Text José Silva

It was a rainy summer weekend, between the 18th and the 21st of September, as otherwise was this summer of 2014, and the harvest had already started, slowly, very carefully.

And then the first “Douro Wine Fest” happened, an organization of the firm Offe, supported by the Tourism of Porto and North of Portugal, Régua municipality and Douro Museum.

A plant with great quality was carefully built in the waterfront of Régua town, quite close to the marina, in a scenery that couldn´t be more beautiful, dominated by the Douro river.

Despite the weather, wine producers joined massively and used up all the spaces available and the public appeared… avoiding rain showers that came down now and then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday there was no rain, there was a true summer temperature and there were thousands of visitors, invading the precinct.

There next to the wine producers, there were several gastronomic products stores from the region and two of Régua’s restaurants serving a variety of titbits.

In a proper room, many wine and some product tastings happened, and many wine producers and wine makers went there, showing and sharing their experiences and their wines. And there was a lot of music and some shows that went on through the night.
In the end, the result was quite positive and it would have even been better if not for the rain, which gave good indications for next year, with another Douro Wine Fest.

But Régua is moving, which one could see for the amount of visitors at the event, and there are new spaces in town, between wine bars and restaurants.

One of the most recent ones is a “tasca” (pub) in the old style, the result of the recovery of a very beautiful rustic space, keeping the original style. They also kept the schist and the wood that already existed, and the place was recovered with the modernity you need to serve good titbits in a cozy environment. The owners called it “Tasca da Quinta” and they also have a small wine production, on the other side of the river.

The dining room is large, with schist floor, bright colors, thick wood beams on the ceiling and a huge balcony that shows the modern kitchen behind it.

In it two women in love with what they do, handle very good products in a traditional way, for our comfort. They serve regional bread and corn bread to match with wonderful smoked ham, pickling brine sardines and pickling brine quail, and some snacks with bread and corn bread: codfish and red pepper, and delicious smoked blood sausage. Also very good are the small pork ribs in wine and garlic marinade and the “açorda” (bread stew), especially the mushroom one, superb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among other possibilities, we closed the meal with a tasty and creamy apple pie.

There were several tables with foreigners who were delighted with the very typical Portuguese titbits… and the Douro wine.
As we drink another glass, chat goes on about Douro and its evolution. And we wished for a harvest with the minimum damage possible, despite the rain that doesn´t go away…

Contacts
Rua de Santa Luzia, 175
4250-417 Porto
Tel: (+351) 228 329 017
Fax: (+351) 228 329 017
Mobile: (+351) 964 137 029
Email: pwf@offe.pt
Site: www.portowinefest.com