Bairrada rocks!

I've finished a long but enjoyable day in Bairrada, which I reckon is one of Portugal's most interesting wine regions. The key grape here is Baga, a red variety that is best known for its firm tannic structure, usually coupled with high acidity. This is no bad thing: well made red Bairrada is extremely food friendly, as well as being long-lived. Some of the wines I tasted today reminded me a bit of Italy's best reds. Full report to follow, of course, so I won't go into specifics. I also tasted quite a few wines from Dao, the other main region in Beiras, which is the collective name for the broader region that includes Bairrada, Dao and Beiras interior. Lots of very exciting discoveries.

Tomorrow, the focus is on Dao, and tonight I'm staying in a very nice hotel in Visieu, the Montebello Hotel and Spa, which boasts five stars. I managed a quick dip in the pool before dinner, and tomorrow we are not leaving until 10 am, so I may get to swim then as well.

Pictured is the view from the balcony at Dao Sul's Quinta da Encontro winery and restaurant in Bairrada. This post is generated by my remarkably dainty EeePC, which I'm now going to use to check my emails. Then I'm going to sleep.