Douro Valley Wine Tour

The Douro Valley has been at the top of list of places to visit in Portugal. I usually avoid group tours but after some research, it seemed like the best option for wine tasting.

Picking a tour operator was the difficult part. We attempted to contact two highly rated private tour companies. The first never responded, and the second tried to sell us a small tour for six – for the same price that they were advertising the private tour on websites. We finally decided on a small group tour with EFun Tours that offered visits to three wineries – most of the tours include two wineries and a boat trip.

Any misgivings that I had about the group tour and the unusual company name ended when we met our guide. Steve from Wales was energetic and entertaining and with over 26 years in Portugal, he was extremely knowledgable. We were with three other couples, two from the United States and one from Canada. It was a great group that turned out to include a sommelier from Toronto. Not a stuffy wine snob, but a down to earth guy who didn’t disclose his profession until his expert knowledge gave him away.

Thirty minutes after leaving Porto, Steve learned that he had picked up the last couple by mistake instead of another pair with a similar name. It turned out to be of little consequence because both groups were booked with EFun Tours and there were two 8 person groups for an identical tour. Later in the day, we met the other group and learned just how fortunate we were to have the mix up. We definitely had the most entertaining tour. It also turns out that we were particularly lucky to get Steve, as his online reviews are definitely the best for the guides.

From Porto, we drove about an 1.5 hours through the scenic Verde and Douro wine regions, with Steve sharing interesting facts about Port and the Douro valley along the way. Our first stop was a small cafe with a fabulous deck overlooking the Douro river.

Steve warned us not to order anything fancy (no half caf, skinny, macchiatos) and not to balk at the price.

It was a shock to us all that two espressos only cost about one euro!

Armed with caffeine, we went to our first tasting a Quinta do Panascal. The small port vineyard is affiliated with the Fonseca Port company.

We had an informative tour of the facility, followed by tastings of the White, Ruby, and 10 Year Tawny ports.

It was great to have a tour and tasting with the small group and we enjoyed the beautiful view.

Before lunch, we stopped for an even better view of the terraced fields of Douro recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Along the way, Steve stopped to grab cherries for us to enjoy enjoy right off the tree.

For lunch, we went to the Casa Dos Barros by Vintage Theory in the small town of Sabrosa.

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The scenic town is known as the possible birthplace of Portuguese explorer Magellan and park named after American musician BB King.

The old estate houses a wine cellar and small hotel right on the vineyards. With so many tables set for lunch, it was clearly a hotspot for wine tours. The beautiful indoor space even had tables in the old wine treading troughs.

There were beautiful outdoor spaces.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in an open air pool house with a view of the vineyards.

Lunch was an option of “meat” or “fish.” The meat turned out to be pork with bacon. It was sightly overcooked but well seasoned. We also had salad, vegetable soup, cheesy rice, and a piece of cheesecake for dessert.

It was more about the excellent company and wine than the food. We enjoyed a selection of white and red pairings, and port with dessert.

After lunch, we had plenty of time to wander around the grounds.

It turns out that we were waiting for the second group to finish eating. For the rest of the afternoon we remained in separate vans but had all of the tastings and tours together, making it feel like a large group tour.

After the other group finished lunch, we toured the wine cellar and tasted more port. Not included in the tasting was a a 1893 port. A tasting was available for only 100 euros with the glass as a souvenir. The guide poured a glass and passed around to the group to smell. It was less tempting to pay for the extra tasting after 16 people had their noses in the glass.

Our final stop was the small family run Quinta do Beijo.

We tried a variety of table wines before moving to port. Most memorable was the 1963 port variety that was included in the tasting, but unfortunately not available to purchase.

I had planned to take more photos of the many beautiful colors of port, but my photos were less focused as the day went on. It was only about 1.5 hours back to Porto, and even after 13 tastings, we enjoyed wonderful conversation on the ride back.

Details

I recommend this tour for people interested in tasting wine. If you are more interested in scenery, opt a tour with the boat option. There are also tours that include olive oil tasting and other activities in addition to wine tasting.

EFun Tours accepts reservations online. I recommend booking directly with any tour operator instead of through Viatour of TripAdvisor. Unfortunately we did the later and had a difficult time getting information on pickup times and locations since they would not let us communicate directly. It is less expensive to do it directly and there is no benefit in paying a middleman.

The online reviews for EFun Tours were not completely consistent, but Steve always seems to get excellent reviews. I don’t know if it’s possible, but it’s worth trying to get on his tour.

It is possible to take a train to the Douro region, but it is not easy to get around to the wineries without a car. If you would like to stay in the Douro region, there are a number of wineries, and boutique hotels offering accommodations. Find a place to stay.