Graham's 1890 Lodge

How to Complete

4 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 🍷 1

   Count the Barrels at Vinum

   Optional

   wine $$$

   Lunch surrounded by 3,200 oak Port barrels - one of Europe's most atmospheric wine restaurants.

   Book Vinum restaurant 2 weeks ahead at vinumatgrahams.com (lunch €50-70, dinner €80-100). Request a table in the barrel hall. The chef serves Portuguese-Basque fusion with Port pairings. As you eat, look at the barrels aging around you - some hold wine older than you. This is fine dining in a working cellar.

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2. 🍷 2

   Taste the Six Grapes

   wine $

   Graham's 'Six Grapes' Reserve is named for the quality grading system - 6 grapes was the best.

   Book the €30 'Classic Tasting' online. It includes Six Grapes Reserve, LBV, and 10-Year Tawny. During the tasting, ask: 'Why is it called Six Grapes?' The guide will explain the old quality system where grapes painted on barrels indicated quality - 6 was the best. You're tasting history's highest grade.

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3. 🍷 3

   Try the Chocolate & Port Pairing

   wine $$

   Graham's pairs vintage Ports with Portuguese chocolates - sweet + sweet = revelation.

   Book the €40 'Premium Tasting' which adds cheese and chocolate pairings. The 10-Year Tawny pairs with milk chocolate; the 20-Year with dark. Ask your guide which grape varieties are in each wine (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz). Take notes on what you prefer.

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4. 🍷 4

   Splurge on the 30-Year Tawny

   Optional

   wine $$$

   Graham's 30-Year is among the world's great fortified wines. €45 tasting includes it.

   Book the €45 'Aged Tawny Experience' for 10, 20, and 30-Year Tawnies side by side. The 30-Year has spent three decades in oak - taste how it differs from the younger wines. Notes of dried fruit, orange peel, butterscotch. Ask: 'How do you blend wines from different decades?' The answer reveals the art of Port making.

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Insider Tips

• ✦

  Vinum restaurant lunch is 30% cheaper than dinner with the same barrel views

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  10 min walk downhill from Taylor's - easier than uphill

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  The 1890 building has original architecture worth photographing

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  Buy bottles here - prices are 15-20% less than airport/hotels