Lubertadventure: The Douro Valley

The Douro Valley is breathtakingly beautiful, with the Douro river winding through terraced slopes that hug the curves of the hillsides, lined with the grapevines that give the region their claim to fame. The Douro Valley has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage region and deservedly so.

Port came into being as a result of the eternal spats between Great Britain and France. In the 18th century, Britain and France were feuding, but the Brits still relished their red wines and frankly, Jolly Old is not known for their robust vintages, so they had to get their reds from Portugal. It was a long voyage back to England so the Portuguese stabilized their red wine with brandy, and port came into being.

The Alto Douro Region has been producing wine for some 2,000 years. The Douro valley is now water-filled behind dams. Soil is almost non-existent, which is why walls were built to retain the manufactured soil on the steep hillsides.

Our home for our visit to this picturesque part of Portugal was Casa Cimeira, an authentic villa at the top of one of the highest hills in the region, affording us incredible views of the valley. The drive up was fraught with tiny roads, tight hairpin turns and a steep, steep, climb, which made us very grateful that our hosts offered a dinner every night, after we spent the day touring the famous wineries and port-producing estates such as Sandeman.

Dinner was very much an international affair, with Swedish, Italian, French and Belgian represented at each meal. I was delighted to be able to practise my Italian again, and although I was pleased to be complemented on my facility with that beautiful language, truth be told, most of the guests spoke English, and most of the conversation was in English or French – very few of us spoke any Portuguese beyond thank you and please. We ate what was being served each night; the first night was fish and the second was pork and clams, a traditional Portuguese dish that was preceded by melon and prosciutto. The food was authentic and delicious, accompanied by their own wine and finishing with, of course, port from their own winery.

After dinner we retired to the library for more conversation. and the talk turned to music, where we discovered that Elisabeth, one of our Swedish friends was a concert soprano. I must admit to being embarrassed that I had been requested to entertain on guitar in the presence of such an accomplished and trained musician, but she insisted that we have a sing-along to some of their favourites, including, of course, the much requested “Hotel California.”

We were then able to convince her to serenade us, and the haunting quality of her voice, reverberating off the stone walls of the old library, amidst the beauty of the hillsides of the Douro Valley, were something we will not soon forget.

Check her out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtd47fj018o

Elisabeth Orsnes Gadegaard.