DOURO VALLEY QUINTAS AND WINERIES
1. Quinta de la Rosa
Pinhão • Open Easter–Oct: 9am–1pm & 2–6pm Mon–Fri • Adm • www.quintadelarosa.com
The high point of a visit to this grand estate is a tour of its Vale do Inferno vineyard, named the “Valley of Hell” because its high stone-walled terraced fields are exposed to the fiercest summer sun. Quinta de la Rosa also has a boutique hotel with a pool and riverside restaurant.
2. Quinta da Roêda
Pinhão • Open Apr–Oct: 10am–7:30pm daily • Adm • www.croftport.com
This estate is the flagship of one of the legendary port names. Sampling experiences introduce the visitor to the history of Croft, its heritage and its journey into the 21st century, with mixology tutorials using younger ports in inventive cocktails.
3. Quinta das Carvalhas
Pinhão • Open Easter–Oct: 10am–7:30pm daily • Adm • www.realcompanhiavelha.pt
Casa Redondo marks the highest point of this grand estate. From here, visitors can enjoy a spectacular panorama of the Douro valley and surrounding vineyards with their serried ranks of century-old vines.
The Quinta das Carvalhas riverside estate
4. Quinta do Vallado
Vilarinho dos Freires • Open Mar–Oct by appointment only • Adm • www.quintadovallado.com
Founded in 1716, this was the home of the grande dame of the Douro region, the legendary Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (see “La Ferreirinha” (1811–96)). This venerable estate maintains its long-standing reputation for innovation with a new winery, opened in 2009, and the introduction of organic vines.
Barrel room at Quinta do Vallado
5. Quinta da Pacheca
Rua do Relogio do Sol 261, Cambres • Open 10am–7pm daily • Adm • www.quintadapacheca.com
One of the old Douro wine estates, Quinta da Pacheca has been bottling port since the 18th century. Visitors can sample the wines, try traditional barefoot grape-treading in the autumn, tour the vineyards and stay in cabins made from huge old wine casks or in the estate’s boutique hotel.
6. Quinta do Panascal
Valença do Douro • Open Easter–Oct: 10am–6:30pm daily • Adm • www.fonseca.pt
For visitors who prefer to explore the vineyards independently, this dignified winery, with its whitewashed walls and red-tiled roofs, offers self-guided, multilingual audio tours.
7. Quinta Nova
Covas do Douro • Open Apr–mid-Oct: 11am–7pm daily; winery tours at 10:45am, 12:15pm and 3pm • Adm • www.quintanova.com
Quinta Nova’s manor house, converted into a boutique hotel and restaurant, sits amid its own vineyards through which guests can ramble. The winery itself, dating from 1764, offers tastings, and there is a museum filled with memorabilia from 250 years of wine-making.
8. Quinta do Seixo
Valença do Douro • 254 732 800 • Open Mar–Oct: 10:30am–6.30pm daily; Nov–Feb: 10:30am–12:30pm & 2–5:30pm • Adm • www.sandeman.com
Sandeman’s 100-ha (247-acre) estate is the quintessential quinta: vast numbers of vines on slopes that roll gently down to the banks of the Douro. The vines are more than a century old, but the estate’s winery, opened in 2007, is state of the art.
9. Quinta do Crasto
Gouvinhas, Sabrosa • Open by appointment only; reservations required • Adm • www.quintadocrasto.pt
For a full immersion in the wine experiences of the Douro valley, Quinta do Crasto offers ample opportunity for wining and dining, along with port tastings and guided tours of its vineyards and cellars.
10. Quinta da Gricha
Ervedosa do Douro, São João da Pesqueira • Open 10am–6pm daily • Adm • www.churchills-port.com
Opened in 2017, Quinta da Gricha is the new kid on the block when it comes to wine production in the Douro region. Owned by Porto’s youngest wine company, founded in 1981, the estate takes a fresh approach to the art of making port.
TOP 10 DOURO WINES
1. Vinho Verde
Fresh, dry and pétillant white vinho verde wines come from Minho, just beyond Porto’s city limits. The most popular versions include Avarinho, Azal and Lourinho.
2. Vinho Verde Tinto
“Red green wine” sounds like a contradiction in terms. Vinho verde’s sibling, made from red grapes, is in fact a luscious purple colour.
3. Vinho Verde Rosado
This rosé member of the vinho verde family is a delightful, berry-fragrant summer drink.
4. Bairrada
This Atlantic wine terroir, not far south of Porto, produces rich reds based mainly on the Portuguese Baga grape.
5. Tinto Douro
Full-bodied reds from Douro vineyards are less well known than the ports made from the same grapes, but every bit as good.
6. Douro Branco
The Douro valley’s rocky soils and fierce sunshine nurture the grapes that create these bone-dry, flinty whites.
7. Terras de Cister
A connoisseur’s secret, this sparkling wine comes from a tiny mountain enclave originally planted by Cistercian monks just south of the Douro.
8. Terras do Dão
The Dão region, southeast of Porto, produces muscular, complex red wines that go perfectly with grilled meat.
9. Tinto Transmontano
North of the Douro vineyards, the rugged Trás-os-Montes region is home to full-bodied reds, high in alcohol.
10. Matéus Rosé
Famously favoured in the 1970s by a whole host of British would-be sophisticates, this easy-drinking rosé from the lower Douro has been tweaked into a more elegant iteration for the 21st century.
Matéus Rosé
