PORTUGAL WINE ADVENTURE - PART VI: GUIMARÃES

by Don Nunn

To any world traveler (as diametrically opposed to tourist), experiencing the indigenous customs of the host country is welcomed as an interesting and educational opportunity to learn about another culture.  The French greet virtually every stranger on the sidewalk going in the opposite direction with “Bonjour” (contrary to their reputation among American tourists as being somewhat stuffy), and the Scots accompany every (always hearty) breakfast with the world’s best bacon.   Sparkling wine available to mix with the ever present orange juice (if so inclined), and warm milk for the coffee are ubiquitous Portuguese breakfast offerings.

After leaving Porto, our Portugal journey continued northward, with the next stop being the Pousada de Guimarães Santa Marinha, a completely restored monastery (Mosteiro).  Proof that true craftsmen still exist (at least in Europe) is everywhere evident in the restored historical edifices throughout the continent, and Portugal proved to be no exception.

Guimaraes from Pousada

The monastery at Guimarães has been restored architecturally as needed, but the new and refurbished masonry work is indistinguishable from the original, of which a large part remains.  Plumbing and electrical is installed in historical buildings constructed centuries ago, but is done in such a way that the wires and pipes are unnoticeable.  The magnificent end result is a four star hotel in an historical building furnished with all of the modern conveniences, including a fine dining restaurant.  Yet the guest walks the same cloisters, and muses contemplatively in the same terraces and courtyards, as the Augustinian Monks who built and occupied it starting eight centuries ago.

Most of the antiques that now fill the Pousada are hotel furnishing additions that enhance the atmospheric surroundings, but were not present when the monks walked the halls.  No doubt, however, the stark and uncomfortable looking benches that line the long and spacious corridors of the present Pousada were familiar to the spartan lives of those long ago monks.   Sternly self-disciplined by their religious vows, living rigorously simple lives, perhaps those monks would not approve of the comfort that permeates their hotel monastery today, but I certainly did.

Terrace at Pousada de Guimaraes

The Pousada sits, as did its predecessor monastery, high on a hill with a commanding view over the valley below, in which reposes the substantial town of Guimarães.  My favorite place in the Pousada was a very large terraço (terrace) at the end of a long hallway of guest rooms on the top story of the former religious edifice.  I found it early in my customary exploration just after checking into our room.  The terrace was centered with a 15 foot high fountain, covered on its one enclosed side wall with giant azulejo (tile) panels depicting historical themes (everything here was overly spacious or of large stature) , and overlooked Guimarães far below.

Open on three sides and supported by immense (of course) stone columns, the terrace was mostly shaded from the afternoon sun and provided the perfect place to relax, enjoy the view, and reflect upon the satisfaction of finding such an atmospheric lodging in which to spend the night.  The terraço was intended for the common use of all hotel guests, but we happily found ourselves entirely alone to soak up the ambience.

Pousada de Guimaraes

Guimarães was Portugal’s first capital and also the birthplace of Afonso Henriques, the first King.  Its history dates back to the 10th Century, and the medieval town center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One custom that I could do without is the meal cover charge, 4€ each at this location.  Nevertheless it is a small price to pay for the enjoyment of a relaxing dinner amongst the stone columns and buried memories of the dining area in this historical monastery.   The restaurant area was filled on all sides by many more azulejo panels.  As these panels are done in cobalt blue, are mostly antiques themselves (fifty or more to hundreds of years old), and depict primarily historical themes, I knew before embarking on the trip that I would be a fan.  Of all the things I like about Portugal, the Azulejo Panels are certainly my favorite (yes, even more than Port).

 Dining Room Pousada de Guimaraes

Dinner tonight consisted of a cured duck salad with pine nuts & raspberry vinaigrette starter, intermezzo of carpaccio with melon ice cream, fig jam, and herbed crème cheese, and main course of filet mignon, with a side dish of mushrooms and rice served in a cast iron pot.

The wine this night was a red from the Dão region.  The name comes from the Dão River.  The Dão is a mountainous region of north central Portugal, a little east of Guimarães, and is favored with a moderate climate.  The Dão has its own DOC, and for the Dão DOC to be on the label, it must be produced with at least 20% Touriga Nacional grapes.  The wine I had was blended with a mouthful of other Portuguese varietals.  The cost of the wine was consumer friendly.

This was the best meal of the trip thus far.  On my own personal 5 point scale for food quality,  I rated it 4+, a score that was only equaled or exceeded twice in three weeks, and both of those other times were in surprising locations.

In our next installment, we continue still farther north, to the Peneda-Gerês National Park, which demarcates a portion of Portugal’s border with northwest Spain.  The National Park is a mountainous area of forests, lakes, and remarkable beauty. 

Portugal Wine Adventure - Part II

by Don Nunn
As promised in our first installment on travel and wine in Portugal, this second segment takes us northward from the coastal Lisbon area on the way to Porto, production headquarters for Port Wine.  From the seaside resort of Ericeira, we make our way north on day two up the Atlantic coast, and then inland only a few kilometers to the medieval hilltop village of Obidos, where a dazzling Pousada hotel in a real Castle awaits us.  Obidos was once an important seaport, but by the sixteenth century the river silted up, diminishing its former strategic importance.

Pousada Obidos

The Pousadas de Portugal serve the same purpose as a hotel chain (providing accommodations and meals), but are as different from a hotel chain as night is from day.  If one wants to travel with the dual objective of both living in style and simultaneously immersing oneself in the culture and history of Portugal, Pousadas are your cup of tea, or in the case of this writer and our readers, your cup of “vinho”!

