An amazing winery in Vinho Verde with a historic and picturesque setting. We visited in late…read moreSeptember with a private guide for lunch and a wonderful tasting of their fine selections. We sat nestled under a shady arbor enjoying 3 fabulous white wines, a luscious red and of course port with dessert. We even tasted a bit of their digestif to round out everything. While they aren't a restaurant, we enjoyed a delicious private lunch while we tasted the wines beginning with some fresh bread and house made olive oil. Next came a light and savory goat cheese puff pastry over roasted mushrooms. For our main we feasted on seared pork belly in a bed of fresh peas and for dessert a sweet orange roulade with strawberry compote. Definitely one of the tastiest meals on our two week trip in Portugal so far. After lunch we strolled a bit around the historic property with its small chapel ruin and many fruit trees. A great wAy to kick off our wine tasting journey in northern Portugal.

This was exactly what we were looking for on our drive up the Duoro Valley. Quinta de Covela was…read morejust a few minutes off of the main road - a slightly harrowing drive down to it so do yourself a favor and stay alert (and plan for accordingly for the drive out if you are having wine). My wife and i drove in and just wondered around until someone approached us in our clearly lost/confused state. We were greeted by an incredibly friendly young gal and treated to an impromptu wine tasting on a stone table in the shade of a large tree on a patio overlooking the Duoro River. Honestly, the wine would have been swill and this would have been an incredible experience... but luckily we were treated to some very crisp and refreshing Vihno Verdes (green wines) while having some nice conversation with the Covela pourer (whose name I have forgotten). Afterwards she took us for a tour of the grounds where we saw the vineyards, orchards and the few centuries old ruins of the old manor house and chapel. To sum it up... this was the stuff of dreams. Unfortunately they do not distribute in the USA or I would most certainly buy their wine often. Instead we left with a bottle and drank it at the hotel later that evening (yes, i am a wino). If you are in the region - certainly make a stop here. Well worth it.

Peter Eckert was a Swiss insurance company manager who fell in love with the Dão region, and with…read morehis wife, bought four hectares of abandoned land and a house. His story sounds similar to the many expat stories that for a while flooded bookstores. Skip the complains about local workers, fast forward twenty years, and you have a prospering family vineyard and a cellar of award-winning wines. During our visit, Peter's root shines through, in his warm hospitality and management precision. The wine making facility is a blend of modern and tradition. There is the lagar where grapes are stomped by feet, and chill rings on fermenting tanks. Peter is really proud of his Encruzado, an indigenous variety that is considered Portugal's finest white grape. It's full bodied, well structured, a creamy mouthfeel balanced with some acidity. I'll pick this over many chardonnay or sauvignon blanc! I feel privileged that I get to try both the unoaked and oaked versions (and I agree with Peter that I prefer the unoaked) of the wine, plus a barrel sample. For red, we tried the Touriga Nacional and Alfrocheiro, again indigenous varietals that I hardly find back home. We just wish that we can carry more bottles home with us!

Awesome hour here. Got a tour of their operations and awesome wine tasting. Very friendly and…read morechatty wine maker.

An innovative producer of still and Sparkling wines focusing on a few, regional grape varietals to…read moremake something unique and special. We were visiting Portugal and connected with Ryan of Catavino, a travel specialist in Porto to show us a few of the unique wines/wineries of the region and he brought us to this quiet little village around an hour from Porto to explore this special place. We were guided on our visit by their talented winemaker/owner and started with a visit to some vineyards to learn more about their organic farming practices. Upon returning to the modest winery we proceeded to taste recently pressed juice, moved on to barrel tasting then a variety of their current releases. Everything was fantastic from the sparkling wines and whites to the big bold wines made from the special Baga varietal. As a special treat he even opened a 2009 in addition to the 2014 and 2015. We spent nearly 3-hours on our visit at this special spot and will look for the wines on the states as they do have some distribution there.

Dão is a famous wine region in Portugal, and we decided to visit some vineyards on our trip…read more Quinta do Perdigão is a small vineyard with just 8 hectares of land, with certified organic production. Several of its wines has 90+ points from Robert Parker among other awards. We had a lovely tour of the vineyard with Vanessa, the owner, and her entourage of dogs and horse. She and her husband met over her art exhibition, and her artwork graces the bottles. After the tour, we sat down for an informal tasting while chatting about everything. If you like white, try their Encruzado, a 91 pt wine made with their indigenous grape. Their Reserve 2006 is amazing, we couldn't resist getting a bottle to take home. pro tip: Do call/email ahead of time to arrive a visit, and don't trust your GPS to know the way.

