If you read this blog even semi-regularly, you’ve probably noticed that I like wine. Specifically, I like to drink wine. And, I don’t discriminate – red, white or bubbly, I enjoy them all. Whether it was drinking Chardonnays in Napa Valley, Pinot Noirs in Burgundy, bubbly in Champagne or Pinotages in Stellenbosch, I’ve enjoyed each and every unique experience.
If there is a wine region near my next travel destination, I try my best to weave the experience into my itinerary. So, when I headed to Portugal, it was only natural to add a day in the famed port wine city of Porto… even though I’ve never been a huge port wine fan.
Before I launch into this experience, I should preface this by saying that I am in no way a wine expert. I AM an expert at drinking it and enjoying it, but if you’re waiting for me to critique the points of a specific bottle or launch into a detailed discussion pertaining to the tannins or legs of my favorite aged Rioja, you’re reading the wrong blog. I am far from a wine snob. As much as I relish a glass of Moet, I’m not above sipping some “Two-buck chuck” or wine that comes from a box… (Don’t judge. I was a broke law student and probably would not have survived the three year ordeal without cheap wine).
But, I digress… back to Porto (or Oporto as it’s sometimes called), just a short train ride or (very short) flight from Lisbon. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, but has a “small city” feel. Generally speaking, I prefer smaller cities to large over-toured capitals. I feel that the people are typically more kind and welcoming in small cities. I also love having the option of exploring a city on foot. For me, Porto had all these characteristics of a small city… but then again, I very well could have gotten Porto all wrong. (After all, I did spend the entire day, almost exclusively, drinking port wine).
I’m certain there are tourist attractions, museums, and places of historical significance in Porto, but I can’t comment on them because I didn’t see any of those things. Our time in Lisbon heavily focused on sight-seeing, so while in Porto, we relaxed, strolled the charming city, enjoyed the lovely spring weather, and of course, drank port wine. A day like this was necessary given the speed and voraciousness at which we had been traveling. On this particular trip, we covered Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Sintra, Porto… and Krakow, Poland (random, I know), in something like 12 days. Not ideal, but at this point in time, I was a brand new baby attorney, meaning I had very limited vacation time (but, I still suffered from unlimited wanderlust). So, to break up the warp speed sightseeing, sleepless nights due to staying out entirely too late, and dullness of spending way too much time in airports, we typically schedule a destination into our itinerary where we force ourselves to slow down. On this particular adventure, Porto was that place.
Porto is a lovely city situated on the Douro River. The historical city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (and from what I recall from wandering through, the city center was exceptionally lovely). But, if you head past the city center and cross over the river to the Gala hillside you will find over 50 port wine cellars. Not all of them are open to the public for tours and tasting, but plenty of them are.
What NOT To Do in Porto, Portugal
We started our port wine adventure at Taylor’s, which is arguably the most well-known and prestigious port wine producer. This said, the cellars and tasting room didn’t feel stuffy at all. We had our first tasting sitting around port wine barrels in an open air tasting room with peacocks wandering about.
But, Taylor’s did seem to attract a certain “type” of customer… I learned this in a rather awkward fashion when I asked a famous “rock star” to take a picture of my girlfriend and I. You see, for this leg of our trip, it was just the two of us – meaning that (since we do not use the “selfie-stick”), the majority of our pictures either had just her or just me in them. Seeing the rare opportunity to get a picture with both of us in it, I asked the grungish looking gentleman next to me to take our photo. There was an uncomfortable exchange and some confused looks before he hastily snapped a (terribly uncentered and dark) picture of us with with my camera. After the man left, I learned from the sommelier that the group of men sitting next to us were actually the band, The National, who happened to be playing a concert that evening (and were wildly popular at the time in Europe). This explained his confusion (and attitude) when I asked him to take a picture of us, rather than with us…
So, he was a rockstar? Whatever. He still could have least tried to take a nice picture for us.
Famous bands aside, the great thing about a visit to Taylor’s is that they also have an exceptional restaurant on their grounds. Our lunch wasn’t cheap, about $50 USD per person (although, we did order filet mignon with our wine), but it was delicious and totally worth it.
