A colleague of mine is heading to Portugal this weekend, through next. She enjoys wine and is open minded about the subject, too. They are staying in Lisbon so they will originate from there. Please pass on any suggestions or ideas as to where they might go and I will flip them over to her. Thanks a lot for the help.
Duoro is absolutely beautiful, about a 4 hour drive from Lisbon if I remember correctly. I’d highly recommend staying at Quinta Do Tedo (who make some fantastic port and still wines). A Duoro trip might be a bit wine-centric though. Quinta do Tedo is right at the intersection of two rivers, and they have kayaks available anytime, as well as a pool.
The Alentejo is 2 hours from Lisbon. Herdade Esporao is very tourist friendly. Lots of other less international operations too. Scenic drive. We had a great time in the old walled town of Evora and touring Reguengos de Monsarraz. Lots of arid country and cork trees. Joao Portugal Ramos would be high on my list in Extremoz with other good producers near Borba.
RT
Luis Pato in Bairrada, near Coimbra, on the way to the Duoro and not far from the Dao. She could stay at the Grand Hotel Bussaco, a gothic revival hunting lodge/palace built by the last king of Portugal shortly before he was deposed. It is surrounded by a lovely walled forest and they have a deep cellar of old vintages of the wine they make there.
Go to Porto. Almost all the port houses are there and within walking distance of each other. Fun tours and tastings. If that is too far, at least get out of Lisbon and see the Douro Valley if you can. It is one of the Unesco World Heritage sites. Miles and miles of terraced vineyards, some ancient. Had a wonderful stay at Quinta Nova. Great food and wine in a magical setting. Portugal is a hidden gem.
+1000 on the Grand Hotel Bussaco
The issue with going to the Douro in this short a trip is passing over some amazing places. Like this one. The University at Coimbra is worth a look around too, it’s ancient.
Many, many great wine bars in Lisbon. One of my favorites: http://www.chafarizdovinho.com/
My son has traveled the world and loves Portugal. I envy your friend.
Thanks
Duoro is absolutely beautiful, about a 4 hour drive from Lisbon if I remember correctly. I’d highly recommend staying at Quinta Do Tedo (who make some fantastic port and still wines). A Duoro trip might be a bit wine-centric though. Quinta do Tedo is right at the intersection of two rivers, and they have kayaks available anytime, as well as a pool.
At the confluence of the Douro and the Tedo rivers.
Quinta do Portal and Quinta de La Rosa are other nice places in the Douro with lodging and excellent wine. Portal also has an excellent restaurant.
If you go to Porto, besides visiting the lodges, also go to Vinologia, a Port wine tasting room kitty corner from the Factory House.
If only staying in Lisbon, Setubal is worth a visit. The JM Fonseca company is the standard, but there are other fine places. The 20 year old Roxo (pink Muscat) is fabulous as well as their vintage Setubals.
Also in Lisbon is Garrifeirra Nacional, a world famous wine shop. Some mouth watering stuff, but very expensive.
The forest, grounds and hotel are really nice. This is a good one. Kind of destination of its own. Cute young Coeds in Coimbra.
RT
Keep it coming, guys. My friend flies out on Thursday evening.
Fantastic lunch spot in the Valley - DOC. Not sure if it’s warm enough this time of year to sit on the patio, but it’s right along the river with incredible views and food to match. Unless you’re a whiz with Portuguese, one lane mountain roads and standard transmissions I’d recommend hiring a driver.
It’s probably not worth visiting the Symington family estates in the Valley - you’ll have a better experience at their outposts in Porto/Villa Nova de Gaia. Quinta da Pacheca was a wonderful experience, and although he’s probably missed harvest if it’s still going on get ready to do some stomping.
Frank,
I wrote a series of posts about my trip to the Douro last year. Those posts can be found here: Douro Valley and Porto trip (Tedo; Niepoort; Portal; Vallado; Graham's; and more) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers .
If you’d rather I distill those posts down quite a bit, just say the word and I’ll do that for ya’. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Another resource is Roy Hersh’s website, http://www.ftlop.com.
There’s an entire travel segment in the forum.
Many excellent table wines from Portugal these days, and even a terrific sparkler called Vertice.
Ok guys, thanks for all the help back. I simply sent a link to my colleague so she can click through and aside from being shocked and awed by all you wine geeks, she gets some great feedback to look over. Thanks again.