The Douro Valley: Portugal's Wine Region with Francisco Barros Marques
Regular price $36.50 Save $-36.50
The Douro Valley is the perfect combination between nature and humanity, an entire and unique world of wine. In this conversation, we will learn about the oldest demarcated wine region in the world, discovering more about the various wines but also the landscape and culture that is found in the Douro Valley. This is a fitting conversation for anyone with an interest in beautiful scenery, high-quality wines, and expanding their knowledge of Portugal.
The culture of the vineyards represents 45,600 hectares of a total of 250,000 thousand hectares. We’ll learn that the Douro Valley is the oldest demarcated and regulated wine-growing region in the World, established in 1756 by the Marquis of Pombal. It’s no wonder that in 2001, Douro was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, in the category of ‘Evolutionary and Live Cultural Landscape’.
We’ll discuss the uniqueness of a territory of thirteen municipalities, where one can find everything from Mediterranean bushland, to vineyards, olive, and almond groves, and ancient heritage. We’ll learn how the Douro is a promise of a gathering with secular traditions, knowledge, and rituals still living among the historic and wine villages all over the entire region.
Led by an expert in Portuguese culture and history, Francisco Barros Marques, this seminar will introduce participants to the idyllic region of the Douro Valley. Designed to inform curiosity and future travels, participants will leave with a better insight into one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world.
For those looking for a more in-depth Port wine seminar, our Introduction to Port Wine may be for you.
Francisco Barros Marques is a docent from Porto. He holds an MA in “Theater and Education” from Vigo University, Spain and a post-graduate degree in “Theory of Literature and Portuguese Literature” from Minho University, Portugal. He did undergradate studies in Religious Sciences at Porto Catholic University and also has a BA from Porto's University in Languages and Modern Literatures - Variant Portuguese Studies. He has taught various courses on the subject of education and has been responsible for organizing academic seminars and conferences. He enjoys his work as an interpreter and cultural guide in Portugal and is eager to show the array of delights that his city offers.
This conversation is suitable for all ages
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
We were quite disappointed with this, our first online tour. We’ve loved in-country Context Tours over the years, but they have a lot of work to do to improve the online version. Our guide gave a rather disjointed presentation, used small photos that were hard to engage with, and there was no overarching narrative or story he was telling to keep us interested. Not even maps (except one at the beginning) to keep us oriented through the tour. My husband actually fell asleep! And we quit before the Q&A because the lecture was running way over 60 minutes. We were disappointed.
Highly recommend this tour. It provided an wonderful journey though the region including the wine, history and architecture.
A very instructive virtual visit of the Douro Valley, full of historical and cultural details. Very well presented by Franscisco, and we can’t wait to visit in person!