Wine Connoisseur's Tour of Portugal

What to expect on this itinerary
Indulge your senses on a handcrafted tour of Portugal’s diverse wine regions. Including the famous reds from the Douro Valley, the ocean-influenced whites from Bairrada, the vintage ports from Porto’s cellars, Muscat in Setubal, and green wine in Minho, your tasting sensibilities will be overflowing. Spend a day in old-world Alentejo, and then another in historical Dao with winemakers and cellar-masters leading your exploration throughout. This is a country of microclimates and diverse terroir, and this 11-day terroir will give you time to discover it all.
Customizable Itinerary
Lisbon – An Atmospheric Welcome to Portugal
Lisbon is a lively city as street musicians strum along the promenade, locals gather on city squares, and the hum of chatter accompanies the smell of coffee. Grand monuments run through the heart of the city, yet they do not impose, instead, they provide a backdrop for an evening walk, something enjoyed by most locals every day. In some neighborhoods, the streets are tight and hilly with people gathered outside their front doors to chat and watch the world. There are markets, restaurants, Mediterranean terraces and so much more that make for a city that lives outdoors. So touch down, check-in, and check out the streets as this magnificent city is your base for the next four days.
What's Included:
Lisbon – The Vineyards of Bucelas
Lisbon – Famous Muscat Producers of the Setubal Peninsula
Lisbon – A Day of Wine Tasting in the Alentejo Region
Bairrada – The Fresh DOC Wines of the Atlantic
Douro Valley – Immersed in the Wines of the Dao Region
Douro Valley – A Day Amid the World Heritage Vineyards of the Douro
Porto – Sailing Down the River to a Vintage Port Experience
Porto – Green Wine on the Costa Verde
Porto – Free Day to Explore Porto
Porto – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Explore the Douro Valley and sink your palate into its luscious red wines
- Discover the beauty of Lisbon as you spend several nights in one of the world’s most-loved visitor cities
- Spend a day with muscat producers in Setubal, and then compare the taste with a day in the port cellars of Porto
- Sample the rarified wines of the Atlantic, your tour including a day of tasting on the Costa Verde, the Minho region, and a day with the white wines of Bairrada
- Cruise down the Douro River and spend several nights in Porto, a small city of elegance and enchantment
- Sample the wines of Alentejo, one of the most admired of Portugal’s old demarcated wine regions
- Compare the flavors by stepping into the new world to visit the cellars of the Dao region
- Experience both old and new processes used for wine production in Portugal, with winemakers and expert guides leading the way
- Explore world-famous estates as well as unknown boutique wineries, your time spent in handpicked places that best reflect Portugal’s diversity
Detailed Description
Portugal is a country of microclimates. The Atlantic Ocean winds buffet parts of the coast to bring cold wind and mist while the country’s east is harsh and dry, an arid place where Moorish villages are cast in dust. Rivers meander through lush interior while mountain chains create enclaves away from the meteorological challenges. Climate influences the grapes, yet European wine is also defined by its terroir. Portugal leads the way in diversity with schist, shale, granite, clay, loam, silt, sandy soils and more. The unique terrain adds up to a country of incredible viticulture variety, where every region produces something absolutely different to the next, and that is the focus of this handcrafted tour.
Over 11 days you can explore Portugal’s eight most important DOC regions. DOC means Denominacao de Origem Controlada, the highest wine of origin demarcation possible in Portugal. With a day spent in each region, you can meet the winemakers, explore the processes, tour the vineyards, and understand why the wines taste so different. There will be a lot of tastings as you visit world-famous producers along with boutique wineries, each day featuring two to four tasting sessions. This tour is designed for curious wine drinkers and encourages experimentation to bring new flavors to your palate. Along with tasting, you will have time to discover more of the regions and cities as wine provides a lens to get to know the diversity of Portugal.
Start with several nights in Lisbon as with the grand capital as a base, and you can enjoy leisurely evenings in different neighborhoods as each in Lisbon has its own history and atmosphere. Begin with an introduction to classic Portuguese flavors in the small Bucelas region with the next day exploring the sweet floral notes of Setubal muscat. The following day will take you into the old-world wine world of Alentejo, perhaps the best known of all Portugal’s wine regions before you head to the coast and the surf-washed beaches of the Atlantic, where the climate produces some impressive results.
