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.

This is a beautiful hotel in a stunning setting on the Douro River. The rooms are in 1-2 story…read morebuildings some with private entrances some shared just with a few rooms. Wandering around the property it's easy to get lost going up and down the stone steps as the whole place is built on the side of a hill. There is a hot tub although not in a great location, on a lower floor, and a pool - unheated - with scenic views. Our room is spacious and brightly colored with French doors - we shared the entrance with one room on our 2nd level and one below. This is a place you could definitely hang out for a week at least. We had two days there and it was wonderful. It's about a mile from downtown and the train station across the foot bridge although there's not much in town to see. We had dinner at the hotel both nights - 2 nice restaurants one an open air grill place and one for fine dining and also breakfast. Highly recommend this place if visiting Pinhao and the Douro valley.

AVOID THIS WINERY!!!!! The worst customer service that I have dealt with. We are a group of 13…read morepeople booking a tour/wine experience and dinner at their restaurant. They wanted me to send money via bank transfer. I did not feel comfortable with that and wanted to pay by CC. Their response time is slow and had to send numerous emails without a response back. Finally got a credit card form from them, and signed and sent back within 24 hours. They cancelled my reservation, because 24 hours is too long. Go figure. What a waste of time and effort. I recommend going to vineyard that actually cares about their customers. TAKE MY ADVICE AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

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.

Restaurant, awesome, tour good TLDR…read moreWe had a beautiful lunch by the river in this open and airy restaurant. The staff and service were impeccable. A pair of us shared the ribeye for two which had great flavor and was more than we could handle. The other two had the veal which was very tender. All if the desserts were perfection, very light with an abundance of flavors. The only miss was the wine tour/tasting. My friend made the arrangements for our lunch and tour reservations, checked that we had sufficient time time between them. The restaurant knew we had a tour and the tour people knew we had lunch reservations. We showed up for the tasting and were sort of scolded for being late. And apparently we were supposed to pick our tasting in advance so after the tour we had to quickly choose. Unfortunately, because we felt rushed, we just picked the classic tasting which turned out to be just ports and none of us are fans. That's on us for not taking the time we should have so I'm not hold that against them. The tour guide was very enjoyable to listen to and seemed to have real joy for her job.

We had the BEST evening here at Bomfin 1896!! ( Sunday, 26/04/2026) My only regret is we did not…read moreget the names of our Somm and waitress. They were both FANTASTIC & made our experience memorable. My hubby ordered the 3 course dinner and I had the fish rice ala carte. My husband enjoyed the ports "immensely"! He might have enjoyed 7 different ports. He had a good night. He ordered the Portuguese cod "balalhau". We "might" have taught my husband the phonetic Portuguese pronunciation of this fabulous dish.. He was struggling but we can blame it on the port. A first class experience! Thank you for making our first night in pinhao so memorable!

Spectacular wine, beautiful scenery and unforgettable experience at Bulas Wines and Vineyards…read more It takes a while to get there on the winding roads, but you will greeted by beautiful scenery all the way. The vineyard itself is a complete gem tucked between the Douro and a smaller affluent, a perfect location that has apparently been producing wine since the XIII th century. We were greeted by the owners and the oenologist, who did everything they possibly could to show us around the property and tell us about Douro history and wine production, even though they were bang in the middle of a harvest. Most importantly, the wine was truly spectacular (so much so we brought about 12 bottles back with us!) In Douro wines, we really liked the 2012 reserve white and the 2009 Touriga Nacional. But the stars of the show really are the the Ports... if you pass by make sure you at least try a Vintage ruby and a 30 year old Tawny. Sure, they're the most expensive to buy, but they were included in our tasting and completely changed our perspective on dessert wines. If you're on a visit to Douro, this is definitely one not to miss out on!

