Ultimate Portugal Food and Wine Tour

Porto is an idyllic destination for overcoming any jet lag. The city wakes late and stays laid-back throughout the day. Espresso cups collect on cafe terraces, the River Douro reflects bridge archways, and ceramic mosaics add swathes of vibrant color to the buildings. Perhaps the most noticeable thing is the lack of traffic. Porto was always a city on the river, and hardly any of the central roads are wide enough for a motor vehicle. After a morning at leisure, you will take a small boat across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port wine lodges have stood since the 18th century.

This is Porto, and there is no need to rush. So first have lunch, the cellar’s restaurant a long-time local institution. Next the wine museum, a selection of port wine adverts providing a creative look at history. Then a winemaker takes you on a private tour of the cellar, where musty fragrances emanate from thousands of oak casks. This is followed by a vintage tasting, a smorgasbord of different years and styles that includes a 30-year-old Tawny and vintage Quintas (the highest quality port produced). This evening is at your leisure, and if you are in the mood for a large meal, consider Foz Velha (reservations can be made if required).

Porto’s architecture has always been defined by aesthetics. You will admire the gold and calligraphy of the Stock Exchange Palace, where many lines and patterns shimmer in unison. Notice the polished wood of Lello bookshop, so harmonious as it encases the books. Find the old grandeur at Sao Francisco, where the thick stone made more beautiful by restored mosaics. With a private guide, you spend the morning discovering the city’s art and architecture, with almost every street housing an icon to admire. That is followed by a special tasting menu at Bull & Bear, a restaurant that refines the classics of Northern Portuguese cuisine, and pairs everything with wines from across the country. Your afternoon is at leisure, and you will find a city that delights anyone who is prepared to explore.

The panoramas are dominated by green when you wind into the Douro Valley. Terraced vineyards stretch across the vista, sometimes disappearing toward a canyon or lazy river. Small white and red villages dot the hills, backdropped by thick forests and meadows. The Douro is wine country, but it is also a charming journey into yesteryear, where family-run wine estates hold hundreds of years of history. Drive into the valley after breakfast, and spend a couple of hours visiting small villages, before stopping at Quinta da Pacheca for a tour of the vineyard. Everything is done by hand here, except what is done by foot, Quinta among few vineyards in Europe that still tread their grapes. Depending on the season, you can also give it a try.

Taste five of the wines with the owners, each paired with a local cheese from the region. Then have lunch at a decadent Douro restaurant where the food of the past has taken on a creative modern twist. You are now further from Porto, so you should expect a heavy focus on pork dishes. Complete the day on a classic Douro River cruise, drifting down the river in a restored rabelo, the boat traditionally used to carry grapes downriver to Porto. You will be dropped off near your hotel, and there is an excellent restaurant on site to complete the day.

The Douro Valley was the first to introduce the DOC system that is now widespread across Europe. This approach has become synonymous with quality consistency, with every DOC wine subject to particular standards. The system also provides your benchmark for exploring further. On today’s first private tasting, you take a tour through the Quinta do Crasto vineyard where flagship wines are served in a tasting room that lingers high above the river. These are wines that have wowed Robert Parker and Wine Spectator for more than a decade, full-bodied and full of panache that is not always associated with the Douro style.

Your next tasting comes after food, the fortified village of Trancoso a great place to experience the atmosphere of Portugal’s frontier past. In between, there is lunch at one of rural Portugal’s most contemporary restaurants, the menu featuring plenty of rich game dishes that are inspired by a much earlier century. Complete the day by traveling out to Belmonte, a beautiful castle town with endless views over the countryside. Stretch your legs on the cobblestone streets after all the day’s tastings, then relax on the plaza as the sun slowly disappears from the sky.

While Douro wines are fruity and juicy, the wines of Alentejo are rich and bold. The flavors fit the ambience of the region where Moorish castles dominate hilltops, open plains have a seductive power, and towns are built from marble and limestone. Everything is bold and impressive, from the polished cobbles to the harmonious red rooftops. Today’s journey takes you across some of the region’s highlights, starting with a private tour of Monte Seis Reis Estate, and lunch in the heart of Estremoz where it is recommended you try the dogfish in cilantro sauce or the black pig stew. Even after a tour of a marble town and coffee at a castle, there is plenty of time to taste the single varietals at Monte da Ravasqueira before completing the day at an opulent spa hotel on the outskirts of Evora.

