Luxury Wine Tours and Cooking Vacations Portugal
Portugal is an incredibly unique country, offering gourmet visitors real "old world" flavor.
For food and wine lovers, Portugal is most famous for its Port wine industry and the
monumental Douro Valley, spotted with wine quintas, noble mansions and medieval villages.
Port became the first demarcated wine region in the world; in 1756, and many of the port
lodges in Vilanova de Gaia date back 300 years. The Portuguese have been offering wine tours
of their historic wineries for decades and a visit to the Port Lodges is a "must" while
visiting Oporto, especially to such beautiful ones as Ramos Pintos. The Douro Valley is simply
one of the most beautiful places in the world, and is a treat for sophisticated travellers,
where private "Rabelos" boat tours; chic, historic accommodation in wine country; and gourmet
dining together create unforgettable vacations.
For such a tiny country, Portugal is full of beautiful cities and villages, oozing with
history. Portugal enjoyed an illustrious navigational history that included the
colonization of the "new world". This brought back huge wealth to the country,
and was the start of the "Golden Age". Today, this history is evident in Portugal's
architectural riches. In Europe, The Portuguese were best known for being great
seafarers and explorers. Famed explorers included Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry
the Navigator. Before the Portuguese Golden Age, however, Romans and Moors each had
their rule in Portugal. The Roman legacy can be admired in the striking Temple of
Diana in Évora; and the Moorish influence can be seen in the glorious, Arabic
tilework throughout Portugal (called "Azulejos", like in Spain). Portugal has many
beautiful, historic cities such as Lisbon, Sintra, and Coimbra, and stunning red
rock beaches in the Algarve (in the south). The most interesting region for gourmet
travellers is Northern Portugal
Portugal's wine regions are rich and varied. Northeast of the lovely city of
Lisbon, you find the Alentejo wine region. The Alentejo is a romantic, hilly region
full of cork forests, abandoned castles and wineries (top producers are Esporão and
Fonseca). Further north, near the aristocratic town of Coimbra and the beautiful Estrela
Forest, lies the Dão wine region (demarcated in 1907). Finally the two most famous wine
regions, located in the very north of Portugal, are the Douro (famed for Port wine and still
reds) and Vinho Verde (famous for slightly sparkling young white wines). Vinho Verde is a
gorgeous wine region, a treat of a region for wine tours, full of historic small hotels and
stunning scenery. Finally the Douro Valley is the ultimate destination for wine lovers, and
is also the region responsible for the best quality wines in Portugal. The dramatic Douro
River stretches eastwards into Spain, and is lined with "Quintas" (wine producing estates).
The wine is made in the Quintas and is then shipped downriver to the town of Vilanova de Gaia,
just next to Oporto, where the wine is then aged for years in the beautiful Port wine
lodges. The best way to experience the Douro valley is by boat, stopping at wine estates
along the way.
Click here for more on Luxury Food and Wine Tours in Portugal
More Information on Luxury Wine Tours and Culinary Vacations Portugal:
To conclude, Portugal offers the gourmet traveller old world charm, wonderful wine country
accommodation and beautiful, unspoiled scenery. Cellar Tours offers luxurious,
chauffeured food and wine tours for the discerning traveller, contact us for
more details on info@cellartours.com
|
