Raymond Blake marvels at the latest additions to World of Wine, Porto’s vast new complex of museums, restaurants, and bars, paying tribute to the visionary behind it.
How Porto has changed. On my first visit, toward the end of the past century, the city presented a drab, down-at-heel face to the world, leavened only by the excellence of a multiplicity of Ports. Back then, I actively counseled non-wine-trade people to avoid Porto (and, by extension, the Douro Valley), whereas today I do precisely the opposite. Previously, I wrote about visiting the region, “Doing so was once a chore, a trial to be endured by hardy wine merchants and others of that ilk. The beds were lumpy, and so was the food. Today, it is open to visitors like never before, beds are welcoming, and food is satisfying, though masochists can still find relics of the past.” On that latter note, with each passing year, masochists are having to search harder and harder for dodgy board and fare to meet their needs.
Few cities have undergone such a positive transformation in a relatively short space of time as Porto. On my most recent visit in May 2023, the city teemed with life, an exuberant mood held sway, fostered by the warm sun and the cocktail that has yet to take the world by storm—the “Port-tonic.” It’s a magical combination of white Port and tonic, leavened by a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. Its great attraction is that,
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
