Hi,
I’ve always wanted to go to Oporto and the Douro Valley, and may do so in the the month of May, but am not sure of the best way to do this, so any advice would be appreciated.
I would like to take a wine-themed cruise from Porto far upriver lasting several days, but perhaps not both ways (there and back on a boat).
Price is a consideration and I am wary of package deals from UK or US-based companies, but perhaps I am mistaken here.
Is it easy to set up appointments with Port wine firms?
I’ve done some homework on Google, but firsthand experience from a fellow wine enthusiast would be precious.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Best regards,
Alex R.
Not sure about a wine tour, but a great place to stay is Quinta do Tedo. They only have a handful of rooms and take great care of you. When we were there we were the only ones staying there and had the pool to ourselves. There are a lot of good vineyards/quintas not far away.
Tedo has a wide range of wines to taste, too, some of which are excellent.
Alex,
I found it pretty easy to set-up tasting appointments in the Douro; email was my mode of contact. I’d suggest planning on one tasting in the morning and one in the afternoon. It can take some considerable time to get from place to place in the Douro, in small part due to the producers’ addresses not always being recognized by our Sat Nav; aside from that little issue, the roads are extremely windy, so it just takes a long time to get from Point A to Point B — but, once you’re there, this will not bother you. The Douro Valley is stunningly beautiful, and you will enjoy the views just as much (if not more) than your other planned activities.
Tasting at the Port lodges in Gaia was done on a walk-in basis, which was very easy. Doing this, however, meant no “special treatment” at any of these places.
I’d strongly recommend registering and posting your inquiry over on Roy Hersh’s For The Love of Port forum: For The Love Of Port - Index page
For a boat ride, the Douro Azul company does overnight (and multi day) and day trips up the Douro river. Never done one so can’t speak of how they are, but I see the boats all the time going up and down the river when I’m there.
As for visiting the Lodges in Vila Nova d. Gaia, across the river from Oporto. These are simply walk in pay a small fee of a couple Euro’s and you get a tour and small tasting of some basic stuff. Or you can pay a bit more for an upgraded tasting. Some of the better ones I like are Sandeman (fantastic museum), Graham’s (which has just been renovated with a new restaurant opening first of Feb.), Ferreira (wonderful historical displays), Offley, Taylor’s has a very nice restuarant with great views, and Ramos Pinto. The only one to stay away from is Vasconcellos, avoid at all costs.
As for the Douro. Not an easy place to get around at all. What looks close on a map (if you can find it on a map as Brian mentioned) can be up to 2+ hours away. There is usually no easy way to get 1 mile away without driving 30 miles of windy roads first. As such your 1pm meeting might end up starting at 130 or 2 by the time everyone gets there. And a simple “quick” visit can turn into a long one. This is what me and many of my friends have nicknamed “Douro time.” LOL! So at best 2 visits per day would be my recommended max or you probably won’t end up making the third if you do.
You can try and set up appointments, not easy to due as very few of the larger producers actually live in the Douro and most of the Quinta’s are not open to the general public. And I’m stretching to recall any that are open to the general public east of the town of Pinhao (with the exception of Ramos Pinto’s Quinta d. Ervamoira which is a LONG, not east to get to place, almost to Spain). However, there are some wonderful places to visit and stay around the towns of Pinhao and Regua. Here’s a rec of some places to stay and visit (i’ve visited all and stayed at most)…
STAY:
Quinta do Tedo (love this place and so centrally located so makes getting around easy)
Quinta do Portal
Quinta Nova (which the full name is Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carma)
Quinta de la Rosa
and a smattering of new smaller hotels and B&B’s which have opened.
VISIT:
the above all accept tourism, plus…
Sandeman’s Quinta d. Sexio
Fonseca’s Quinta d. Panascal
What is the problem with Vasconcellos?
We rented a car from Hertz in Oporto and drove to the Douro. Relatively easy to do so.
My only advice is don’t restrict yourself to Oporto/Douro. Make time to see some other places - Portugal is an awesome country!
I forgot to mention: we had lunch at Quinta do Portal, and it was excellent — I would highly recommend doing this. It was just me and my wife. It needs to be booked in advance, but this is easy to do, and was very much worth the money we paid. The young chef there knows what he is doing.
Been twice, will never ever go again and will never recommend it. the tour is full of completely inaccurate information. Not little things, but flat out wrong information. It’s a “boiler room” type of operation. There are no prices listed and they charge based on what they think you can afford. This place has a horrible reputation among myself and those I know who’ve been there.
Many thanks to all of you who responded.
I have duly noted down your recommendations.
I also called Roy Hersh, who was a big help.
Yours sincerely,
Alex R.