Me and my wife came here for a couple night and we must say we were both in shock. Of how beautiful…read moreand relaxing this vineyard was. We had no idea this GEM of a place existed. From service to accommodation and food and we can't forget about their wine 5 stars. We definitely recommend this Quinta. There pool is amazing with views of the mountains. It's like a dream. Rooms are clean and very up to date. We got massages at the spa and Rita was excellent and ze who checked us in is great! We didn't want to leave haha.

Absolutely loved our stay at the Quinta do Vallado. Such a gorgeous spot in the Douro…read moreValley...peaceful, extremely comfortable and sprawling accommodations, warm staff, stunning grounds. It even smells heavenly with the orange blossoms and rosemary all around the property. Had dinner both nights at the hotel as it was delicious, affordable for the area (which generally has considerably more expensive restaurants) and easy. Kids enjoyed the bar menu to have an earlier night of it (plenty of options for lighter dinners in the bar if you don't wish to eat heavy or late) and we loved our premium wine pairings with dinner. They also have an honor bar with all of their fabulous wines and some spirits for mixing, which was a nice touch. The breakfast was plentiful and very tasty. Wish it would start a little earlier (7? 730? would be great, but I believe it started at 8) but other than that, zero complaints. Our stay included a tour and tasting, which was truly educational for all. Our guide was the sommelier of the hotel and she also poured the wines at dinner. Our stay at the Quinta was a true highlight of our trip. I highly recommend it.

We had a great time here today with our expert Ines. We sampled 3 different types of 10 year ports…read moreand splurged on the 10, 20, 30 and 40 yr ports.

My group participated in the port and chocolate tasting. It included a tour of the caves with a…read moreknowledgeable tour guide, followed by a three port tasting with dark chocolate truffles. A great way to learn about the history of port at Sandeman.

BEAUTY ALL AROUND!!!! DELICIOUS PORTS AND SUPER FRIENDLY STAFF!…read more This is the most picturesque winery I have ever been to! It is also one of the oldest wineries in the valley. I booked the tour to the this winery because it was recommended by our hotel (24€ pp) . We got there 10 mins before the tour. Parking was right at the entrance and plenty of space to park. Next we headed to the wine shed for our checkin. Then we waiting for our tour to begin. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and explained us the details the difference between port and wine and walked us through the different stages of wine making! The last but not least was tasting the wines and I have to say that QDP went all out on this. We have tasted some of their finest selection and all 5 were phenomenal. We eneded up buying 20 year aged Port and 40year aged port. After visiting here we came to know that this is also a hotel. Next time I am definitely staying there .

This was one of the best experiences of my life! As soon as we arrived, I wanted to blow out our…read moreother travel plans and stay more nights. The hotel is beautiful and the room was one of the bigger ones I had in Portugal. The wine tour and tasting experience was top-notch. We had dinner at the Wine House restaurant and did the tasting menu with wine pairing. Everything was delicious and fresh and we were able to taste amazing fish, foie gras, steak, and more. There was even a ginger palate cleanser and a tasty dessert. The wines were excellent. And the price was so reasonable I had to read it again! It was a little jarring the next day when we went to the same restaurant for breakfast and it was not a lot of selection and poorly prepared.

Quinta do Tedo is a gorgeous winery in the Doura valley. Its logo is a bird because the owners are…read morebird watchers. It is also a B&B, but we were here to taste port. The tour was excellent, our guide was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. The process is fascinating. We finished with the tastings. The ports are fantastic. We had a Porto rose, tawny, and LBV. This winery is definitely worth a visit!

When we arrived at Quinta do Tedo the views were just breathtaking. The entire Duoro Valley is so…read morepicturesque. We were supposed to have a private lunch under an olive tree, but the weather didn't cooperate. That sounded lovely, but the back-up may have been even lovelier. They set up lunch for us in the wine cellar. It was such a beautiful space, the walls were lined with oak barrels and there was some cool art at the far side. The table was set so perfectly with a couple of bottles of wine, a charcuterie board full of different cheeses and meats, and a very tasty fruit salad. They thought of everything, even having a heater under the table. We had the entire cellar to ourselves, just the three of us. After lunch, we did a tasting and tour of the winery with a group. The day couldn't have been more perfect and I had an amazing experience here!