🌿 Discovering the Magic of Porto: Wine, Cheese and the Douro Dream In short:Explore the best of Porto, Portugal — Port wine tastings, Portuguese tapas, the Douro Valley train journey, the São Bento mosaic station, Francesinha, pastel de nata and riverside culture. A friendly travel guide to Porto from Vineyards and Villages. Welcome to the…
Welcome to the second chapter of Vineyards and Villages, where we wander into places less travelled but overflowing with heart, heritage, vineyards, and sunshine. This week’s destination is Bragança, Portugal, a remarkable medieval town tucked away in the Trás-os-Montes region, just a whisper from Spain. If you’re dreaming of stone-walled castles, golden olive groves, hand-pressed…
Olevano Romano I went in search of old vineyards and quaint villages in Italy and discovered Olevano Romano. Perched about 45 km east of Rome in the Lazio region, the village of Olevano Romano rises on a hillside in the foothills of the Monti Prenestini. (Wikipedia) The altitude (around 570 m) gives it cooler air…
Hello, fellow Vineyard and Village travellers! If you’ve ever dreamed of sipping rich, velvety Port while watching the sun set over terracotta rooftops, then Porto, Portugal is a destination you simply must experience. Having visited this charming city several times (and taken the scenic train along the Douro Valley to its wine estates), I can…
To really enjoy blue strong cheese, we need to differentiate between the facts and the fiction. What all blue cheeses have in common is the presence of a strain of penicillin mold which is introduced directly into the cheese curd before it is shaped. The cheese is then pierced with metallic spikes to allow air…
There are many good reasons to drink Chenin Blanc. Sipping my favourite Chenin Blanc, I have come up with 5 good reasons to enjoy Chenin Blanc wines. Versatility: Chenin Blanc is an incredibly versatile grape variety that can produce a wide range of wine styles. It can be crafted into dry, off-dry, sparkling, or sweet…
The United Kingdom might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think of world-class wine, but times are changing! Over the past few decades, England (and increasingly, Wales) has emerged as a dynamic player on the global wine scene. With picturesque vineyards, passionate vintners, and climate shifts reshaping the landscape, there’s…
Sparkling wines come in a wide variety, with huge price differences, sweet or bone-dry, yeasty or fresh and the difference in production method is of utmost importance. So, what is the difference between Champagne, Prosecco and Cava, aka sparkling wines? I am using the world’s friendliest online business engine…it’s free…forever! Sparkling wine is an umbrella…
Driving to the town of Olevano Romano, Lazio region of Italy in the pouring rain did not dampen our enthusiasm to discover Cesanese Comune, the ancient red wine grape from Italy. Cesanese Comune is an old and elusive vine of the Roman Empire dating back to the first century BC. The Romans were great consumers…
Chenin Blanc is a white wine grape variety from the Loire Valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make varieties from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines. Chenin Blanc makes lithe, dry summer whites and sparkling wines. It also offers oak-aged styles with similar flavors to Chardonnay. Thus, there really…
