When in Porto you drink Port wine. This is as true as you should drink champagne when you are in Reims. The city of Porto does not only lend its name to the drink but also was the main harbor to ship it around the world.
Enjoying Port while the sun goes down! That is what Porto is about!
The grapes are not grown in Porto itself but in the Douro valley, about an hour to the East. The Port wine is aged in the caves (cellars) in Porto though, so you can visit the Port Caves! If you read any of our blog posts before you know we love food and drinks, so of course we went on a Port Wine tasting splurge!!
First off all, a lot of the Port caves aren’t really friendly or open to people coming in just for tastings. We guess since there are a lot of tourists who don’t buy anything and just try to score free drinks, their mentality has changed into an unwelcoming one. This is only the general idea but you of course there are exceptions! When you’re on a hunt for tours and tastings, dress to impress and they’ll be more likely to offer you a tasting. Booking online is also a good idea since most of them only have tours certain times of the day.
This map shows the Douro valley on the right and Porto on the left. Since Port is downstream and seabound it is easy to transport it here and then export it.
Second: If you have the time, visit the Douro Valley, where the grapes are grown and pressed. It is a beautiful place only about an hour east of Porto.
1. Quinta des Orvos.
You’ll see a lot of the Port houses called: Quinta.. This actually just means farm! So this one is called farm of the ravens.
This is the first cave we did and most definitely our favorite one. Our guide (Isabella) was very energetic, passionate and fast but open for questions and explained everything with a sense of humor. Next to Portuguese and English she also spoke Spanish and Dutch. You start of with a short movie about the Douro valley and the history of the Port houses, supported by explanations of the guide. She then shows you the oak kegs in the Cave and explains the aging process and different styles of Port. You end the tour tasting 3-4 different Port wines and talk about the tasting notes.
Port wines change colour while aging. The two on the left or white Ports and the three on the right are red ones. They age from left to right so white Port becomes more dark and visa versa.
The groups are a bit smaller so this tour felt a lot more personal than other. We also like smaller groups because there’s more time and space for questions and extra information.
Our very passionate guide Isabelle explaining the different Ports to us.
Not only was it very interesting to hear the whole process explained., Isabella was also very passionate about Port wine. The tour will cost you €5 but that is deducted if you buy a bottle there. We ended up buying a nice LBV (Late bottled vintage) from the year we first met (very romantic, we know).
2. Calem Port Caves
This keg is actually so big it could fit an entire Mini Cooper in there!
When entering the building to ask for a tour, we were greeted with so much hospitality we already loved it ! The tour and tastings are 10 euro, this includes a 30 minute self guided tour through their “museum”, a 20 minute guided tour through their cellars and a tasting of 2 different Ports. You could also opt to taste three different Port wines or pair them with chocolate.
A very important step in every process when you are making food or drinks!
Their museum is pretty amazing. It guides you through the whole process starting from the vineyards to into your glass. Since it is self guided you can take your time and see what you want to see. They even have a bottle of 1861 on display!
The cave-tour itself guides you past the big kegs in their cellar. Some of them you can actually fit a small car in! Our tour guide wasn’t very good though. She rushed through the whole thing and sighed at least 20 times in the same amount of minutes. During the tasting, she rambled through some information and then just left! It was a shame because everything else about this Port house was beautiful and very well presented. Maybe we just got unlucky with our guide.
Our guide who clearly, 10 minutes into the tour, was already done with it. Still nice to know that those kegs actually hold Port and about 7000 litres of it!
If you have never heard a Fado concert (the traditional Portuguese music) definitely join in in their unique experience. It combines the two most typical things about Porto: Port Wine and Fado!
The best part of every tour: the tasting! We had a white 4 year old Port and the special reserve one.
3. Kopke
We weren’t sure to include this Port house at first, but since it’s THE oldest one in Porto, you shouldn’t skip it. Here’s what happened to us though. Outside, it said they do tastings paired with chocolate (SCORE!) so naturally we went in. Once inside they didn’t really give us any explanation, except for a snarky answer that ‘all tastings are with chocolate’ when I asked how the tastings worked. The ladies then almost threw a book in our hands with the different tasting options. They then started talking to each other and laughing in Portuguese, without any explanation about the different options. Safe to say we just put down the brochure and left. It had been a really long time since people were this rude to us.
These oak kegs are made new. After a couple of decades they are shipped to Scotland to age Whiskey. There last location is the Caribbean to age rum!
While writing this blog, we did some more research on Kopke and on experiences of others. Maybe we just had very unfriendly staff that day,
As the oldest Port houses of Porto, you shouldn’t skip this one! They don’t offer any tours they do offer tastings and food pairings like chocolate. They are quite famouse for their vintage and aged tawny Ports. Don’t let the small entrance, or the unfriendly welcome scare you away. After choosing your tasting you will be led to the upstairs lounge where you can enjoy in all peace and quit.
4. Cave Vasconcellos
If you read up on Vasconcellos, you will noticed that their reviews all say that the pressure on buying something if you taste is pretty high. Even getting in, seemed hard for a lot of people. Although they have a lot of bad reviews, all reviews still say that their Port is amazing and worth going in, so we gave it a go.
These are the old boats that were used to transport the “grapejuice”to Port where it is aged in the cellars.
At the door we got stopped by a men directly. When asked if they did any tastings, he replied: You can taste the bottle when you buy! Ofcourse this was not on our list because we were flying and didn’t have any checked luggage. Since that they we weren’t into having a discussion we just left.
When visiting them we would suggest being dressed nicely and just telling them that you are interested in buying a bottle. We tasted some of their Port in a different venue and we must admit, it is quite amazing!
You can also book private tastings for a small group online. So if you want to try the Port but are not interested in buying, this would be the way to go.
5. Burmester
This small Port house is hidden away next to the bridge. We almost didn’t even see it till the last day when we passed. The guide Vincent definetly knew what he wass talking about and made it clear and easy for everyone to understand. The fun thing of a smaller Port house is the more personal approach in tastings. You can actually talk to them about the Port and tasting notes.
So little and hidden you don’t even properly see it, if you don’t know where to look!
Their point of focus is less on selling and more on giving you a good experience, which is a nice change to all other Port caves we visited. This leaves a lot of room for unworried enjoying and tasting Port.
Bonus: Porto Cruz
Porto Cruz definetly has a more modern touch to the whole building than the other houses that are more typical.
Since they don’t exactly do tastings, you get a ticket to get a small sip of Port from them when you book a boat tour but this is without explanation and more like factory work, they do not really belong in this list. Still it is worth checking them out. Their second and third floor have a small museum where you can still learn about how Port is made and where it comes from. The fourth floor they have a fancy looking restaurant with a view over the other side of Porto. And the top is a 360 degrees view of the whole of Porto. Here you can enjoy th view, for free!, or with a drink. We had a nice Port of them and chatted up the bartender who seemed to know his Ports. When the sun is out, it is one of the best places to chill
The amazing view from up the rooftop bar at Porto Cruz. Go there during the golden hour for amazing views over the Douro and city!
These are definitely the must see Port houses in Porto! Hopefully this will get you started. For more travel tips about Porto, we’ve got a cityguide of Porto coming very soon! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more amazing travel advice!
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