The local cheeses of Douro Valley with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Douro Valley with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
The Velho is hard, strong and yellowish, with a rind rubbed with a paprika paste. A ten-year tawny is nutty and mellow, and its sweetness softens that strength; the wine records pair these tawnies with aged cheese.
Bottles to try:
The Velho is hard and strong, with a rind rubbed in paprika paste. A twenty-year tawny brings concentrated dried fruit and nuts with a long finish, enough concentration to stand beside it; the wine records pair these tawnies with aged cheese.
Bottles to try:
A single-harvest tawny matured for years in cask is sweet and concentrated, with dried fruit at its centre. Set against an extra-hard, slightly piquant goat's cheese, that sweetness softens the tang.
Bottles to try:
Young Terrincho is mild and clean, with a slightly unctuous, buttery paste. Mineral, saline Douro whites with racy acidity cut the richness.
Bottles to try:
The goat's cheese is extra-hard and white, with a clean flavour and a slightly piquant tang. A ten-year white Port is honeyed, nutty and gently oxidative, and that honeyed depth sets off the tang.
Bottles to try:
The Velho is hard and firm with a strong flavour and a paprika-rubbed rind, so it needs structure. These dry Douro reds are full-bodied with firm tannin and high acidity, which hold their own against it.
Bottles to try:
The cheese is extra-hard with a clean flavour and a slightly piquant tang. Mineral, saline Douro whites with racy acidity refresh the palate between pieces.
Bottles to try:
The Velho is hard and strong. A Late Bottled Vintage is wood-aged, black-fruited and ready to drink, its sweetness balancing a sharp aged cheese; the wine records pair these LBVs with mature cheddar.
Bottles to try:
The goat's cheese is extra-hard with a clean flavour and a slight tang. Thirty and forty-year tawnies are intensely concentrated, with dried fruit, spice and aged wood, a deep sweetness that answers the tang.
Bottles to try:
Young Terrincho is mild, with a buttery paste. These dry white Ports are nutty, crisp or citrus-fresh, and served chilled, so the nuttiness meets the cheese while the chill keeps it fresh.
Bottles to try:
Young Terrincho is mild and buttery, so it wants a red that will not overpower it. These dry Douro reds are medium-bodied with medium tannin and high acidity, fresh enough to lift the paste.
Bottles to try:
Young Terrincho is mild, clean and buttery. A reserve tawny is nutty and lightly sweet, an accessible partner that leaves the cheese's flavour intact.
Bottles to try:
The cheese is extra-hard with a clean flavour and a slight tang. Douro Moscatel is sweet and aromatic, with orange blossom and candied citrus lifted by fresh acidity, a bright counterpoint to the tang.
Bottles to try:
The Velho is a hard, strong aged sheep's cheese. Vintage Port is sweet, black-fruited and firmly structured, and a fortified red of that weight beside a firm aged cheese is a classic structure match: the sweetness meets the strength and the tannin meets the firm paste.
Bottles to try:
The cheese is extra-hard and clean with a slight tang. These dry Douro reds are full-bodied with medium tannin and ripe fruit, rounded enough not to fight a clean cheese.
Bottles to try:
The Velho is a hard, strong aged sheep's cheese with a paprika-rubbed rind. A reserve ruby is a rich, smooth, fruit-forward fortified red, and that sweetness and body are a classic match for a firm aged cheese of this strength.
Bottles to try:
Lunch in the vineyard, surrounded by nature, with wine pairings in the heart of the Douro. Before that, an immersive workshop from pruning to harvesting, with viticult...
Tradition meets innovation at Calem Cellars in Porto. Join a host on an immersive journey, part museum, part working winery, revealing the art behind winemaking, agein...
A luxury tour experience in Douro Valley. The walking in vineyardas is a heating time for what comes next. A tasty lunch and wine tasting, in a room designed in detail...
Raw milk from Churra da Terra Quente ewes, set with animal rennet, according to the DOP summary and the 2016 specification published by the Portuguese agriculture directorate (DGADR).
The specification gives 0.7 to 1.1 kg, 12 to 20 cm across and 3 to 6 cm high for the normal size, and a smaller merendeira size of 0.35 to 0.55 kg and 8 to 12 cm across.
At least 30 days at 5 to 12 degrees C. Aged for 90 days or more it becomes Queijo Terrincho Velho, a separate hard, red-rinded version of the same DOP.
In the Terra Quente and Douro Superior of north-eastern Portugal: Mogadouro, Alfândega da Fé, Torre de Moncorvo, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Mirandela, Vila Flor, Carrazeda de Ansiães and Vila Nova de Foz Côa, most of Macedo de Cavaleiros and São João da Pesqueira, and parts of Valpaços, Meda and Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.
Velho is aged for at least 90 days instead of 30. The specification gives it a hard, red rind, a hard yellowish paste, a smaller size (0.5 to 1.0 kg, 10 to 18 cm across) and a strong, intense flavour.
The specification says the cheese is rubbed with a paste of paprika extracted in bagaceira brandy or in olive oil, and may also be dipped in olive oil.
At 8 to 14 degrees C and 75 to 85 percent relative humidity, for a minimum of 90 days, according to the 2016 DOP specification.
Raw milk from Serrana goats, set with animal rennet, according to DGADR, the Portuguese agriculture directorate. Its page names the breed's four ecotypes as Transmontano, Jarmelista, Ribatejano and Serra.
