The Douro Valley in Northern Portugal

"The Douro Valley is the only place in the world that can legally produce what's called "port wine," thanks to the Marquês de Pombal, who demarcated the region in 1756 (making it the oldest demarcated wine region in the world). Visiting here, you can appreciate just how much hard work it was, and still is, to produce traditional port wine. Generation after generation, rugged farmers gradually turned these hillsides into vast terraces expertly crafted to let grape vines draw water from below and sun from above. To this day, the production of port remains a labor of love, as grapes are still generally picked by hand and crushed the traditional way — by foot — since machines are unable to achieve high-quality results. The region stretches along the river of the same name, about 60 miles inland from the city of Porto." Rick Steves

We took the train from Porto to Pinhão which took about 2 hrs 45 minutes and cost us each about 20 euros roundtrip. The entire ride was pretty but the last hour really was gorgeous and reminded me of visits to the Rhine in Germany (just replace castles with olive trees and much smaller stretch along river). Here's a few pictures on our way there from the train.

We got off our cheerful red train at the Pinhão train station which is covered in pretty blue tiles and surrounded by the rolling vineyards.

It didn't take very long to walk through town to get to the water (it seemed like it consisted of one road with a few cafes/businesses). We sat outside and ate a traditional Portuguese lunch and then wandered past boats and a fancy hotel.

"Since port wine is a blend of several types of grapes, most port-producing vineyards, called quintas, grow a few different varieties of grapes. Unlike traditional wine, which undergoes fermentation in full, port is a fortified wine. During fermentation, brandy is added to port wine, thereby halting the process and preserving some of the sugars from the grapes. This is what gives port its signature sweetness

After fermentation, port traditionally stays in the Douro Valley for one winter after it's made, as the cold temperatures encourage the wine and brandy to marry. It's then transported by truck to port-wine lodges in Porto, where the more humid, mild climate at sea level is ideal for aging." Rick Steves

We still had a little time before our scheduled boat ride so we found a place with amazing terrace views called Writer's Place. The owner was very friendly, suggested a beautiful bottle of small batch wine and told us all about the family that produced it. For people with more time different vineyards offer tours and wine tastings.

Then we hopped on the boat run by Magnifico Douro Events Ltd (20 euros each for the two hour ride). This company did not advertise a guided talk during the ride and instead suggested you download their audio tour on your own phone. This seemed like a nice option since we don't really care for the constant talking guided tours. However, instead of people using headphones to listen on their phone multiple people just played the audio over their phone speaker which ended up being a noisy mess! I was glad I had my headphones and just listened to music during the ride. The views were really incredibly beautiful.