Harvest, Faith & Cabidela
Food & Tradition
A rich, velvety rice made with free-range chicken, slowly cooked and finished with a sauce made by mixing the chicken’s blood with white wine vinegar. Aromatic, bold and unmistakable, Arroz de Cabidela delivers a rhapsody of flavours (and know-how) you won’t find anywhere else. It is one of the most singular and emblematic dishes of Northern Portugal.
So what does this Minho-born recipe have to do with the Douro? Everything. Harvest time is hard, manual work, so workers needed a hearty, nourishing meal that could feed many mouths. Cabidela was conceived to use the whole chicken — blood included — as a gesture of respect for the animal. The blood is seasoned with wine vinegar, reinforcing the dish’s bond with the vineyard — and with the Douro.
In September, during the grape harvest, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies in Lamego celebrates its patron saint. At one of the North’s greatest places of worship, winegrowers and their workers — whose families depend on the vineyard — go in pilgrimage to ask the patroness for the blessing of the grapes and protection for the harvest.
We begin at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies: after climbing the monumental staircase, enjoy a guided visit to the church and gardens. Then we head to Peso da Régua for a traditional Cabidela lunch with panoramic views over the river. After lunch, we follow the N222 — celebrated as one of the world’s most beautiful roads — with the Douro River as our companion, winding through the landscape to Pinhão.
We then visit the Pinhão railway station, famous for its beautiful tiles. After crossing the Pinhão bridge, Quinta das Carvalhas welcomes us for a guided estate visit up to a breathtaking viewpoint over the vineyards. We finish with a tasting of white, red and Port wines paired with local cheeses and charcuterie.
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