Many times we just don’t know what to do. Whether it is a sunny day or just rainy. Choices are hard. Mainly, when we visit a country that has so many options when it comes to tourism activities. Should we go to the beach? Visit mountain ranges? Visit unique traditional villages? Eat at the top restaurants of the area, go to the zoo or an aquatic park?
Getting to know Portugal through its wines is an authentic and original way to embrace the culture of the country. Discover the most fascinating experiences in wine tourism. (Visit Portugal, 2020)
Well, I could spend my whole day here, but when it comes to us, Wine Tourists, we only want one thing, experience wine tourism in Portugal. And the truth is wine pairs with Portugal as well as Portugal pairs with wines. That is why Portugal is on the top of wine producer countries in almost every rank there is.
A little bit on Portugal and its wines
Portugal was born from Guimarães, where our kings have fought invasions now after another, and, end up conquering the 92 thousand km2. Portugal combines the best of nature, landscapes, and cosmopolitan life. Without a doubt, it’s the place to visit for any of these reasons, and much more. Besides. Portugal has incredibly rich gastronomy that varies a lot according to the region in which you are.
Portugal is located in the Iberian Peninsula and is the oldest country that builds this Peninsula. Located in Southwestern Europe, the country also has two archipelagos, namely Azores and Madeira. The country is full of heritage, castles, monasteries, and since again, landscapes that are unique to the country and must be seen, for sure
In Portugal wine culture, winemakers are often called in different names:
- Quintas: Farms
- Herdade: Tradução
- Adega: Wine cellar
These Quintas, Herdades, and Adegas can be found all over the country. But the most historical cities are for sure, Guimarães, Braga, Viana do Castelo, and many more in the north of the country. However, there is not just in the north that the excellent wine tradition of Portugal can be found. In fact, the excellent Portuguese wines are recognized all over the world and win consecutive international competitions every year. For example, in the 2021 Decanter World Wide Award, three Portuguese wines were awarded, namely: (1) Gandarada, Dão 2019; (2) Soalheiro, Primeiras Vinhas, Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde 2019; (3) Henriques & Henriques, 20 Year Old Verdelho, Madeira NV
The best wine tourism portugal experiences
Wine Tourism in Portugal is actually pretty interesting. Even if it is still not at the state of wine tourism experiences of Australia or South Africa, the country counts with a good number of attractions and activities to do related to wine. They can be organized around one realm of the perfect wine tourism experience, or include the whole 4, but you’ll never be disappointed while traveling in Portugal for wine.
Usually, wine tourism experiences are mainly wine tastings, visits to wineries or wine cellars, a dinner combined with excellent wine, visit vineyards by horse, boat, or train. But there is a lot more to do, such as wine lessons, one day in the role of an enologist, etc. Below, we will quickly brief the major wine tourism experiences in Portugal, however, do not think there are the only ones, because there is much more to do than that:
- Go to the Douro Valley (boat or train) for its amazing views and landscapes, green or red river in the autumn.
- Follow the Vinho Verde Route to enjoy a bike ride or others in this beautiful Amarante region.
- Try the alentejo’s, the home of Cork, wine route for its gastronomy and extraordinary red wines.
- Horse ride through Azeitão vineyards and use the opportunity to visit the amazing Serra da Arrábida and Setúbal regions.
- Visit Lisbon and do not forget to make a reservation at a wine bar there to taste the capital’s wine offer.
- Discover the mystical Olive emporium in Coimbra district.
- Check out the Aliança Underground Museum in the Bairrada region near Coimbra.
- Visit the Wine and literature festival in one of the best wine regions of Portugal, Dão.
As I said before, these are only examples of what you can do while traveling in Portugal motivated by wine. In the 13 wines regions that Portugal has, you can imagine the number of activities that you are able to do in any one of them. But keep in mind, Portugal is a country that varies a lot in terms of landscapes, gastronomy, culture, according to if you are in the North, Center, or South, so take the opportunity of your visit to Portugal to enjoy all these amazing and rich differences.
