A group of five of us stayed at Quinta dos Malvedos where we enjoyed sampling many Ports and even had a hand (or foot) in helping with the 2012 harvest!  Once issued uniforms, all 5 of us and Johnny Symington stepped into the old stone lagare, full of the day’s grape collection – it’s a sensation I won’t forget for a while!  At first the treading is silent and rhythmic but after a set amount of time the musicians begin their music and we all started to dance.  I am proud to say Berrys’ were the first to start a conga line; that really got the grapes mixed up!  It was good fun but hard work, we only stayed for an hour but the locals tread for 4 hours each night– my hat goes off to them.

The hospitality of the Symington family was second to none. We got to have a sneak peak at the renovations happening at Graham’s Port Lodge, I will definitely be going back to see the completed result in 2014. The stand out Port for me was the 2007 Graham’s Vintage, a definite one to watch.

Corrine Graham, Wine Club Administrator