Port Institute

The Port Institute is a building very near the Palacio Bolsa that ensures that the quality of Port leaving Porto is “up to snuff”. If has a laboratory for testing and a seal of quality. It has a small wing for tourists wishing to visit and learn about the Douro Valley where the grapes for making Port have grown for X years and a testing area. We arrived during the lunch break so took a break ourselves and had a beer on the patio overlooking the nearby square. Then we came back and a lady helped us figure out how to use the self serve port dispenser machine. You get a card and decide which of the ports you would like to try (ranging from 3.50 to 19.50 Euros per serving). You insert the card in the machine and out comes your port. We tried 3 types and decided we liked thd 10 year old tawny the best; the ruby was fruitier but not as complex in the taste (we didn’t try the 19.50 Euro port, stuck to our price range!).Read more