Tasting without a tour in Gaia?

We had tastings at both Adriano Ramos Pinto and Caves Cálem last September without taking a tour. Ramos Pinto wasn’t busy at all. There was about a 5 minutes wait at Cálem for an outdoor table.

Yes, Grahams was sold out during our trip in late March. We wanted to stay flexible so we ended up at Ramos Pintos and enjoyed it very much. We walked in just for a tasting, but ended up doing the English tour which was very interesting from an historical point of view. The original offices are preserved as a museum space and the art deco era artwork used for early marketing are intriguing.

Thanks for the replies! We'll check those out--especially if the popular places are crowded. Would prefer not to pre-book another thing, anyway.

I was in Porto a month ago. While walking in Gaia, I went into a wine tasting store that had an organist playing on the 2nd level. It was refreshing to hear and walk up service. I don't remember the name, but it was unique. It was close to the overhead cable car building.

there are a number of places you can go and just taste, and not just ports but also other Portugese wines. Porto Cruz (near Sandeman) was one I visited last OCT, but most of the wine brokers on the side streets also can recommend a place if they don't offer tastings.

It might be a silly question, are the tours and the tastings the same price? Are the prices pretty standard for tastings?

Not a silly question, and the answer is "no". All of the Port houses I visited have multiple tours and tastings, and they vary the prices, sometimes quiet a bit. I did a tasting at Sandeman with ports over 40 years old and that was 160 Euro. Normal tastings run 20-40 Euro depending on the cellar.

As for "just walkiing in", for a tour, especially the higher end ones that they only offer once or twice a day, that's definitely not going to happen for most of the major houses. They do book up, especially between May and the end of September. However they usually have tables on the terrace where you can by a glass or two, but you find those fill up early and stay filled. Plus, you have to know what you want; it's not a "tasting", you buy the specific wine you're going to get served.

Was just at Taylor’s, up the hill a bit in Gaia. I declined the tour and went straight to the (lovely) tasting area. No waiting; found a table in the garden/overlook area right away. Wine available by the glass or in any of three or four flights. It’s not a bargain-basement deal, but the port was very good and the overall experience was great, a special treat.

There are also a lot of wine bars where you can do port and wine tastings without a tour.