Porto is certainly well known for its Luís I Bridge, the beautiful Douro river, azulejos tiles and great fast food in the form of Francesinha. There’s one symbol of the city, one of the biggest, which is not listed above. It’s the Porto wine, produced in great quantities all across Porto. Which vineyards to visit in Porto? Where can we taste the wine? How much does visiting the vineyards cost?
Ferreira
Ferreira Porto Tawny is not a very expensive wine, which we can even encounter in the UK. The wine entered production in 1751. The cellars of Ferreira are available for visitors. There are guides there, who speak English, Portugal, German, Italian and Spanish. The tour consists of exploring the cellars, listening to the story of the vineyard and the wine production and, of course, tasting. The cheapest tour, which lasts 40 minutes, has two wine types available for tasting and it costs 13 EUR. For 16 EUR, there are 3 types of wine. For 22, there are 5 types and the tour is longer. The most expensive variant you can pick is the Porto Vintage, for 40 EUR, with 4 types of wine of the highest quality.
Croft Port
Another destination on our list is the Croft vineyard in Porto. You can taste three types of Croft wine once there: Croft Pink, Ruby Reserve and Old Tawny. The tour costs 14 EUR, with multilingual guides once again. The vineyard is closed only during Christmas.
Offley
Offley is one of the most famous wines from Porto. The history of the name dates back to 1737, when William Offley erected the vineyard. Inside, we’ll get to hear all about the history of the wine and about the contribution of Joseph James Forrester to the development of the, now worldwide known, brand. The cheapest tour across the cellars of Offley costs 10 EUR per person and lasts 40 minutes. That includes the tasting of two wine types. For 13 EUR, a guided tour with three wine types – Ruby, Tawny and white. A little more luxurious tour, at 20 EUR, offers 5 wine types, in a more ‘intimate’ vibe. The vineyard is open for visitors from March to October, from 10:00 till 12:30 and from 14:00 till 18:00.
Sandeman
In 1790, George Sandeman set up the, still functioning, Sandeman brand, best known for its Port and Sherry. The company allows for exploring the vineyard and the cellars, has a hotel in place and a viewpoint. Exploring the cellars of Sandeman costs 13 EUR for the standard variant, with 2 wine types. For 16 EUR, you get 3 types, for 22 EUR, a slightly longer trip across the vineyard, a museum and 5 wine types. There’s also a trip for 40 EUR, for a more luxurious degustation of the oldest Tawny wines, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years old respectively.
Real Companhia Velha
Real Companhia Velha is one of the most renowned wine producers, who allows us to visit their cellars and the dedicated museum. While there, you can get to know the history of the vineyard and the company as a whole and see the centuries old wine. For 15 EUR, you get a tour with a movie presentation about the wine production history and degustation of 4 different wine types. 35 EUR gets you a longer tour alongside 4 wine types, this time 10, 20 and 40 years old Tawny (and cheese tasting!). 60 EUR gets you a tour through the cellars, the museum and a tasting of 4 wine types of the highest quality. There are also trips for 120 and 250 EUR available, but they are a tiny bit on the extreme side.
Espaço Porto Cruz
Espaço Porto Cruz is a different type of experience entirely, as instead of visiting the cellars of a vineyard, there’s a separate facility, dedicated to wine lovers. There’s a restaurant, from which you can see Porto, you get to see a multimedia centre, a place for chocolate production, which you can naturally taste. You can also taste their cheese and, of course, the Porto Cruz wine. Degustation of 3 wines and 3 chocolates will cost you 10 EUR. A supper combined with a degustation of 7 wines will set you back a whooping 95 EUR.
Churchill’s
Churchill’s is more of a fancy company, which does still offer tours during which you can taste their wares. The company has a dedicated place for wine tasting with a nice view of Douro. You can try the Douro and Porto wine. For three wines, you pay 20 EUR. For 35, you can try the older, Vintage wines.
Taylor’s
Taylor’s is another renowned wine producer, which hosts cellar tours in its Vila Nova de Gaia. A ticket costs 15 EUR. For that price, you get an audio guide available in 12 language, wine tasting – Chip Dry and Vintage, as well as exploration of the 300 years old wine cellars. The company also has an interesting Barao Fladgate restaurant, with an incredible view of the city.
Porto Calem
The Calem vineyard, at the Avenida Diogo Leite 344 street, is one of the most commonly visited vineyards. The reason is, not only do you get to visit the wine cellars and taste the wine, but there are also ‘fado shows’. There’s a cheaper variant of the tour, which includes visiting the cellars, the interactive museum and 2/3 wine types for tasting – it costs 13/16 EUR (depending on the amount of wine types you choose). Visiting the cellars alongside the degustation and a 45 min fado show is a bit more expensive, at 21 EUR. Be aware, that the shows occur only once a week. For the sophisticated tasters, you can also taste their chocolate and cheese.
W & J Graham’s
Graham’s, a company from 1890, also shares their cellars for tourists, but this one requires you to book earlier. There’s the standard cellar exploration and wine tasting in a special, dedicated room with the view of the city. For the more picky, there are more expensive tasting sets with Vintage wines. The vineyard also has its own company store, a bar and a restaurant. The basic tour costs 17 EUR.
Visiting the vineyards in Porto – is it worth it?
Most of the programs will not even have a noticeable difference for a layman. If wine is not your expertise, it will not matter if you’re drinking 10/20/30 year old wine. The brands will taste very comparable too. The tours for most of the wine producers only differ in the wine’s brand and the localization of the vineyard. The prices are comparable too, so the destination you choose will not matter much. Naturally, for people knowledgeable about wine, picking your favourite producer and paying a little extra for the high quality wine is a no-brainer. Do keep in mind, that you can taste the wines from Porto nearly anywhere. Even on the Mercado do Bolhao market.
