Tried searching and didn’t see anything specific to this (at least recently)…
My wife and I are heading to Portugal at the end of the month. We will only have a few nights in Porto (first visit), but want to go to the Douro Valley on a day trip. I’m totally fine, even preferring, a private tour of sorts.
Given the number of wineries, winemakers, etc., visits we’ve been on, I certainly don’t need tasting rooms. A visit with a good person/great wine would be cool. A great lunch, amongst other things, would be wonderful.
Has anyone had any success with this type of tour and/or recommend stops? The concierge at the hotel has one, but it’s really just a “VIP” tour. There is nothing wrong with the concept, but I’m not sure if it really aligns with what I consider aligned (e.g., 3 different stops at wineries is a lot more than I’d typically do if I were meeting with a winemaker, owner, etc.).
Are you interested in Port, or just table wines.
I’m not a fan of tours from Porto to the Douro. Mediocre wineries. Take the train to Pinhao and tour yourself. You can walk to some places, or take a taxi to others. Quite a number of really good restaurants around as well for lunch.
Good call on the train concept. Hadn’t thought about that. The tour that was put in front of me by the hotel was Quinta do Bomfim (Symington), Quinta do Ventozelo and Quinta do Seixo (Sandeman). Nothing amazing, but also seemed fairly solid when I looked into it.
In terms of wine, I don’t plan to drink port all day, so I guess it would be table wines mainly, noting that I’m not looking to bring a lot of things home - it’d have to be REALLY stellar for me to do that. I’m not in the need to taste a whole bunch of stuff - pretty fortunate to have pretty much have had everything Port except uber rare or exceptional experience.
be sure to reach out to Miguel Leal of ML private tours! I used him last year for a day in the Duoro and he’s absolutely fantastic!! He fills up quickly, so hopefully your date works for him