Port wine cellar/cave in Vila Nova de Gaia recommendation
 

Greetings!

I'd like to book a tour and tasting at one of the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. There are just too many choices! Can anyone recommend which one would be the best? I can't seem to decide whether it's better to visit one of the big producers or to go for a smaller one. We are spending 2 days in Porto and 1 day in the Douro Valley (vising Quinta do Seixo and Quinta do Marrocos). We are not huge drinks and becuase the visit will be during the day time, it's more for educational/historical purposes with a little tasting (don't want anyone to fall asleep and miss everything else we want to do in Porto ;)

But I am interested in the traditional method of opening the bottles with hot tongs. I have no idea if all cellars offer this. Also, I have no idea how much it would cost. As long as it's not crazy expensive, then I think it would be interesting for us to see it done.

If anyone has any suggestions or commnets regarding costs, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you!

We chose a tour of an old establishment but not as big as Sandeman. It turns out that the smaller establishments are often owned by the same conglomerate. We are not connoisseurs, so I do not think that we would have been disappointed by any tastings in any of the cellars.

I recommend Taylors. Very good port, nice place. Also suggest having lunch or dinner there. I made the same recommendation to friends recently and they were very pleased.

https://www.taylor.pt/us/visit-taylors/port-cellars

https://www.taylor.pt/us/visit-taylo...ate-restaurant

Why limit yourself to one port house? I have done the Porto Walkers Port wine tour twice now, and enjoyed both times. You get a range from the historic (Ramos Pinto, the company that essentially created the global market for port wine) to the contemporary (rooftop bar) with a nice guided tasting session in a classroom assembled just for that purpose. Both times the guides were knowledgeable and friendly. Price was also very reasonable.

We did a tour and tasting at Graham's. They have various formulas: classic ports in the Tasting Room ; Premiums in the Vintage Room.
They also have a shop (obvious), a museum and a rooftop restaurant (Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar).
Tours, tastings, restaurant on reservation only!

Thank you, Myriam, Vinum and Graham's was one of the possible choices. Between Barao Fladget and Vinum, I'm leaning toward Barao for dinner since they open at 19.00h vs 19.30h for Vinum. First night......jetlagged!.

Haha... well, I think one should be enough since we are also doing two Quintas the day before (Quinta do Seixo and Quinta do Morrocas).

I'm considering doing a "welcome to Portugal" dinner at Barao Fladgate one our first night in Porto / Portugal. Hopefully, we can have a semi-quick meal as everyone will be tired from the long journey from Japan and the time difference. So, if we do dinner there on day 1, then I think I should pick another cellar to visit on day 3 (day 2 is in the Douro valley).

What about Ferreira Cellars? Because we are planning to have a welcome dinner at Taylor's Barao Fladgate restaurant, I think it'd be bit redundant to return for the tour. So, looking for another option.

I see Ferreira Cellars ranked lower than others on TA and Google reviews, but the description sounds nice. " Established in an old convent, Ferreira Cellars is one of the most extraordinary wineries that you can visit in Gaia. Housed in a large building with high worn wooden ceilings, the Cellar was founded in 1751 by a family of winemakers."

What sounds appealing is that this company had a very famous female leader D. Antonia. For an all-female group (no boys with us this time ;)) and most ladies more interested in history than the wine itself, I was wondering if this would be a good tour. SInce it's going to be a private tour, maybe they would be willing to tweak it so that there is more about the history of port wine and the company vs how the wine is made.

Anyway, just wanted to ask if anyone has done Ferreira Cellars tour and whether it's a good one.

Good choice! We had an excellent lunch on the roof terrace of Barão Fladgate.
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We usually have a fancier meal on the first night, but I know that everyone will be jetlagged. Hopefully, we can get back to the hotel by 9.00-9.30ish... So that should give us about 1.5-2 hours, I think should be alright for a 3 course meal :))

For serious tasting from multiple producers, there is a tasting room on the

Thank you, Michael. * Our idea for the tour is more academic than getting into tasting so much ;)) *I think the ladies I travel with are light drinkers who are mostly interested in history. **
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minamax10,
Since the ladies in your group are more interested in the history of Port making rather than drinking, I would suggest the self-guided tour at Taylor's, even though you would return there the next day after dinner at Barão the night before.

One doesn't need to pre-book, just show up anytime during their opening hours. The Taylor's audio guide I found quite educational, very informative, and I could go at my own pace. * The ladies could then, absorb as much or as little as each one wants, depending on their interests. The audio guide takes about an hour if you choose to hear the entire length. * We learned more about the Port wine history and wine making-aging process through this audio guide than we did at some of our quinta visits before, which were geared towards tasting. *Taylor's visit seemed more like a museum visit to me.

And the short Taylor's tasting, only two ports (for your light drinkers), can be taken sitting down at tables in their pretty, relaxing rose garden, complete with strutting peacocks, so it would give the ladies a chance to rest. *If anyone wanted, they could add a charcuterie or cheese plate to share for an additional fee.

But if you can book the private tour at Ferreira, you can tweak it to everyone's interests, which may be the most important factor to you--to learn more about the life of Doña Antónia, which was a fascinating one. But the tasting with this visit includes 5 ports and would take longer.

Barão Fladgate may be a better traditional Portuguese choice for dining than Graham's Vinum as the cuisine at Vinum is in the hands of the Basque Sagardi group with its many restaurants in different parts of the globe.
Just some thoughts.