From Lisbon to the Vineyards: A Douro River Experience- Day 9

Saturday, August 2nd, 2025

This morning we sailed back down the Douro River along the High Douro Wine Region.

We arrived at the Pocinho Dam was just after we started sailing. In this lock we went down 72 feet!

The Ama Douro continued toward the second lock, the Valeira Dam. At this lock we went down 110 feet. Below is a short video of the lock opening once the water level went down!

After we got out of the lock it was time for a Cooking Demo. The Pastry Chef Humrani gave us the recipe and demonstrated how to make Pastéis de Nata! It will be fun to try this with gluten free pastry!

vineyards along the High Douro Wine Region

As we were sitting in the restaurant we watch seaplane after seaplane dip into the river for water and then flying off to the wildfires!

We docked at Pinhão and had several hours to explore the small town. It was a major stop for cruise boats and was a gateway to port country.

One of Portugal’s rail routes passed through Pinhão on its way from Porto. Their train station was decorated with 21 azulejo (tiles) panels. They were blue and white scenes that depicted local life that included the grape harvest.

Pinhão Train Station and the Azulejo panels.

After our free time we had a visit to Quinta da Roêda that included a Port wine tasting. The winery was established in 1588 and was the oldest port company in operation. In 1736, the first Croft family member became a partner in the Port firm. In 1889, the Crofts acquired the famous estate of Quinta da Roêda. This estate remained the same source of wine for the firm’s vintage Ports to this day.

The Visitor’s Center was in the former stables of the estate. We had a guided tour. In about a month it would be harvest time for the port grapes. You could experience treading the grapes in the estate’s granite treading tanks in which the wine is made. Treading was also known as grape stomping! It was a traditional winemaking method where the grapes were crushed underfoot in large vats to release their juice and this began the fermentation process. It would have been a great experience if we had timed it during the harvesting! Even today the grapes were picked by hand.

A lot of grapes almost ready for harvesting!

On our tour we saw the various Port wine making stages.

Then it was time to taste the Croft Port wines. We tasted the Croft Pink Port and the Croft Reserve Port. If you like Port wine these were delicious.

This evening we left the ship and experienced an authentic, homemade Portuguese dinner in Favaios. With 160 years of existence, Quinta da Avessada was situated on the vineyard plateau of Favaios. It was a historic village that was located in the Douro Valley. It was the primary producer of Muscatel wine. Muscatel wine was a fruity fortified wine made from Muscat grapes. It offered stunning views of the terraced vineyards and the Douro Valley.

As we climbed higher in altitude we could see the smoke from some of the wildfires.

The Quinta da Avessada was located at 1968 feet above sea level. The estate had 1000 hectares or a little over 2,471 acres of planted area. When we arrived we were given a glass of the Muscatel Wine.

Amazing views from the Quinta’s terrace.

On our way back to the Ama Douro, the sky was eerie due to the wildfires.

Other than the wildfires, it was a fantastic day in the High Douro Wine region!

France Odyssey: Seine River, Reims, & Paris Day 10

Thursday, October 12th, 2023

This morning we left our hotel in Reims for the Champagne region. On our way there was a scenic overlook of the grapevines and the small town of Hautvillers.

Our first stop was the historic village of Hautvillers that was surrounded by vineyards. It had a population of around 700. As we walked through the town it was raining and this made it difficult to really enjoy its charm. The streets were fairly empty.

Hautvillers was also the home of the famous monk Dom Pérignon. He didn’t create champagne but he was very involved in the winemaking process. He was buried in the Abbey at Hautvillers.

The narrow streets were lined with winegrowers’ houses and champagne tasting.

During medieval times each shop in the town had its sign with a picture that depicted its business to let the townspeople know because many were illiterate. The mayor of the town relaunched this idea of the signs in the 1960s. Residents had to submit an application to the town hall if they wanted to add a wrought iron sign. Because of the rain it was difficult to look up and see all of the various signs. Below were just some of the signs that we walked past

You had to look up as you walked to see the signs.

Epernay was our next stop. It was home to some of the most famous Champagne houses and the town was nicknamed the “Capital of Champagne”!

We had a tour and tasting at Mercier Champagne House that was established in 1858.

Eugène Mercier was 20 years old when he founded his own house. He was one of the first to add electricity to his cellars and to advertise! He presented a giant vat at the 1889 World’s Fair. His giant vat held an equivalent of 200,000 bottles of wine and weighed over 20 tons! It was a hit at the fair and was only outshined by the Eiffel Tower.

An immersive descent in the elevator took us down 98 feet to the cellars that were dug out in 1871 by hand. Down in the cellars we boarded a train for a tour. We was bas-relief carvings by sculptor Gustave Navlet as we road the train.

When we finished our cellar tour we had a tasting session with Mercier’s sommelier. Their champagne was delicious!

We had a toast with the Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce President. She does such a fantastic job promoting these trips and always added so much when she traveled with the Chamber groups!

After we finished at Mercier we had free time in town and the rain had stopped!

The Avenue de Champagne was lined with Champagne houses and some of the most famous! It also was an UNESCO World Heritage site.

We had a lunch at Le Progrès.

After lunch we wanted to try another champagne so we visited the Brasserie de la Banque. It was once a bank.

We sat at the bar and shared a bottle of Champagne that was recommended by the bartender. It was Autréau from the village of Champillon which was about 3 miles from Epernay.

The Le Parc de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Epernay was a park that was created in the mid 1800’s to enhance the town house of the Moët & Chandon family. This park opened to the public in 1920. This garden surrounded the city park hall.

After our time in Epernay we headed back to Reims and our hotel. We sat outside our hotel and enjoyed some more of the Mercier champagne with chocolate and Cider before we walked into the town of Reims to explore the city before dinner.