At Taylor’s we learned the basics of port as I struggled through (in my opinion) the overly sweet tastings. And by basics, I mean that I now know there is ruby port (“red” that is aged between 3-5 years) and tawny port (“white” which is aged in wooden barrels for a minimum of 7 years). Much like scotch, ports are generally more valuable the longer that they are aged, and the price of a particular bottle heavily depends upon whether it is aged 10, 20, 30, or more than 40 years.
To my dismay, the cellars only served port. I was hoping to intermix my port tastings with other (less sweet) Portugese wine, but this wasn’t possible. Apparently, port cellars only make port. So, I did my best to embrace the experience and went along with the port tastings.
Maybe port didn’t taste all that bad after all? After popping into a few more cellars and partaking in several more tastings, I actually began to think to myself that the ports were “growing” on me. (Although, my change of heart was likely due to the sheer quantity of port consumed by this time). The alcohol (and sugar) buzz I had likely also played a heavy role into my decision to purchase a glass of aged tawny port from a 110 euro bottle at Cave Vasconcellos… Clearly, a poor decision for a girl who (a) doesn’t fully appreciate port, and (b) doesn’t really actually even like port all that much.
After Cave Vasconcellos, we headed to Calem for a cellar tour, before heading to famous Sandeman for a private tasting.
So, what did I learn from my day of overindulgence in Porto?
Drinking too much port is akin to eating entirely too much cotton candy. You will have a terribly upset stomach for the next 36 hours or so (to the point that eating and sleeping will be difficult).
What you need to know before you go?
If you’re simply a casual port drinker – not much.
I had no advance reservations and no particular plan for the day. We started by targeting a couple of the port houses that my guidebook recommended and then continued to wander from there. The large majority of the cellars and tasting rooms are located near each other and it was extremely easy to stroll from cellar to cellar.
The takeaway, my friends? If you should find yourself in Portugal, squeezing in a day in Porto is warranted. Sampling ports from every cellar, however, is not.
Ready to book your trip to Porto? You can check rates, find great deals and book your Porto hotel online here.
Related posts: Lisbon: A City of Unexpected Must-Sees
Is a trip to Porto in your future? Have you indulged in a port wine tasting?
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December 22, 2014
Great post — especially the rock star story. Really, how self-centred can you be?
I greatly enjoyed Porto but like you, knew little about port wine. We hit the port house tours around 10 a.m. and were surprised that many were free of charge or a very low charge. The great thing is that you can walk from house to house. The downside was that we were smashed by about noon. Had to retreat to the hotel room to sleep it off. Who knew port had such a high alcohol content? We did come to enjoy the slightly less sweet varieties — especially good with a nice, dark chocolate. Did you see all the older men drinking port with their breakfast at the outdoor cafes? Now that is hard core!
December 23, 2014
Haha! Yes, I know exactly what you mean! And honestly, it’s been about 4 years since my trip to Porto and I haven’t been able to touch port since. You were wise stopping at noon… I wish I had too! I will say though, aside from the port, I REALLY enjoyed all the Portuguese wine that we tried while there!
December 23, 2014
Yeah, I’m not a port fan. In fact, I have like no sweet tooth at all. Looks like port tasting won’t be on my itinerary. Haha! Porto looks beautiful though!
December 23, 2014
It really was a charming city!
December 23, 2014
I’m also an expert at drinking wine, not so much in the snobbery department. I’ve recently been more interested in port and in Porto, and reading this was something I needed to break the romantic ideal of drinking port all day before I go there! I think your experience will save me from future overindulgence. Cheers!
December 24, 2014
Such a lovely post. The rockstar bit does add a bit of a zing to the story 🙂 Wish you wonderful travels this holiday season and a Merry Christmas !!
December 24, 2014
To you as well! Happy holidays! 🙂
January 2, 2015
I had a similar experience in Porto. I LOVED the city and the cellars were so cool to see, but I wished for more variety in the tastings. We ended up doing tours in the Douro Valley and although they were still mostly port focused, we occasionally got to sample table wines as well which I loved. We also made a point to enjoy other Portuguese wines with our meals. Over the course of the trip, I learned to appreciate port a lot more, but it will never be my favorite kind of wine.
