The city of Porto and the Douro Valley offer the wine-loving traveller two memorable experiences and landscapes in one trip. Port wine plays a central role in the life and tourism of both regions. Porto is well connected to the Douro Valley. Even a day trip will allow you to see the region’s stunning scenery, the main wine villages and visit the winerys

Travel to northern Portugal

To delve deeper into the world of Port wine, a trip to the wine’s origins in Porto and the Douro is almost essential, with plenty to see and taste even for a extended trip.

The best time to go is in early autumn, when you can visit the vineyards to see the harvest and the making of Port wine, or even participate in the process. The weather is also usually at its best at this time of year, and there are no crowds of tourists. Of course there is plenty to see and taste at other times of the year. Many wineries and wine cellars in the city of Porto are open all year round.

Douro Valley

In the Douro Valley, the hills rising from the river follow each other. The area has been called the most beautiful wine region in the world. It has also been selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the embanked slopes of the Douro valley, the human handprint is visible at every turn, yet you feel like you are in the middle of nature.

Wine has been grown in the Douro for a couple of millennia. Over the centuries, the steep slopes have been hand-troweled to make them suitable for wine-growing. The soil is slate, which is easy to work. It is so porous that the roots of the vine can penetrate up to 25 metres into the rock, absorbing the water absorbed by the rock during the growing season from the winter rains. This fact makes it possible to grow grapes in this rather barren area.

For centuries the Douro Valley was an inaccessible area. It is only a few tens of kilometres from the city of Porto but the mountainous nature of the area made it very difficult to get around. The steep slopes descend right down to the banks of the Douro River on both sides of the river. Before the roads and railways were built the only access to the area was upstream along the river. Even that was not easy, because of the many rapids and shallows in the river.

Today it takes one and a half hours by car to get to the area from Porto via a new EU-funded motorway. Alternatively, you can take the train, which runs right alongside the river. A real scenic route! A third option for admiring the scenery and visiting the wineries is a river boat. Elegant white boats glide slowly along the river, stopping at the quays in front of the wine towns. A ferry cruise from Porto is usually two days long, including an overnight stay on board.

Perhaps the easiest option is to take an organised bus tour from Porto. These trips usually last a day and include a visit to a couple of wineries.

Cities of the Douro

There are two small towns in the Douro region with which port wine is strongly associated. Closer to Porto of these is Peso da Régua, with a population of a few thousand, which houses the activities of port houses and warehouses. Régua is also the tourist centre of the region. The train and riverboats bring in a large number of wine tourists.

In Régua, a must-visit for wine lovers is the Museum of the Douro – Museu do Douro. The modern and stylishly put together exhibition focuses on the history of wine-growing in the region. Here you can discover the old methods and tools used to produce wine in this barren region, and the embankment plantations built from slate over the centuries.

Another central small town is Pinhão. It is located in the centre of the Douro wine region and is surrounded by the most prestigious wineries. The area around Pinhão is therefore a great place to visit for the wine tourist.

Douro wineries

Between Régua and Pinhão, there are several wineries that welcome wine travellers. One of the most popular is Sandeman’s Quinta do Seixo. Built into the hillside, the winery produces the best of Sandeman’s wines. A guided tour allows you to see the farm’s production facilities and wine cellar. The tasting room offers a comprehensive selection of Sandeman products. The views from the farm down to the valley are unbelievably spectacular. A car is required to get to the winery.

For those travelling by train, the recommended destination is Quinta do Bomfim, located right in the centre of Pinhão. There is plenty to see and experience for the visitor. The estate has a good selection of quality port wines to taste, including Dow’s, Graham’s and Quinta do Vesuvio. A list of wine tours at different prices is available at the reception desk. The tour itself is the same for all options, but the tasting included in the price varies.

The absolute recommendation is to invest €35 and go for the “premium vintage” package. During the tasting you will be presented with three different aged and surprisingly very special vintage ports. The oldest of these, Dow’s vintage 1985 is a stunning case; a sophisticated, complex and velvety port.

In addition to the larger wineries, many smaller wine producers also keep their doors open for wine tourists. Worth mentioning are Quinta do Crasto, which also offers accommodation and a good restaurant in stunning scenery. Another, Quinta de la Rosa is located just a few kilometres west of Pinhão. The Rosa has a good selection of port wines from its own estate. Along the route is Quinta dos Murcas, which even has its own train station on the farm.

