WV0001_Description_Premium

Today, and after airport formalities, you will be collected outside customs, and transferred, by Deluxe vehicle with English speaking chauffeur, to your hotel in Porto.

After check-in procedures, take your time to unwind and relax!

During the afternoon, venture on a special tour. Your driver/guide will take you on a “Mercedez Maria”, a Ural Ranger, a charming vintage motorcycle, with the look of Second World War but with all the modern safety features of an XXI century motorcycle and with room for two each. The rhythm is slow-paced with a lot of conversation, historical facts and curiosities, lots of stops for photos and to enjoy the views. Through the Historical Center, you’ll see places like S. Bento station and the Stock Exchange Palace, along the Douro River with its bridges, the Miragaia neighborhood, and all the way to the beach to understand the connection of the city’s history with the ocean. Return to the city center, explore Cristal Palace and neighborhoods like Virtudes, Vitória, and Clérigos, learn all their history and see the great views that Porto has to offer. 

Cross to Gaia, on the other side of the river and see the D. Luís bridge and the Port wine neighborhood.

Sidecar tour ends at your hotel in Porto.

Indulge in a private guided visit to the largest wooden Port cellar in the historical area of Vila Nova de Gaia.

As you walk into the Lodge you’ll be surrounded by rows of barrels of all shapes and sizes. This is the largest collection of oak barrels and wooden vats of any Port cellar in Porto. This is where they age all our Ports and in particular this is the home of our Special Reserve Port. Founded in the earliest 19th the Cockburn’s & Co family built themselves a remarkable reputation for fine Vintage Port. The records at the London auction houses show that in the early twentieth century, Cockburn’s Vintage Ports commanded the highest prices of any Port house.  

There you will have the unique opportunity to assist the coopers working real life (only available weekdays until 5pm) on the barrels. Indulge in a premium lectured wine tasting.

Lunch (not included) will be served in a highly recommended restaurant born out of a wish to reflect the specific terroir of our wines, combined with the international and cosmopolitan flavor of Portuguese cuisine.

After being delighted with the tasty lunch, enjoy a private guided visit to the leading producer of quality Port company, which was founded in 1820. The impeccable pedigree of its superb Vintage Ports represents the pinnacle of fine winemaking. The supreme quality benchmark set by these wines is presented throughout the entire Graham’s range of Ports. The keynotes of the Graham house style are exceptional concentration and power, opulent richness, great poise and elegance as well as remarkable longevity. Enjoy a private lectured VIP wine tasting.

• Not feasible on Sunday’s afternoons, June 24th, December 24th, 25th and 31st and January 1st.

Stop at a charming, elegant and singular wine estate composed by 24 hectares with stunning vies over the Douro slopes. This property produces absolutely remarkable wines by treating its great terroir with the respect it deserves, and by the using the traditional methods updated in the light of the latest advances. 

Lunch (pre-set menu with wines) will be served at the terrace. By the end of this experience, take time at leisure to explore on your own or relax and enjoy the hotel facilities.

• Suggested dinner (not included) at a family-owned charming wine estate, one of the best-known estates in the Douro region and also one of the first properties to bottle wine under its own label.

Today, come aboard a vintage yatch and experience in first-hand the luxury of this exclusive river cruise. Lunch is served throughout the trip, on the deck, under the signature of a remarkable Chef. 

• Suggested dinner (not included) at an elegant restaurant settled in a building of contemporary lines with a picket based that extends along an elegant wooden deck overlooking the river (closed on Tuesdays).

Drive towards a magnificent estate with a total surface area of 234 hectares and with altitudes which vary between 110 and 340 metres, this estate has 150 ha of vines with an average age of 30 years old. The vertical form of planting has been exclusively used. Only 10% of the varieties produced there are white. 

Enjoy a guided visit to the winery and to the Rock Engravings of the Archaeological Park.

The Côa Valley Archeological Park was created in 1992 when an extraordinary Stone Age art gallery was discovered extending for 17km (10 miles) along the Côa River valley. The sensational find is the biggest ever made in Europe, with the site having been protected over the years by the valley’s resistant schist bedrock and Mediterranean microclimate. New discoveries of carvings dating back to tens of thousands of years are still being made on the site, with depictions of horses, deer, and extinct creatures. These carvings are unique in Europe for being the only examples outside rather than inside caves, and today the park encompasses the largest known array of open-air Paleolithic art in the world.

Lunch paired with wines will be served on a private setting (pre-set menu with wines).  

