Wine tours in Portugal

Specialist tour operator, Grape Escapes, has added Porto to its growing collection of wine destinations with two to three night trips available from March 2012. Trip highlights include tutored tasting sessions, a gourmet meal in the city’s palace and a river cruise. Prices start at £243 for a two-night trip and £301 for a three-night trip and both are available midweek and at weekends throughout the year.

Guests will be based in the UNESCO classified city of Porto, which is the birthplace of Port wine. There will be guided tours of two Port wine lodges with tutored tasting sessions of four Ports, including a vintage. Porto’s top sights will be seen on a river cruise down the Douro in a Rabelo boat, which were historically used to transport Port wine barrels.

Port tastings will be complimented by an authentic Portuguese lunch at a riverside restaurant and a five-course dinner at Porto’s Bolsa Palace. Local specialities include ewe’s cheese and cured ham.

Three night stays will also include a short train ride to a wine farm in the Vinho Verde region where there will be tastings of sparkling and red Vinho Verde. The alternative option is to take a train to Régua, the capital of the Duoro wine making region and visit a family owned wine farm for a tour of the estate and tastings of a Tawny and vintage Port. Both trips are followed by a three-course lunch.

The price of £243 per person for a two-night trip and £301 per person for a three-night trip is based on two people sharing a twin or double room at the three star Grande Hotel de Porto. The price includes accommodation, breakfast, all tours and tastings, the traditional lunch and gourmet dinner and a river cruise. Accommodation in four and five star hotels is also available. The area is easily accessible with a direct flight from London Gatwick to Porto with Easyjet (£25.99 one way).

Further enquiries and bookings can be made at grapeescapes.net.