Standing proudly on Porto’s riverside is the latest addition to the cultural life of the city, an experience that pays homage to the main symbol of the region. That’s right, the big news of 2018 in Porto is the arrival of the new Museum of Port Wine.
The new museum is in a building that looks out over the Douro River, on the old wall of the Bacalhoeiros, where you can drink over 250 years’ worth of historical port. The six-storey museum, made by the architect Camilo Rebelo of Foz Côa Museum fame, will be inaugurated at the end of this year. Even now, though, it is piquing the curiosity of passersby with its façade, painted in an unusual color: a deep black that calls to mind the Port wine itself, a perfect reflection of art mimicking life.
The idea behind the museum is not to be boring, static or preachy, but rather to offer an adventure for the senses, allowing visitors not only to learn about port, but to experience it. There will be more than 700 different labels with differing origins available for tasting and appreciating.
The Museum will also be a monument to the secrets and style that are the hallmark of Porto architect, Rebelo, such as his fascination with and use of numerology in his work. One example of this can be found in the Museum’s cellar, where the number 8 11 is written, code for the year when Marquês do Pombal declared, demarcated and controlled the Douro region. You see, the eight is made from adding 1 and 7; the 11 from 5 and 6, so the year in question is 1756. All measurements in the building, therefore, are multiples of 8 and 11, testament to the holistic approach of both the architect and the museum.
The wine cellar itself, a concrete wall for storing the precious product, displays iconic imagery, too: the Colosseum in Rome. The bottles are placed in the openings of the Colosseum, resembling holy shrines. In the architect’s view, "it is a way of preserving memory and, at the same time, sanctifying wine".
Another strange feature of the museum is the two entrances which leads to two different experiences: by going in 37, Rua da Reboleira, you can get the museum experience, but through door number 138 of the Wall of Bacalhoeiros, you’ll experience the wine part. "A current of air makes this structure alive and, simultaneously, a sacred place of ritual and a place of public passing," says Camilo Rebelo.
When the museum opens later this year, the idea is that it will be more than just a touristic exhibition or something to be seen only once. The curators and team behind it hope it will be a space for daily use by residents and visitors in Porto alike.