Leisure afternoon to rest and relax.

• Suggested dinner at your hotel restaurant;

• Not feasible on Mondays, January 1st, Easter Sunday, May 1st, December 24th and 25th.

Drive southwards direction to Lisbon, Europe’s second-oldest capital (after Athens) and one of the world’s greatest natural harbors which attracted different civilizations, now reflected in its architecture and culture recalling Phoenicians, Celts, Romans, Visigoths and Moors.

En-route stop at Alenquer, for an exclusive treat at selected wine Estate, a wonderful and enchanting property, not only for its building’s architecture, but also for its beautiful vineyards. 

The estate is located in the surroundings of Aldeia Galega and it spreads over the sunny hills’ of Alenquer, a Delimited Region in the northwest of Lisboa. Its historical and excellent vineyards are known since the 16th century and have belonged to Diogo Duff, a brave Scottish man who received the “Tower and Sword” insignia, given by King João VI. Alice and Paulo Tavares da Silva bought the estate in the 1980s and made significant investments in its 45ha of vineyard. The introduction of new cultivation methods has allowed the family to consolidate the quality and reputation of their wines. 

In an accompanied visit, you can get to know the wine making technology and methods used in the Quinta to produce their elegant wines, learning every step of the wine process. After understanding how the wines are produced, see for yourself how they are stored during the ageing process that gives them some of their most typical characteristic. Follows a private and lectured wine tasting, lectured by the responsible for the oenology department, Sandra Tavares da Silva, the daughter of the owners, or by the resident oenologist, so you can confirm the high quality of their product. 

Sandra is making wines in both Estremadura and the Douro, which necessitates travelling between the two regions three times a week. Since then, her day job has been as winemaker for Christiano Van Zeller at Quinta do Vale D. Maria in the Douro. In 2000 she began making wines from her parents Estremadura estate, at the Quinta you will visit. With their depth of fruit and fine structure these have rapidly established a reputation as being among the best of the appellation. 

On an informal setting, the family will invite you for lunch (pre-set menu with wines) at their house.

After lunch, enjoy a relaxing short drive to your hotel in Lisbon.

• Not feasible on Easter Sunday, December 25th and January 1st.

Boasting springtime temperatures during the winter and cool summers freshened by a breeze blowing in from the Atlantic, Costa de Lisboa, on the southwestern coast, offers a rich and impressively integrated diversity. The capital of Portugal since its conquest from the Moors in 1147, Lisbon is a legendary city with over 20 centuries of History.

This morning, with the assistance of your expert guide, you’ll discover the most emblematic neighborhoods of the city: Bairro Alto – a picturesque quarter dating from the 1500s, that has traditionally been the city’s bohemian haunt of artists and writers, Chiado – an elegant, sophisticated district of theaters, bookshops, old-style cafes, art nouveau jewelry shops, luxurious international names such as Hermes, and local treasures, Rossio – the liveliest square in the city and Alfama – Lisbon’s heart during Moorish times, you’ll find yourself wandering through colorful XVIII century squares downtown and getting lost in the medieval maze of the Alfama district overlooked by an ancient castle.

Lunch (not included) will be served at one of the best fresh fish restaurants in Lisbon, created with the purpose to pay tribute to the old fish shops. Let yourself be seduced by their fresh fish and seafood display cabinet, by the charm of its cuisine and by the irreverent and funny ambiance that define this restaurant.

Today’s highlight will be the intimate river cruise aboard a luxury sailing yacht. This cruise includes panoramic first row to the main Lisbon facade, where you can see the major nautical monuments such as Belem Tower, Discovery monument, 25 April Bridge, Sanctuary of Christ the King, MAAT (Museum of Art and Architecture and Technology) and Comercio Square.

• Suggested dinner (not included) at a one Michelin star restaurant with a sober, sophisticated atmosphere, a discrete and attentive service, and a delightful cuisine. Its singular location at the historic center of Lisbon soon won over Lisbon’s elite who turned the Belcanto into the place to be seen (closed on Sundays and Mondays).

Today, marvel with the quaint and aristocratic, World Heritage by UNESCO, town of Sintra – where Lord Byron lived and considered it to be “Paradise in Earth”. You’ll see castles, fortresses, forests, and beautiful scenery. 