This winery has a large venue for groups, weddings, etc. Two large rooms are transformed into…read moredining rooms for our large bus tour group. The table settings were beautiful. An accordionist played between the three course servings. Port wines were on the table with a carafe of water. The pot roast and mashed potatoes served were delicious. Drunken pear and chocolate brownie for dessert were nice. The servers will accommodate vegetarian and GF meals. A guide from the village entertained us with more regional knowledge and jokes. Then we walked outdoors to see the vineyard and patio that had a fig tree. A European Robin sang in the tree. Was delightful.

As part of a group cruising the Douro, we visited Quinta de Avessada. We enjoyed some time on their…read moreterrace overlooking the vineyard and their flowering garden. Their restaurant is part of a winery. The owners gave us an entertaining presentation about the wine growing and winemaking. They had wine dating back three or more generations. We had a very nice traditional Portuguese lunch, with plenty of appetizers of cod fritters and sausages, with several courses and musical entertainment (including an accordion) in their lovely building. We enjoyed their white and red wines, and we had lovely service from their friendly staff. A highlight here is the owner, who was such a fun-loving host. He seemed to love his job of entertaining and informing the luncheon group very much. He did a great job of raising my rating higher. This is a great tour stop in Portugal near the Duoro River.

Very cool winery, they make their own port and wine! And still stomp the grapes manually! Took the…read moretour, very informative!

Absolutely amazing views from this great estate property! San Deman is one of the mammoth producer…read moreof Port with more than 35,000,000 bottles for the export. So, yeah not a small regional producer which we typically prefer. The visit was totally worth it with detailed explanation of the vinification process. The hostess and guide are young super energetic and very helpful!

Don't be fooled: my decision to live near Rias Baixas was not only to obtain a sound education this…read moresummer, but to drink some of the world's best wine (and smuggle as much as possible home). My host family was not only kind enough to take me to Bodegas Terras Gauda, but to share with me a story of how their son got into trouble one summer and spent 15 days in the beating hot sun cutting grapes at this particular winery. Oh boy, do I wish I had photos of that! I can't relish in the misfortunes of others for too long because I need to do other important things, like drink and learn about wine. Due to the "special" relationship my host family has with the bodega, we were allowed to have a quick tour during off-hours. The winery itself is very close to the Río Miño and the terrain enjoys fairly mild temperatures, averaging around 15 degrees centigrade (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for the year, and oscillating patterns of rainfall. This makes for grapes that ripen with high sugar content and an acidity much lower than other wines from the Rias Baixas DO region. And after tasting a variety of wines (a blend of the three grapes of the Rias Baixas region, a pure Albariño, and the black label Albariño), I did notice how much smoother the wines were than other Rias Baixas DO wines I have had in the States. Of the three wines sampled, I preferred the blend because the wine was a bit heavier, had a much more pronounced aroma of apricot, and tasted more strongly of fruits. After tasting the wines, I knew that making a few purchases was compulsory. I received quite a bargain - a box of three wines was approximately 30 euro. Good luck trying to get one decent bottle of Albariño in the states for under $15. Speaking of luck, please wish me luck getting as much of this wine through US Customs as humanely possible.

Absolutely stunning location. I would love to return and stay at this hotel. Definitely make it a…read morestop when touring the valley.

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 my favorite meal on the whole trip I took to Lisbon, Porto, the Duoro Valley, and Braga,…read morePortugal. We ate at Papas Zaide on a Sunday, and the owner cooked a meal for three very difficult guests - two vegetarians and someone who was allergic to dairy and eggs. She created a basic stew over rice with pseudo-chicken for us vegetarians and made sure all the appetizers were edible by all - including a pseudo olive loaf, along with delicious bread, olives, oranges, and salad, accompanied by honey and olive oil. For the meat eaters, the traditional meal of fall-off-the-bone pork and potatoes hit the spot. The white and red table wine from small, local Duoro Valley wineries was some of the best we had on the whole tour, topped with a moscato for dessert. Our hostess even made a special dessert with no eggs - a kind of trifle with non-egg custard, fruit, jello, and biscuits that was delicious. Highly recommend for down-to-earth home cooking with a very accommodating hostess.