Wine and Gastronomy
As explained before, Portugal is an extremely rich country when it comes to gastronomy: from 1000 ways of making “Bacalhau” (Cod-fish), to unique desserts, cheeses, and much more, Portugal is blessed by amazing cultural gastronomy. An with any gastronomy, in any part of the country, comes the perfect wine.
Depending on the dish or the occasion, wines must be always present. And their role will be to help find new flavors n the dish, intensify them and make each gastronomical discovery and unique and unforgettable moment.
Portugal’s top celebrities in gastronomy often rely on seafood from the Atlantic Ocean, olive oil, and typical spices from Portuguese cuisine. A trip through the main Portugal regions will make you bump into meat, octopus in olive oil, fried squid, bacalhau in a hundred and two million cooking methods, francesinhas in the North of the country, and many many sweets and desserts that I can’t even count on my fingers.
From Cataplanas to Cozido à Portuguesa, Açorda, Feijoada, and many more amazing dishes, Portugal has a lot of unique and traditional dishes. Therefore, each one of them seems to have its proper wine to combine with. Nevertheless, this does not mean there is only one wine that combines with one dish, but several ones are up for the job. In Portugal, there is no faithfulness in regards to wines and food, however, some taste better than others. For example, with the heavy dishes in Alentejo, we often choose a red wine that is completed and full-bodied. On another side, in the beautiful Setúbal area, where the main dish is grilled fish or fried squid, it is often accompanied with a fruited white wine.
A quick note that I would like to add, is that, if you have the opportunity to ask for the “Vinho da Casa” which means Wine from the House, do it. These wines are usually produced by their own restaurants, or selected by them as a unique wine from the region. Therefore, it will always be something unique to try.
Wine Regions
Portugal produces its own wine, kind of isolated from all other wine producers, therefore, many grape varieties are unique to the country. There are over 250 indigenous varieties and a few imports (including Alicante Bouschet) that have adapted well to the Portuguese landscape (i.e., they are delicious).
Portugal is a small country, but when it comes to winemakers and wine regions, there is a lot more than what it seems to. Here are some numbers so you can have an idea of the dimension of this country:
- Number of wine regions: 14
- Number of wineries: 4700 registered growers
- Number of vineyards (hc): 7 hectoliters
- Volume of exported wines per year: $936 million.
Let’s start from the north to the south:
- MINHO: Specialist for its Vinho Verde, and has two main grape varieties which are Alvarinho and Loureiro (Two white grape varieties)
- DÃO: Most known for the Touriga Nacional, Mencía, Alfrocheiro (red varieties) and Encruzado (white varietiy)
- TRANSMONTANO: Most kown for its Trás-os-Montes red wine
- DOURO VALLEY: The home region of Port wine, but also from red Douro wine, and white grape variety called Rabigato
- TERRAS DE CÍSTER
- BEIRA ATLÂNTICO: Bairrada has its own Sparkling wine and is one of the major Arinto producers
- BEIRA INTERIOR: Homeland of Portuguese Rosé and red wine variety named Aragonez
- LISBON: The capital mostly produces Arinto, Fernão Pires, Trincadeira and for the white wines, Alicante Bouschet
- TEJO: Besides producing similar wines to Lisbon, due to its proximity, the region produces two international wine grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay
- SETÚBAL: Homeland of Muscat wine called “Moscatel”
- ALENTEJO: As a wine region, and strongly focused on red wines, Alentejo represents 1/3 of the national wine production. The main grape varieties are: Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro, Touringa Nacional, Arinto, Encruzado and Antão Vaz.
- ALGARVE: In spite of being at the south of Portugal, and being majorly a warm region, Algarve mainly produces red wines with the following grape varieties: Castelão, Trincadeira and Syrah.
- Madeira: Known for its Madeira wine, usually drunk as an appetizer
- AÇORES: Produces all kind of wines and no specific wine variety
Long story short, if you intend to come to Portugal for a wine tourism experience in which you can benefit from all the wine experiences of each region, prepare for one month trip. But you’ll surely do not regret it!
