Douro Valley Wine Tour - Day One
Arriving into Porto airport, you will be picked up from the airport before the 2 hour drive to the Douro Valley, one of the most stunning wine regions in the world. Arriving in the midst the vineyards of the Douro valley lies the Six Senses Hotel, your home for the duration of your visit. A superbly renovated 19th-century manor house set high on a hill overlooking the vine covered rolling hills of the Douro Valley and the river below. It offers classic ambience, modern comforts and friendly hospitality to spoil you as their special guest. Here you are welcome to rest around the pool or in the lovely gardens until you are ready to enjoy welcome drinks with Nathalie and a beautiful evening meal prepared in their country kitchen.
Our first evening at the Six Senses you will enjoy a wine tasting with Nathalie and their resident sommelier, where you will travel through the different varieties of the best wines of Portugal. This will be a highlight of the tour as Nathalie has selected 8 wine regions of Portugal for you to sample. Over four evenings, you will taste the best wines from two regions, matched exquisitely with a menu specially prepared by Nathalie and Chef, Paulo Matos.
Overnight: 5 star luxury Six Senses hotel with river views
Meals Included: à la carte dinner and wine in Six Senses gourmet restaurant. This evenings featured wine regions: Vinho Verde and Douro Valley
Transfers: Porto airport to Douro Valley
Douro Valley Wine Tour - Day Two
After waking up to a breakfast on the terrace, we will drive to our first encounter with the famous port wines of the Douro Valley at Quinta do Infantado. This winery was established in 1816 and the original barrel rooms stands now just it did 199 years ago when it was first built.
Quinta do Infantado is a family winery making top quality wines with a lot of personality. The vineyards are farmed organically and the winemaking is very artisanal. Both traits dear to Nathalie's heart. It is the Roseira family who have owned it since the mid 19th century. Nathalie has organised for our group to be personally received by the owner/winemaker for this private tour. This small organic estate in Covas do Douro has about 40 hectares of vines and it is run by the passionate and charismatic Luis Roseira and winemaker João Roseira. Like many estates in the Douro these days, they make ports as well as rich dry wines (cousins to Ribera del Duero wines, further down the river). You´ll have a full tasting of their wines including the Infantado Douro dry red, and their ports such as white port, Ruby port, Reserva Especial port, Vintage port 1999 and their delicious Porto Reserva da Família Tawny.
We stop for lunch at the charming Quinta de la Rosa, owned by the Bergqvist family. Their quinta has a beautiful view over the river and we will taste their home-cooked food, regional specialities, vegetables from the garden and their own olive oil. First though, winemaker Jorge Moreira will take us on a private tour of the vineyard and winery. The Bergkvist family has 55 hectares of vineyards and recently celebrated their centenary as a port wine producer. Lunch will be a special treat where a delicious lunch menu is paired to estate wines.
Following this private lunch and tasting, we will return to our luxury hotel to relax and prepare for dinner in the evening at Rui Paula's DOC restaurant.
Overnight: 5 star luxury Six Senses hotel with river views
Meals Included: Gourmet breakfast, lunch with wine pairings at Quinta de la Rosa, à la carte dinner and wine in Rui Paula's DOC restaurant. This evenings featured wine regions: Dao and Bairrada
Douro Valley Wine Tour - Day Three
Today will be a little different as we take to the river and the beautifully restored, classic vintage boat Friendship I for a cruise along the Douro River. Seeing the quintas and vineyards from the river perspective is a magical experience as will be the sumptious lunch served onboard the Friendship I. After a few kilometres along the river we arrive at Quinta de Tedo, owned by the Frenchman Vincent Bouchard (with family ties to Bouchard Pere & Fils in Burgundy) and his American wife Kay. They bought this 250 year old property, including 14 ha of vineyards, in 1992. Our visit includes a tour of the cellar and a tasting of their range of ports and organic, estate wines.
After lunch onboard, we head upstream towards Sao Joa da Pesqueira where we will visit Quinta de Sra. do Rosario, perhaps better known as Quevedo Wines. Oscar Quevedo and his family have some 100 ha of vineyards in Cima Corgo and Douro Superior.
Quevedo Wines makes both table wine and port, including some very exclusive tawny (barrel aged) ports. We will taste a series of older and older tawnies. Oscar started his career working in finance in Madrid and Geneva but has come back to the Douro some years back and is now working with his sister to develop the family winery.
Oscar is still only around 30 but has already created a name for Quevedo Wines all over the world. Being young he has a talent for “social media” on the internet which certainly helps. It will be an interesting visit that will give you an insight into both wines and marketing.
Late afternoon we return to the hotel and have some time to relax before it is time for our dinner.
Overnight: 5 star luxury Six Senses hotel with river views
Meals Included: Gourmet breakfast, lunch with wine pairings at Quinta de Tedo, à la carte dinner and wine in Six Senses restaurant. This evenings featured wine regions: Ribatejo and Estremadura
Douro Valley Wine Tour - Day Four
We have a busy day including one of the biggest and most famous producers in the valley, Quinta de Seixo, owned by Sogrape, the biggest wine company in Portugal.
The winery is on a hilltop with a breath-taking view over terraced vineyards and over two rivers. Getting there we have to follow a sinuous road that makes you grip tightly to the bus seat.
Here is where the grapes for the famous Sandeman port is grown. Quinta de Seixo is a beautiful winery with a recently rebuilt cellar where mechanical feet do the treading of the grapes. It is all very modern thanks to recent investments made in the facilities. We will also have time for a walk in the vineyard to see close-up the impressive terraces.
We will stay for lunch on the hilltop at Quinta de Seixo, enjoying the view, their wines and their ports. It is difficult to get enough of it, not least the view!
Overnight: 5 star luxury Six Senses hotel with river views
Meals Included: Gourmet breakfast, lunch with wine pairings at Quinta de Seixo, à la carte dinner and wine in Rui Paula's DOC restaurant. This evenings featured wine regions: Alentejo and Terras do Sado
Douro Valley Wine Tour - Day Five
On our way back towards Porto we will make a stop at a quinta that is a pioneer in the Douro in several ways, for example in making table wines.
They were one of the first to gain international recognition for their non-fortified wines, but also their port wines are of world-class. They are also pioneering a trend towards slightly drier port wines, more adapted to modern tastes and more emphasising the fruit and the elegance. Nathalie will conduct a private 'master class' where we compare the different styles and vintages.
We will enjoy a refined lunch where Nathalie will expertly pair the menue with their legendary estate wines. It's a showcase of the region's finest cuisine and wine where you will experience the best Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal's hospitality. Lunch at the estate which will bring to a close our Douro Discovery wine tour.
Meals Included: gourmet breakfast, lunch at Quinta paired with estate wines
Transfers: Douro Valley to central Porto or Porto airport