After three days of real exploration, this morning is at leisure, a time to relax on the terrace or unwind in the hotel spa. The afternoon is filled with classic Alentejo experiences, from wandering through acres of olive groves and cork forests to exploring whitewashed villages from the medieval era. You can find black pigs grazing on acorns, and absorb the wonderfully slow pace of the region. Lunch is cold, a rich variety of hams, sausages, olive oils, and cheeses, accompanied by thick farmyard bread. Complete your Alentejo wine tasting at two vineyards, one famed for its single varietals, and another that expertly produces red blends. You will return to Evora in time for an evening walking tour, exploring the columns of Roman Temple and the surreal ambience of the Chapel of Bones.

After the first couple of days in Porto, there has not been much seafood on the menu. That certainly changes today, a private guide taking you out to the windswept Atlantic Ocean village of Nazare. Colorful fish shacks stand above the sand, where the local women wait in their 19th-century attire for the fishing boats to return. It is a scenic village for tasting seafood the local way. Choose from the trays of fresh catch, and watch the chef grill it over the coals, before dining with the accompanying scent of the ocean.

Travel to Obidos in the afternoon, a delightful hilltop town where bougainvillea-lined lanes are found beneath thick medieval walls. Historic streets are dominated by flower baskets, the castle has a wine bar for a leisurely afternoon drink, and your boutique hotel is built into the walls. As afternoon fades into evening, the castle walls are illuminated, a compass point as you take a stroll through a maze of city streets. You will dine at the hotel, a gourmet pairing of traditional food and contemporary wine that celebrates the contrasts of your surroundings.

Sintra has a poetry only understood to those who visit. Villas are covered in dramatic blue and white tile-work, and a red and yellow palace first built by the Moors stands proudly. The whimsical beauty of a pink palace is displayed high on forested hills, a twisted initiation well that defies the eyes. Such a remarkable place is complemented by an equally idiosyncratic culinary experience, a lunch of wine and cheese allowing you to taste the contrasts between Portugal’s regions. Sintra is home to Portugal’s royalty and has always imported the best from the country’s corners.

You will travel to Lisbon in the afternoon and have some free time to explore the neighborhoods around your hotel. Dinner is very special, the double Michelin-starred Belcanto a creation of Jose Avillez. Each dish stirs the emotion on a tasting menu that celebrates the highlights of Portuguese identity. Uncover sea bass with seaweed and bivalves, suckling pig, “Abade de Priscos” pudding with pork greaves, and raspberry and wasabi sorbet. Each of the six dishes is accompanied by a Portuguese wine, and the menu is designed to reflect the harmony of contrasts and cultures found in Lisbon and Portugal.

Following last evening’s fine dining focus, this afternoon’s tour explores the local eateries and markets of Lisbon. You will sample espresso in tiny taverns, smell and taste produce in the traditional central market, go in search of the original pastel de nata (a custard tart from Lisbon), and discover some of the gourmet food markets that have emerged in the city. Such a journey also allows you to discover Lisbon’s different neighborhoods. There is some free time in the late afternoon before a unique performance of fado in an atmospheric Alfama club. Haunting music echoes off the walls, the guitars and voices narrating a seductive tales of lost love. You are close enough to read the emotion in every musicians’ face and close enough for the fado to feel like a private performance. The show goes on for close to three hours and is accompanied by a multi-course dinner.

Surreal and sublime, Lisbon’s architecture is as unique as the food you have tasted over the last ten days. You will discover the Manueline touches on Belem Tower, the old Moorish roots of a majestic tower, and follow the storyline from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque. There is color everywhere, whether along the broad streets of Baixa or the maze-like streets of Bairro Alto and Alfama. You have a private guide for the day, and the exact city stops will be tailored to your interests.

Spend the evening at the contemporary TimeOut Lisbon Market. The informal style may feel a little different from the rest of this itinerary, but it creates a lively atmosphere. And the reason for dining here is the chance to taste the creations of different Michelin-starred chefs. You can choose dishes from more than 20 kitchens, but a row of five stand out, the chefs’ kitchens at the far side of the market. The chefs here are Alexandre Silva, Henrique Sa Pessoa, and three of Portugal’s most legendary names. And with the dishes being small, you can taste a creation from each different chef over a couple of hours, with the wine bar offering a multitude of accompaniments. As you dine, you will find that the market reflects a lot of what you have seen previously. Its packed with energy and unique flavors, yet laid-back and unpretentious.

After breakfast, it is a short private transfer to Lisbon International Airport and your departing flight.