Pour A Poor Port Cocktail Or A Rich Port Shot

The Portuguese national flag is green and red with a shield in the middle.
 

I have been invited to a fine wine lunch where all the food is matched to alcohol.  That is good for me. I don't like drinking wine on an empty stomach. 

I asked what the drinks would be. The meal ends with dessert and a glass of port. 

As most wine lovers and visitors to Portugal know, and others might guess, Port comes from the port city of Oporto in Portugal.

Strong Port

But Port is a strong wine. too strong for me. Most strong alcohol is made into cocktails, or just mixed with water, like whisky or tonic water, like gin and tonic. That lowers the alcohol content, making a mixed drink which it safer and more digestible, also cheaper and larger, a long drink, instead of a tiny shot.

I searched online for cocktail recipes with port.  Port can be drunk as part of several cocktails. Ignoring those described as dry, sour or needing too many ingredients, I chose from a list on the website below

 1 Port Coffee Martini

 Port + espresso + Baileys

 2 Sangria

Port + sparkling water + chopped fruit

 

3 Port And Tonic

Port, tonic, rosemary (take from home) and an orange slice

The Portuguese for health is saude, (accent on the U for emphasis).

I am sticking to viva, because that is easier to type and say.

More Portuguese  speakers live in Brazil than in Portugal.

From Wikipedia.

My husband claimed that his bottle of precious port was too expensive and delicious to be diluted. Cocktails should only use poorer quality port. 

However, he discovered a bottle of tonic water lurking in our fridge at home and gave it to me to mix with my helping of port.

Useful Website On Port Cocktails

www.insanelygoodrecipes.com/port-cocktails 

Portuguese Words for saying cheers

https://portugueselearn.com/archives/3145

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PORTUGAL. Oporto and the WOW wine and food museums

 

The Disney World of wine for families, Oporto in Portugal was absolutel the top place I reecomend everyone whould visit. It ihas everything.

The Portuguese are keen on visitors, keen on the British. The Port wine facotries had many British founders and traded with England the the UK is still a prime market for Port and Portuguese wines. 

The WOW complex is on a steep hillside one one side of Oporto. The public car park is at the bottom of the hill and from the terrace you get a wonderful view over Oporto and the bridges over the river. Porto of course is the city grown up at the estuary. Wines grown on the steep hills inland could be sent by road or rail but the river route was directo and quicker. 

The river is wider than the perilous sheer drop roads which snake up and down the inland hillsides even today. You would not want your wines bouncing along the potholed and avalanche prone rock srewn roads road when the barrels could sail smoothly down the river.

The WOW complext has something for everyone including chidlren and non-drinkers. 

The shops sell hats, tee-shirts, aprons, socks, chocolates. 

You could start at the chocolate museum. Or the cork museum. 

The history  of wine is equally fasinating.

We booked a gourmet lunch with matching wines. 

Outside on the terrace you can order cheaper snacks such as chocolates.  Watch the peacocks parade past and display their feathers.