Dao is just across a mountain, but it is sheltered from weather extremes. Taste its various varietals before spending a couple of nights in the World Heritage wine-lands of Douro Valley. Indulge in the rich, fruit-driven reds and settle into the elegance of the region, coming to understand why it is becoming one of Europe’s most revered wine destinations. From here, you can cruise down the Douro River to Porto, where a vintage port experience awaits in a musty cellar. Refresh the palate with the light greenwines of Minha before the last day is left free for you to explore Porto.
Starting Price
$3,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 1366 reviews
The trip was very well organized; Zicasso's travel company listened to our wishes and delivered. We would definitely use you again and would highly recommend. We were very happy with Zicasso's travel designer's communication and quick responses.
See more
My husband and I traveled with our two adult children for 12 days through Portugal. Our trip was absolutely amazing, with every transfer, lodging, and tour detail seemingly tailored especially for us. Zicasso's travel expert was so wonderful to talk with as he planned our trip; he asked great questions to understand what kind of travelers we are and our interests. Our itinerary was perfect as we reviewed it prior to our trip, but as we experienced every transfer guide, tour specialist, and lodging, we could not have asked for a better experience. "Mahalo nui" (thank you so much) for helping us to experience your beautiful country and your even more beautiful and kind people. We can't wait for our trip back.
I wanted to make a special note of recognition about our transfer drivers/guides: they were absolutely amazing; so experienced and warm. We all enjoyed learning from them about Portugal and just felt so very well taken care of as they seamlessly transported us through your beautiful country and made sure we knew where to go and where to meet later. One of our drivers walked us through a local pastry shop to see the pastries being made; without him, we would have surely missed that experience. In Douro, another driver recommended a "locals" restaurant down the hill from our hotel. The owner was so kind he arranged for our server to drive us up the steep and winding hill to our hotel! These "special" experiences so reminded us of our beautiful Hawai'i and the spirit of "aloha" we felt so strongly in Portugal! At our departure, another driver walked us with our luggage into the airport departure terminal and showed us where to go (it was so much larger than any terminal we had been in). We would surely have been lost without his expert guidance.
Your tour guide selections were all simply amazing. We felt each guide's love ("aloha" for us) and attachment to each place we visited. We cannot thank you enough for all your work in planning so that we could truly enjoy and now have lasting memories until we return again.
With much "aloha" and gratitude, our "'ohana."
See more
My wife and I recently returned from our trip to Portugal, booked with Zicasso's tour operator, and let me say, we could not have been happier. She helped us create an ideal trip in a little over a month, since we decided to book a relatively last-minute getaway.
Our travel expert was a pleasure to work with. We told her what we were looking for and she put together a fantastic itinerary for us. We were beyond happy with the hotels she suggested and booked, as well as every excursion, including private hikes and boat tours. Every part of the trip was well coordinated, including all the private transfers and guides, who were all exceptional themselves. She even met us at the airport when we arrived and even saw us off at the end of our trip, helping guide us around the airport to make that as efficient as possible.
Even on the days we had to ourselves without any planned excursions, she still put together a tentative itinerary, including suggestions of what to explore based on the location we were at.
Our travel expert was very responsive throughout our planning and you can tell she really cares about making her clients' experience the best it can possibly be. We cannot say enough good things about this company and therefore, highly recommend them if you are looking to travel to Portugal. Thank you again!
See more
The trip was well planned by Zicasso's tour company, with only one scheduling snafu. The hotels were nice. The travel agents were very communicative and helpful.
See more
Zicasso's travel designer was a great travel agent. She came up with great options, found us some interesting and unusual experiences (a porcelain factory, a unique silversmith in Lisboa), and was incredibly available to help us through the inevitable glitches.
See more
Wow! Zicasso's travel designer put together a truly amazing trip, with some of the best drivers, guides, and tours we've ever had! I can't say enough good things about this trip! We really appreciated the close communication and the emergency number when we arrived, just in case we needed anything. Some of the experiences were beyond our imagination and I'm so glad we had her to plan this for us. I highly recommend her and the travel company!
See more