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Created on Sunday, 18 April 2010 09:58

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http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt213/photodisc/portwinecellar130410lead.jpgAt age 10, my curiosity exhorted me for my very first taste of wine. I know it’s against parental rules to taste that stuff at that very young age. But as always, curiosity is always a powerful gizmo to do the unlikable. Anyway, neither my grandma nor my grandpa knew about it…LOL… Now that I am grown up (or older…arghhh…it hurts…), my curiosity again pushed me to do more than just tasting or I think this time let me call it “drinking”. I am so eager not just to know how wine is produced but to see a wine cellar where some of the world’s finest wines are stored to age properly. Since aging significantly affects the flavors and aromas present in wines, every wine makers developed their own way in doing this crucial stage in wine making.

Port wine barrels at Ferreira Wine Cellar on April 13, 2010

When I saw a tour to one of Portugal’s port wine cellar from the ship’s tour itinerary during the cruise, I did not hesitate to sign up for the tour as tour escort because I know this was what I always had in mind – to visit a winery. My recent visit to Ferreira port wine cellar somehow showed me part of the wine making process or let’s say close to the final steps in wine production. Ferreira warehouse contains port wine stored in wooden barrels where correct temperature and humidity are maintained for the wine to continue to age properly before the wines are stored in bottles ready to be sold in the market.

Ferreira Wine Cellar of Portugal on April 13, 2010

Ferreira is a prominent producer of port wines in Oporto, Portugal. By the way, port wine is a fortified wine which is usually consumed in small amounts as aperitifs before meals or dessert wines after a meal. When I say “fortified wine” it means alcohol content about 5 to 10 percent higher than table wine is added to kill the yeast. At the end of the tour, wine tasting followed. I tasted both the white and red port wines and the taste is exceedingly superb that I wanted for more. I am thinking to buy a bottle of Ferreira at the duty free shop before I fly home, it’s a delightful present for my wife for her birthday.
Ferreira port wine cellar is situated in the suburbs of Vila Nova de Gaia, a major site of famed port wine storage warehouses in Portugal. From the port of Leixoes in the city of Oporto, Portugal where the ship was docked, getting to Ferreira port wine cellar took about almost an hour on a ride by bus. Sounds a bit time consuming trip, however, that trip was absolutely worth the time.

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