtoseeinPorto.But asourwriterfindsonaweekendbreak,there's onereallygoodreasontovisit. Be warned: stopping for a sandwich in Porto mightflooryoufortherestoftheafternoon,at least if you tuck into the local speciality, a Francesinha generous amounts of steak and cured ham stuffed between slices of toast, swathed in a mass of melted cheese and then doused with a boozy tomato sauce, with chips and beer optional but recommended. On the bright side for the health conscious, there's plenty of chance to walk it off in Porto's vertiginous streets, which rise up from the banksoftheDouroriverinajumbleofwinding paths, broad avenues and shady squares. And multipleopportunitiestostopandstare:atthe
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scenesfromPortuguesehistoryintheSoBento railway station; at the iron facades that adorn countlessshopsandrestaurants,andwhichwill, our guide assures us, survive the city's gradual modernisation; at the city's magnificent Romanesque cathedral; at the famous and wonderfullypreservedLellobookshop,inwhich a diminutive cart distributes stock on a shopfloor railway. If you get lost, navigate by thetallbelltoweroftheClrigoschurch,visible from virtually everywhere in the city; or by the surviving sections of the 14thcentury

Fernandine defensive walls, hewn out of the graniteonandoutofwhichPortoisbuilt. Chances are, though, that these and other attractions the vast glassandsteel Casa da MsicadesignedbyRemKoolhaas,theSerralves


Domingo 06/11/2011 AlexClark

VINHODOPORTO

THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

Museum of Contemporary Art in its beautifully landscaped gardens are not the first things that spring to mind when you think of Porto. They aren't for my father a semiretired sommelier or me. Speculating about what to expect on the short plane ride from Stansted, wecanmusteronlyoneword:port. It's a correct but partial view that the city's tourismofficials,hoteliersandrestaurateursare keentoexpandbydrawingattentiontoPortoas a breathoffreshair alternative to other European citybreak destinations, such as Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam. For the first two nights, we stay in the palatial Yeatman hotel,whichsitsoverlookingtheDourofromthe Vila Nova de Gaia region on the south side of the river. Barely a year old, the hotel is the brainchildandpetprojectofAdrianBridge,the managingdirectorofTaylor's,andalthoughport andwinearecentraltoitsaestheticfromthe decantershapedswimmingpooltotheCaudalie Vinothrapie treatments in the vast spa he is keentomakesurePortonolongerhidesitslight underabushel. Forthefairlywellheeledtraveller,theYeatman is a luxurious and comfortable base, all hushed corridors you could drive a car down and impeccable service; right next to the byzantine networkofnarrowroadsthatconnectthecity's long established portwine cellars and ashort

hop over one of Porto's six river bridges to the bustling north side. Those who prefer to stay rightintheheartoftownmighttrytheTeatro,a more modern (and modestly priced) hotel that takesitsdesigninspirationfromthetheatrethat stood on the site in the 19th century. Going upscale again, there's the fivestar, almost implausibly beautiful Infante Sagres, where the likes of Bob Dylan and the Dalai Lama have stayed. We don't bunk in with them, but the hotel has recently opened abrasseriestyle restaurantcalledBook,andweenjoyadelicious dinnerthere. Wealsovisitacoupleofposherestablishments that seem to fall in with the image of the hip new Porto currently being promoted. They are fine, but it seems to both of us that they offer the kind of food and atmosphere not hard to find in most European capitals; selfconsciously refined, artfully presented, comparatively expensive. But the one culinary experience not to miss is eating barbecued sardines in the harbour district of Matosinhos, a short drive fromthecitycentre.Followthesmokeandhead for the Rua Heris de Frana, where you can take your pick from a lengthy row of plainly decorated restaurants, each with an outsized pavement grill and bursting with people all piscine life is on the menu, but the sardines, newly caught and whacked on the barbecue
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Domingo 06/11/2011 AlexClark

VINHODOPORTO

THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

with nothing but salt, are sensational (and unfeasiblycheap). Porto's enthusiasts are right to point out that there'sfarmoretothecitythanitsmostfamous productbutyou'dbeunwisenottopayitsome attention.Sitonthebanksoftheriverandsipit in its white, pink, ruby, tawny and latebottled vintage incarnations, looking idly at the rabelo boatsthatarenowatouristattractionbutwere traditionallyusedtotransportcasksofthestuff downriverfromtheDouroValley.And,ifyou're hereformorethanacoupleofdays,don'tmiss outonthechancetoheadfurtherinlandtothe small towns and neverending vineyards of the Douroitself,lessthanacoupleofhoursawayby car and also reachable by train to Rgua or Pinho, or by river cruise. We drive and experience proper dropped jaws when we turn offthemotorwayandarriveatthefirstviewing point: from high up, all you can see is avast expanse of broad river and enough grapes, it seems,tokeeptheworlddrunkforever. In24hours,wemanagetolunchonroastkidat Rgua's splendid Castas e Pratos restaurant, visittheDouromuseum,relaxinthecoolluxury oftheAquapuraspahotelandsamplethewares of no fewer than four different quintas (including the Quinta do Seixo, owned by Sandeman,where,somewhatcomically,weare shownaroundbyamaninthetrademarkblack

hatandcape).Atone,thefamilyownedQuinta da Pacheca, my dad and I sample the delicious wines and port so comprehensively that a cooling swim and a short nap are required before dinner (after which, of course, more port). We're certainly not up to the grape treading that you can participate in at some of the smaller quintas although most grape crushing is now mechanised, traditional methodsarestilltobefound.Spittoonsarenot much in evidence and so a word of caution: unlessyouareteetotalandhavenervesofsteel, considerenlistingtheservicesofadrivertotake you on quinta visits: when we visit, during the September harvest, the fairly challenging roads are further complicated by the constant traffic ofgrapetrucks. Bytheend,IfeelIknowmoreaboutportwine than Ihad imagined possible: that its grapes growsowellherebecauseoftheschistsoilthat regulates nighttime temperatures; that one of its greatest producers was a woman named Dona Antnia Adelaide Ferreira; and that the littlechapelsthatdottheriversidesprangupto bless the rabelo boatmen who might come a cropperinitstreacherousshallows.Ialsorealise thatIwillcomebackhereandtoPortotime and again, and that its champions are right to think it can give other shorthaul destinations arunfortheirmoney.
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