A visit at DOW’s QUINTA DO BOMFIM
It’s very nice to see that after all the (well deserved) buzz around GRAHAM’s 1890 Lodge and its Vinum Restaurant (fantastic place in Gaia) it’s now the time for DOW to shine… The QUINTA DO BOMFIM in Pinhão has opened its doors for visitors – and what an experience it is! When the Symington-Family announced that they plan to invest EUR 2.3 million into a visitor-centre in the Douro, I knew it would be something good – and the reality has even proven to be better. First of all, the Quinta has a great location – in Pinhão, just turn right after the old metal-bridge. You don’t have to drive through winding mountain roads to get there – everything is easily accessible. They took the most beautiful things of the old Quinta and added a layer of modern elegance and beauty over it. It reminds me of course very much of the 1890 Lodge in Gaia – this wood-based elegance really has become the trade-mark of the Symingtons.
When you enter the building, after having walked through a nice little rose-garden, you are greeted at a reception where you can choose from several really interesting and nicely priced tastings, combined with a tour through the premises. We picked the “Quinta Vintage Port Tasting”, consisting of three vintages from the Quintas Bomfim, Malvedos and Cavadinha and of course the “Premium Tawny Port Tasting” (Dow 30 Year Old, Graham’s 40 Year Old and Graham’s Single Harvest 1972). It was 45 Euros – and we had 6 really outstanding wines.
Graham’s was always very proud of the training of their staff-members in the Lodge in Gaia – and it’s great to see that this continues now with the staff at Quinta do Bomfim. Our tour guide – João Silva – did a fantastic job to show our small group the premises. We visited the very clean and shiny Lagar-room (where we saw a nice, short video featuring the Symington-Family-members and their wines), we visited some photogenic places with nice old barrels and the Vintage Room, which is used for more casual functions and meetings). All over the Quinta you find old artefacts and photos – which make the whole place look like a museum. Over the years I visited many, many Quintas and Lodges – and the information that we got here during our visit from João was absolutely outstanding – he was able to answer even the strangest questions that might come from our group and to explain everything very nicely… Thanks, João!
The tasting happened in a beautiful room, a lot of windows, looking out towards the river and the green Hills of the Douro Valley around us – and it was just magic. Great wines, nice conversation with the people around us, very attentive staff-members that were eager to explain everything we might want to know… We stayed much longer than we had originally planed to.
Of course we ended up in the wine/gift-shop – beautiful and elegant. Even if our suitcases were already way too full we bought some items – everything was well presented… I must confess that we didn’t buy any wine – but a DOW-decanter, a book about Cockburn’s “First 200 years” and a beautiful strainer, so that I don’t need to decant my Vintage Ports anymore with cheese-cloths. The prices for the Port bottles were often okay – but the price for the 1972 Single Harvest Tawny (which other companies would call a Colheita) clearly violates the Geneva Convention’s protocol of humanitarian law.
The visit was just perfect – the Quinta and its landscaping are so incredible beautiful. Great tour guide, great wines. I know that from now on I will come back to the QUINTA DO BOMFIM every single time that I visit the Douro Valley – just to sit on the porch and to enjoy a few glasses of Port. There is no better place to drink Port than here, in the heart of the Douro-Valley.
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