Two Wine Trips to the Douro Valley to launch Wines and Tours Ltd

If the idea of tasting wines at a variety of Quintas, enjoying local dishes and traveling through the stunning scenery of the Douro Valley, appeals to you, why not join us on one of our Portuguese Wine Tours?

August 2011 Wine Tour

“The Last of the Summer Wine Tour” takes place between the 25th and 29th August 2011, starting at Oporto airport at 12 noon. The cost of this tour is £750. This is based on two people sharing a room. Single occupancy entails a £150 per person supplement. Flights are not included. Our first visit is a conducted tour of Taylor’s Port lodge and lunch at their restaurant overlooking Oporto.

Before moving on to the Douro Valley we foray into Vinho Verde country, stopping at Mondim de Basto, our base, for two nights. Vinho Verde or ‘Green Wine’ has nothing to do with its colour, but derives its name from the fact that it is designed to be drunk young – indeed it is so young that it is usually a touch petillant – a bit like a naturally forming spritzer. We’ll visit the large Quinta of the region, Quinta da Avaleda and we’ll sample the wines of the dynamic Vinhas do Norte Winery at the superb Aldeia do Pontido restaurant.

As we move to the Douro Valley we’ll stop at the Quinta da Gaivosa, where the Alves de Sousa family are recognised as one of the top Douro wine producers, with award after award to their name. We will follow this up with lunch at the Quinta do Pego with its breathtaking views over the Douro river. Another Quinta visit in the afternoon to Quinta de la Rosa in Pinhao.

The fourth day will be a surprise day in the hands of our good friend Victor Marques of Victoria Koi. From past experience a river trip on the Douro river at Foz Tua is a likely bet.

On the fifth day we’ll round off the trip with a picturesque train journey back to Oporto (regretably not a steam train as these are the exception rather than the rule, but it will be picturesque none the less).

September 2011 Wine Tour

“The Wine Harvest” Tour takes place between the 29th September and the 3rd of October 2011. This is the luxury version of the earlier tour and includes Air Travel with TAP from Gatwick to Oporto return and also the first night at the five star Yeatman Hotel close to Taylor’s Lodge. The first night dinner will be on board a river cruise along the Douro. The flights will almost certainly go up as time passes, and the earlier you book, the better the price. The cost of this trip is currently £1200 per person, based on two people sharing a room. There is a £250 per person supplement for single occupancy of rooms. Because it is inclusive of air travel, this trip is being handled for us by ATOL licensed Tour Operators, West End Travel in London.

Nicholas finalising the details