Hello,
Hubby and I will be in Porto this May/June and would like to do some wine tasting along the Duoro. Are their 'wineries' we can visit ourselves (versus taking an organized tour from Porto) on a day trip from Porto (traveling either by bus or train)?
Thanks!
Yes, there are a number of wineries that do wine tastings. The trick is to locate ones fairly close to one another.
There are several in the general vicinity of Pinhao and I’m guessing the same is true for Régua. If you Google Wine Route Portugal you will find a number of websites that would help.
You would need a car even if you take the train from Porto up to the valley as the wineries are not all grouped together.
Also, the Port lodges in Gaia, across the river from Porto, have a few places that also have wine. I’m not a port fan but had a great afternoon doing tastings of regular wine in Gaia.
We just returned. Train Station is close to Quintas, but…. IDK how you’d hire a driver. Another recent thread was asking about private drivers and there were some recommendations there. We met a couple who took a bus tour from Porto that went to four wineries for about 45 minutes each. May have been called EFun? Also, at the wineries there were some tour groups who had tasting and lunch that looked pretty great.
We had a car and stayed in Duoro for two nights at Quinta Do Vallado (heavenly!). It’s an easy two hour drive from Porto to Douro if you have any interest in renting a car for a day or two. We went wine/port tasting in Douro Valley on our own at Sandeman, Croft, Fonseca, Dow and Quinta Do Vallado. Some of them want you to take their tour and we went on a couple which was pretty interesting even though similar to Napa Valley tours near where we live. Many other Quintas were also open for tasting.
Good luck!
We had a car when we did some wine tasting today, but the Quinta das Carvalhas seemed close enough to walk from the train and you could just drop in to taste (we didn't have a reservation), and it was nice. I think if you made reservations in advance you might feel even more secure about it and could also coordinate one of their vineyard tours.
We also went to Quinta do Tedo which was beautiful, but was a drive of a dozen or more km west of Pinhao, I think, so not doable without a tour or private car. They have a B&B and if I come back again I'd definitely stay there!
They have a wonderful port that I still can't forget the taste of. We went to Porto in Portugal just for the tasting. We found out at the vino that there is an annual fair where you can try all the new varieties and not only. We were with a group of people but learned from the locals that just above Porto, they produce a unique wine called Vinho Verde. There is a winery there where you can come without an appointment. Vinho Verde can also be red and rosé with different ages, and the name comes from the region of the same name. The Douro region also grows vineyards, and you can find out if there are wineries.
