After an amazing visit to Provesende we headed back to the Scenic Azure. Lunch was served as our ship sailed to Pinhão for our visit to the Quinta da Roeda where the world famous Croft Port is made.
Quinta Da Roeda – Portugal
The Quinta da Roeda – Croft Port Portugal
On offer at the vineyard were two experiences. One was to visit the vineyard and then do some wine tasting or you could also add in a hike. Muriel and I chose not to do the hike. Turns out the afternoon was quite warm so Im pleased we didn’t do the hike. We were taking on a walk through the vineyards, the views are spectacular over the Douro Valley.
The Terrace with the stunning wisteria and the terraces in the background of the vineyards
For those of you who may visit Portugal, always remember it gets extremely hot in summer so I suggest visit in Autumn or Spring. There is also a “treading of the grapes” you can do if visiting at the right time.
The vines here at Quinta da Roeda have been growing and producing port for over 100 years. The vines are also tendered by hand. No machines at all. At the end of each row of vines there were roses or lavender.
The vines
The views of the Douro Valley are stunning from the terrace. The Wisteria was in bloom, its purple flowers with the backdrop of the Douro Valley looked like it was from a painting.
Views from the terrace
I bet you are wondering what was next. Those that know me yes your right and those that don’t – yes your right Port it is.. and not port on a ship. Although we had lots of port on the Scenic Azure while cruising the Douro River.
Of course this little soak tried them all and more. I played with my camera taking photos of the wine with the backdrop of a wine case. I think all the port I had been sipping had gone to my head.
Croft Port since 1588
Wandering around the gift shop I decided on a black croft baseball cap for my housemate. A few bottles of port were purchased by others. In hindsight we should have purchased some for the land journey of Portugal and Spain.
A few of us were dropped off in the village of Pinhão so we could look at the beautiful railway station built towards the end of the nineteenth century. The walls inside is entirely lined with the blue and white tiles – azulejos.
If you do nothing else in Pinhão visit the railway station. It would have to be the most beautiful place to catch a train I have ever seen. It is so clean and welcoming.
Just some of the beautiful azulejos that depict the story of Portugal and the Douro Valley
It was a beautiful walk back to the Scenic Azure where that evening Muriel and I would be at the Captains Dinner. Yes the two of us would be sitting with the captain and other guests.
This cobblestone road was very steep – glad it wasn’t raining.
Our ship the Scenic Azure berthed at Pinhão on the Douro River
I will talk about that dinner later on another post.
Our cruise on the mighty Douro will soon be over. The next day our ship will make its way back to Porto. 3 more nights of sheer delight before we leave this luxury and board a coach and do an 11 day coach tour of Portugal and Spain.
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More photos will be on Instagram you can see them here – 3sistersabroad
To learn more about the history of Croft Port click the link here
Travel and Lifestyle with Bree 
Great post! Cheers.
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Thank you x
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What a beautiful place, it looks like you had your share of fun there. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your travel adventure with us. #MLSTL
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Thank you so much for your kind words xx
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I would love to visit Portugal. You make it sound really enticing. I think I would really love to see the beautiful wisteria, and drink some of that Port wine. Pinning this.
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Its beautiful and so much more to come in the next few weeks on Portugal then Spain. I might be finished by the time we go on our next trip. thank you so much x
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Lovely photos – and those cobbled streets brought back memories of my European trips (we don’t have anything like that here in Australia). Glad you enjoyed the winery and didn’t mind missing the hike – the walk through town would have made up for it.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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We certainly don’t well where I used to live in Moonee Ponds a suburb of Melbourne a few years ago the laneways were all cobbled with blue stone. Thank you so much for the love
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Stunning. That’s all I can say about the views you captured. And I was surprised to learn that they plant lavender or roses at the end of a row of grapevines. Did you ever find out why? Just wondering if it’s a thing…or if someone just liked them.
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ah those views yes. I think it helps with pests.
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Beautiful Portugal. Looks like you’re having a lovely time 🙂 Would love to see more – I’ve been to Lisbon and Porto. I’ve Pinned this post, Followed you on Instagram and Tweeted. Would love it if you’d follow me on Instagram too 🙂 at Lifestyle Fifty.
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Thank you yes we had a wonderful time. 4 weeks nearly so busy so I’m doing a post a week on our travels. I will certainly follow you xx thank you 😊
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I’ve only been to Lisbon in Portugal. I can’t wait to visit again and explore more places like the Douro Valley. Thanks for sharing all of these tips!
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Portugal looks amazing. I definitely want to visit someday. Saving this for future planning!
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Thanks for the great read, and I love your images 🙂
Cheers from Stockholm!
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No machines at all? That’s a heck of a lot of hard work they’ve been putting in to their business for a hundred years, very impressive. xx
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Stunning scenery. You can´t be there and not try the port!
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Not a big fan of port…but exceptions can be made! 😄
Beautiful post!
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Oh! What amazing photoes!
Cheers from Stockholm Sweden 🙂
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Liked and shared, 3_Sisters_Abroad. Wonderful post, description and pictures. Thank you.
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https://twitter.com/outosego/status/1175269357347381248
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… and flipped to my Travel Magazine : https://flipboard.com/@outosego/travel-mag-0pjv4fh7y
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Just love the wisteria
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Just love the wistteria
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