Silver Coast Portugal

The port house Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman in Porto is one of the oldest port houses. It was founded in 1692 as a family company, now in existence for over three centuries and is still a family business. To this day Taylor's is led by the descendants of the Yeatman and Fladgate's.

Both families are since its founding partners. The company has never been sold, bought or taken over and they are rightly proud on that! Their goal is to make good port to sell. This company has been fully independent during all these years.

Taylor grows its grapes in two large vineyards in the Douro Valley, namely Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Quinta de Vargellas seems to be one of the finest vineyards in the world and is 176 hectares. The vineyards are located a considerable distance from the port house itself which is located at the top of the bank of the Douro which runs through the centre of Porto.

Late September is harvest time and the grapes are placed special plastic boxes to counter the fermenting process as long as possible. During the day you pick the grapes and at night the pickers pressing a part of the grapes with bare feet. These grapes are the source of the best wines of Taylor's. It is impossible to press all the grapes, however Taylor has invested much time and money in equipment to mimic the effect of barefoot presses.

In the spring following the harvest, the wine is brought to the Port house on the Douro. The drums go as 60 kilometres downstream toward the cool cellars. The content of the barrels varies between 600 and 22,000 litres, and these are divided into three cellars.

Not only can you do a tour for a few Euros at Taylor but by every port houses. Upon entering, a movie is shown that you watch while sipping a white port. The tour closes it with a tasting. For lovers it is possible to buy in the shop port or port glasses.

Those who visit Porto, be sure to visit one of the port houses! An absolute must.

By coincidence we discovered 10 years ago the resort town of Foz do Arelho. Through the internet we came across the website of a Dutch broker who had his office in this village. In January 2005 we went for a week to Porto and Lisbon, and as well Foz do Arelho was on our list. So Sunday we drove from Lisbon to Foz and when we arrived we saw then this old and some neglected beach place.

But anno 2014 Foz is a fantastic nice seaside resort, both in summer and winter. The roads have improved and there is a new boulevard with plenty of parking places. Along the promenade you will find great beach bars where you can have a drink or eat lunch or dinner. Also outside the summer season it is a good place on the terraces. They lie in the shade overlooking the promenade and the beach. Who alights in the morning, slowly sees flooding the terraces, tourists and locals, as well as groups of cyclists and motorcyclists. We are a fan of this place and come here on nice days when we have time. Relax with a book and a glass of wine, we stay for a few hours easily.

The beach is wide and you will find next to beach visitors also (kite) surfers, kayakers and fishermen encounter. But for everyone there is space and is an ideal resort for families with small children. The local government spent money to open the passage to the sea as it was silted up. This had many implications for the underlying pond, such as excess water during heavy rainfall which business was partly flooded. Now they are working on a solution to permanently open the opening.