January 2, 2015
Agree, Kacy. I REALLY loved the other Portuguese wines. I wish they were easier to find in the States!
January 5, 2015
Love this! I too was just in Portugal where I also quaffed my share of port. I also discovered Ginja the cherry liqueur so that made for some tipsy walks along the cobblestone streets and some grand purchases of port to bring home. It sounds as though I need to go to Porto too!
January 5, 2015
Yes – it sounds like you may really enjoy Porto! 🙂
January 14, 2015
So I’m not a wine drinker, but I do rather enjoy Port since I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and my husband and I are planning to go to Porto in April. I think I’d like to visit a few Port cellars, but I’m nervous that they will pressure me into buying a bottle (there’s no way we can take it home with us – we’re flying Ryan Air) and all I really want to do is taste some and maybe get a glass. Did you feel pressured at all? could you go for a tasting and leave when you were done with no hassle?
January 14, 2015
I believe we had to pay for most of the tastings, so I think it’s somewhat common that people come and taste and then leave. When I visit vineyards (especially smaller ones like in Burgundy), I often do a little bit expected to purchase, but I typically don’t mind since I’m a wine drinker and planned on bringing home a few bottles anyway. In Porto, I didn’t buy anything and I don’t remember ever feeling pressured to either!
January 14, 2015
That’s a relief, I’ve heard there are lots of free ones, but honestly I’d rather just pay something upfront and then relax and not worry about it.
Thanks for the advice, it was something I was nervous about!
January 27, 2015
aside from the Port you really should invest in a mini tripod and use the self timer setting on your camera. Even mobile phones have them and can be balanced up against one of your empty bottles 🙂
January 27, 2015
That’s a VERY valid point, Dave! HAHA! (Luckily, I got a “selfie stick” for Christmas which looks nerdy, but is actually very helpful when traveling solo or with only one other person)!
January 27, 2015
I absolutely loved Oporto. It was one of my favorite cities to stroll around and just get lost. I did the whole Port wine tasting thing as well; it was actually my first ever wine tasting at the age of 19. I feel as if I would appreciate it a bit more now since I have at least experience some other wine and wineries. I also went on a sunset boat tour down the Douro River.
January 28, 2015
The boat tour sounds fantastic too!
May 24, 2015
I remember buying $3 bottles of pretty good wine in Southern Portugal. Great region.
May 25, 2015
I agree, Charles! Most of the wine I tried was really good!
September 17, 2015
Lovely Post!
September 17, 2015
Thanks, Cristiane!
June 28, 2016
Great blog! Thanks for sharing.
November 24, 2016
Love the story about the “rock star” – ha ha. Would love to have seen look on his face.
November 28, 2016
LOL – it was certainly an experience!
March 27, 2017
Hi there, it is such a lovely post. Dev D likes the wine so much. we would surely plan for this destination in future.
March 27, 2017
🙂
June 23, 2017
You did it all wrong, bitch. Oh, well, look on the bright side (not your side), you are the perfect tourist. Come visit my country as well
June 26, 2017
We all make mistakes – hopefully, others can learn from mine. 🙂
August 2, 2017
There are some cellars where you can also taste regular Douro wine like Quinta dos Corvos, the tasting part is not equivalent in all cellars 🙂 That kind of information is not hard to get though…
August 2, 2017
Ahhhh! Had I only known, Pierre. We asked a couple of times and people looked at us like we were crazy!
September 22, 2017
That is such a great story about the “rock star”. Way to bring him back down to earth. lol
September 26, 2017
🙂 🙂 🙂
March 6, 2018
ohh this is funny, I satrated to read your post, while I was playing The National on my Spotify, one of my fav bands..
and you mention this.. I must try that winery I guess.. destiny- Greetings from Buenos Aires!
March 7, 2018
It was a fun and interesting day, for sure! Hopefully you recognize them and they have improved their photography skills since then! 🙂
March 23, 2018
Thanks for the heads up. I will take note of that. By the way. are the wines there taste good?