Pousadas are operated by the Pestana Hotel Group.  While Pestana owns other hotels in Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, and elsewhere, the Pousadas are a collection of more than 30 hotels throughout Portugal that have historic or  cultural value, or especially atmospheric settings, all possessed of  enormous character.  Approximately half of the Pousadas have been converted into five star hotels located in ancient castles (Obidos being one), convents, or monasteries that have been completely restored, while at the same time being fully furnished with modern amenities.  They come not only with all of their historic charm, but also with all of the comfort desired by an upscale traveler.  With so many historic structures to renovate, the restoration specialists are true modern day craftsmen.  They install modern plumbing, electricity and other conveniences in such a manner as to render them entirely unnoticeable, thus preserving intact their historical appearance.  Although Pousadas are top of the line hotels, Portugal is truly affordable in comparison with all of the other central and northern European countries.

Obidos Village

     Arriving at Obidos it was easy, as is frequently the case, to view from a distance the approximate location of Pousada Castelo Obidos.  Traveling by car, one arrives at the base of the medieval village.  Typically the ancient fortifications encircle the medieval village on the highest point in the surrounding area where the original town was sited for defensive purposes, outside of which over the ensuing centuries, the modern town or city has spilled downwards.  The Castle is always situated at the very top, with the other important structures of the era generally situated nearby.  Convents and monasteries, were typically also situated in a prominent location with a commanding view over the countryside below.

Knowing the Castle was now the Pousada hotel itself, it was therefore evident that my destination would be found at the very top of medieval Obidos village.  Possessing that understanding, and executing it successfully, are sometimes two entirely different things.  As anyone who has ever visited a medieval European hill village has learned, the “roads” almost never have a straight portion.  The main routes wind up and down the hill in a generally circular fashion, while the side “streets” or alleys intersect in all manner of angular arrangement, none of them possessing any reasonable resemblance to a 90 degree turn.  Further, the routes of ingress and egress were originally constructed for horses, carts, and foot traffic, making them exceedingly narrow, and poorly suited for an automobile.  Happily, on this particular occasion, I was able to negotiate the climb to the Castle without any memorable misadventure.

Obidos Castle

The archway through the 14th century walled ramparts into the old village signified that the Pousada was at hand.  It is pleasurably convenient to arrive by automobile at one’s castle hotel for the night, parking steps from the hotel entrance (in this instance under a several hundred year old plane tree) where only the hotel guests are permitted to park, while the other tourists are wiping their sweaty brows struggling on foot up the steep cobblestone streets from their distant public parking lot, wondering why they didn’t know that it was possible to spend the night at the top in the castle.  Many times the only non-resident vehicles permitted to drive and park in the medieval villages are those of the registered guests of the lodgings situated in the interior of the villages.

There is something undeniably mystical about spending the night in a historic structure.  Character and atmosphere are words that come to mind in the course of enjoying a regionally themed evening meal in a dining room ringed with, and physically supported by, ancient arches constructed of huge blocks of local stone, artfully carved with impeccable precision by unknown craftsmen.  The magnificent edifices conceived and constructed by the talented medieval architects, engineers, and artisans with the tools then available to them, cultivates immense respect.  An awareness of ancient unknown memories fills the air, not in the manner of an apparition, but rather with a curiosity concerning the history which the ancient stone walls have witnessed, and all the lives that have passed through, now mostly unremembered.

The mantra of the Pousada management is to “faithfully reflect the architectural, decorative and gastronomic characteristics of the regions where they are located”.  At Obidos Castle, they got off to a good start.  Our joint selection for the main course at dinner was roasted duck breast lacquered with honey lime and orange juice, accompanied by a bottle of Piteira Reserva (2013).  From the Alentejo region, Piteira is a red blend of five Portuguese varietals, namely Alicante Bouschet, Alfrocheiro Preto, Aragonez, Moreto, and Trincadeira.  If that sounds like a mouthful, it most certainly is.  While none of those names are familiar to U.S. consumers, they become a little more recognizable upon learning that Aragonez is Tempranillo and Alicante Bouschet is itself a blend of Grenache and another Portuguese grape varietal.  The Piteira possessed the desired medium depth and body, pairing well with the duck breast.

In our next Post we drive one hundred miles north and a little inland to reach the fabulous Bussaco Palace Hotel (which was in the past an actual Royal Palace), visiting along the way Portugal’s largest church, the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, and then the following day heading to Porto.

Taste of Wine TV's newest travel/wine writer, San Diego (Poway) resident Don Nunn has traveled to many of the world’s most prominent wine producing regions, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Tuscany, Napa-Sonoma, & Alsace, other areas known to wine enthusiasts, such as Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, the Willamette Valley, Oregon, the Rhone region of France, and the Piemonte region of northern Italy, as well as lesser known wine destinations, such as the Jura, Croatia, Slovenia, Guadalupe Valley in Baja, Mexico, and the Kocabag Winery in Cappadocia. 

Don’s travels have taken him to France, where he has tasted and evaluated wines in virtually every wine producing region.  Italy, western Germany, Spain, Portugal, all of the wine producing regions of the US West Coast, as well as all of the areas mentioned above have been on Don’s itinerary as he visits tasting rooms around the world. E-mail Don at: nunnd2@sbcglobal.net