In addition to the traditional cellar tours, many farms also offer other activities. One of the special features of port wine production is that part of the port is still traditionally pressed in large granite vats before fermentation. This tradition is also open to tourists on many farms during the harvest.

The spectacular scenery is also worth exploring a little higher up. Many vineyards have hiking trails that run along the vineyards up to the hillsides. Particularly well-guided routes can be found at Quinta de la Rosa. Please note that most farms require advance booking for a visit.

Eating and drinking in the Douro Valley

The national dish of northern Portugal is the Francesinha, a toast stuffed with ham, cheese and sausage, bathed in beer and tomato sauce. You can get them cheaply from any bar. The food culture in the area is pretty unsophisticated anyway. There are, of course, more upmarket places to eat in the area.

Castas y Pratos is one of Régua’s most popular and highly regarded restaurants. Tastefully restored in an old railway shed, the restaurant’s wine list is actually a book. The selection is huge and there is also a representative range of port wines. Drinks are very reasonably priced. A superb Graham’s 30 year old tawny was priced at €9.50. Drinks are in the five-drink range.

The standard of food at Castas y Pratos is among the best in the Douro Valley. This is reflected in the local clientele, which has filled the restaurant to capacity. Traditional ingredients such as cod (bacalao) come in many forms. But there’s a fresh, modern take on traditional dishes.  Starters range from five to ten euros. The main courses here cost in the region of 20 euros. A table reservation is a must.

Another recommended restaurant is renowned chef Rui Paula’s DOC, located in Folgosa, halfway between Regua and Pinhao. The terrace, right on the riverbank, has a stunning view of the river and the surrounding hillsides.

There are also a few small wine bars in Régua, where you can enjoy port by the glass. On the promenade, just below the wine museum, behind a rather inconspicuous door, you will find the Vinho & Companhia wine bar and wine shop. The shop has a loft tasting area for unhurried port sipping.

Accommodation in Douro

There are plenty of accommodation options in the area. Hotels in small towns offer good value accommodation. On the other hand, many quintas, or wineries, offer accommodation. These offer the bonus of not only stunning views but also the chance to see life on the vineyard and, in the autumn, the wine being made.

Porto city and wine cellars

The twin cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia offer tourists a different view of Port wine. This is where the world conquest of Port wine began, with English merchants shipping strong red wine fortified with distillate to their homeland from the 1500s onwards.

In the spring after the harvest, wine is brought here from the Douro Valley. By the sea, temperatures are fairly constant all year round and humidity levels are high. These are optimal conditions for the long-term maturation of Port wine. On the Gaia side of the river are the “lodges” of the largest wineries – cellars where vast quantities of ageing port are stored in shelters.

The cellars offer plenty to explore. Tourism has been a priority and most cellars offer guided tours with tastings. After the tour, restaurants, large wine shops and tasting rooms on the estates also tempt you to stay for several hours. Among the restaurants, the Taylor’s and Graham’s cellar restaurants are particularly noteworthy.

Taylor’s is one of the most prestigious of the lodges. It exudes aristocratic history. A tour of the cellars and showrooms is followed by a tasting of the house produce in the tasting room. As a fun touch, peacocks and chickens that live in the courtyard had come through the open door into the room to keep the tasters company.

Porto’s wine bars

After perusing the offerings in the cellars of the wineries, the next step is to head across the river to downtown Porto to check out the wine bar offerings.

A couple of blocks up the beach you’ll find Portologia, a wine bar with a wide selection, especially of older tawny ports. Colheita wines, long-aged tawny ports from a single vintage, can be found from as long as fifty years ago. The price of a 49-year-old Dalvan Colheita is €25. Younger Ports can be sampled for a few euros a glass.

How to get there

TAP Portugal flies direct to Lisbon. From there it’s about 3 h to Porto city by train or bus. A rental car will take you to the Douro Valley from Lisbon in about 3.5 hours. There is one stopover from Helsinki to Porto. The car journey from Porto airport to Régua takes just over an hour. Most of the journey is on the new motorway.

Text: Antti Lehikoinen
Photos: Janne Suomi and Antti Lehikoinen

Last Updated on June 22, 2022 by Flavorado

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