Sintra and its mystical hills dotted with fairytale palaces and extravagant villas have bewitched visitors for centuries. The Romans made it a place of cult moon worshiping and named it “Cynthia” after the goddess of the moon. They were followed by the Moors who also fell in love with the lush vegetation and built a hilltop castle, a palace, and several fountains around the town. Later it became the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family and attracted a number of wealthy aristocrats who built huge mansions and villas.

You’ll visit the 19th century Pena Palace, one of Europe’s most fantastic palaces. It includes a drawbridge, a conglomeration of turrets, ramparts, and domes, and a gargoyle above a Neo-Manueline arch, all washed in an array of pastel shades. The extravagant interior is decorated in late Victorian and Edwardian furnishings, rich ornaments, paintings, and priceless porcelain preserved just as the royal family left them.

Stop at Cascais, a lovely fishermen village that became (along with neighboring Estoril) a popular resort favored by European nobility and kings in the early 20th century. Today it is a colorful cosmopolitan town with elegant pedestrian streets, luxuriant villas, fashionable shops, restaurants and bars.

Have a relaxed lunch (not included) and venture on a relaxing walking tour enjoying the fresh sea breeze.

En-route to Lisbon, stop at the cooperative winery at Colares. Its beautiful building dates back to the late of 19th century, with an imposing interior housing wooden barrels, casks and vats totaling more than 1 million litters capacity. It is the maturing and aging place “par excellence” for the wines of this appellation. Enjoy a private visit followed by lectured wine tasting before returning to Lisbon.

• Not feasible on weekends.

Today, your driver will take you to the noble city of Estremoz, an utterly charming Alentejo town. 

Estremoz has a rich cultural heritage, in which clearly the major feature is the castle with its medieval walls and the former thirteenth-century citadel, which now houses a Pousada. 

Upon arrival, enjoy a private visit to an 18th century wine estate, nowadays considered a landmark, not only for its beauty but also for its history and quality of its wines, referred by Wine Spectator. This estate is one of the most beautiful country houses in the region, preserving the original features of its “Baroque” and “Joanina” style architecture. 

Pamper your taste with a private lectured wine tasting followed by lunch (pre-set menu with wines) at the owner’s house, a former palace.

During the afternoon, enjoy a private visit to a beautiful and traditional wine estate with fine quality wines. The winery comprises 9.000 square meters (vineyards not included), having a modern vinification technology, a bottling area and cellars with approximately 2000 French, American and Portuguese oak barrels used for ageing the wines. At this winery the modern is harmoniously combined with the best Portuguese wine-growing tradition, and part of the grapes for more sophisticated wines are still foot trodden. Calmly taste and appreciate the great selection of wines you will be lectured.

Your driver will drop you off at your hotel in Alentejo.

• Not feasible on Weekends and National Holidays.

Today your journey continues to Reguengos in order to visit a worldwide famous selected wine estate.

The origins of this estate and its winemaking activities, date back to the prehistoric times of the megalithic cultures and the Bronze Age. Already during the Roman occupation, the wines of the settlement were exported to the whole Empire. The boundaries of the estate were established in 1267 and have remained practically unaltered since then. 

Enjoy a private visit to wine cellars and a lectured wine and olive oil tasting. Savor the local cuisine and the local olive oils and cheeses, paired with their best wines, in scenery of tranquility, spotted by the greenery of the cork-oaks and olive trees.

Treat yourself with a gourmet lunch (white menu) paired with wines.

Besides producing a large quantity of top-quality wines, its prominence on export markets over the last decade has raised the profile of the Alentejo as a quality wine region outside Portugal, and no doubt has encouraged other producers to follow its lead.

• Not feasible on Mondays, Tuesdays and December 24th, 25th and 31st and January 1st. 

Return to Lisbon with a stop in Azeitão. Stop at the oldest producer of table wines and Setubal Moscatel in Portugal. Step back into history, by touring the ancient wine cellars which contains rare treasures over 100 years old. Culminate your experience, with a private lectured wine tasting blended with local treats. 

Lunch (not included) at a local restaurant. 

During the afternoon, discover a second winery and its vineyards in Azeitão and fall in love with the most famous products from Azeitão – Wine, Cheese and Tortas. Enjoy tasting some of the best wines, produced with the most famous varieties of the Setúbal Peninsula and get to know the entire process and the most modern technology for working the vineyard and wine.

• Not feasible on January 1st, 2nd, December 24th, 25th and 31st.

According to your flight departure time, and after check-out procedures, your private chauffeur will meet you at the lobby and take you towards Lisbon International Airport.