In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto, sell a standard visit with a tasting of three or four ports for €16 to €25. Fonseca is €16, Real Companhia Velha €20, Burmester €22, Sandeman and Ferreira €23, and Taylor’s, Poças and Churchill’s €25. Graham’s, Cockburn’s and Real Companhia Velha require a booking, and Taylor’s does not. Real Companhia Velha and Churchill’s are closed on Sundays and Poças on Mondays. Taylor’s and Fonseca are audio-guided, and the rest have a guide. Or book a tour: Taylor’s Port Cellars & Tastingad is from €25, Cockburn’s Port Lodge Tour & Tastingad from €22 (GetYourGuide).
The lodges compared
Prices are each lodge’s own for the standard visit, per adult. Port is made in the Douro and aged in the lodges of Gaia: Cálem’s own line is “Born in the Douro, aged in Gaia”.
The port lodges along the Gaia waterfront, with rabelo boats moored on the Douro. Photo: Michael Gaylard, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
| Lodge | Standard visit | Ports poured | Guide | Booking | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fonseca | €16 | 3 | Audio, self-guided | Tickets at reception or online | Open daily |
| Real Companhia Velha | €20 | 4 | Guide, 45 minutes | Required | Sunday, 25 December, 1 January |
| Burmester | €22 | 2 | Guide or self-guided | Online | Open daily |
| Sandeman | €23 | 3 | Guide | Online | Open daily |
| Ferreira | €23 | 3 | Guide | Online | Open daily |
| Taylor’s | €25 | 3 | Audio, 13 languages | Not needed | Open daily |
| Poças | €25 | 4, with vermouth | Guide | Recommended | Monday |
| Churchill’s | €25 | 3 | Guide, 1½ hours | Pay on site | Sunday |
| Cálem | From €22 on GetYourGuide | 3 | Guide and museum | Online | 25 December, 1 January |
| Cockburn’s | From €22 on GetYourGuide | Guide | Required | 25 December, 1 January | |
| Graham’s | From €40 on GetYourGuide | Guide | Required | Open daily |
How to choose
- Live guide or audio. Taylor’s and Fonseca are audio tours on your phone, and the rest have a guide: Sandeman, Ferreira, Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Churchill’s, Poças, Real Companhia Velha and Cálem.
- Where. Burmester, Casa Kopke and Cálem are by the river at the foot of the Dom Luís I bridge. Taylor’s (Rua do Choupelo 250) and Fonseca (Rua do Choupelo 84) are on the same street up the slope, which is the usual pair. Sandeman is at Largo Miguel Bombarda.
- Closed days. Most open daily, but Real Companhia Velha and Churchill’s close on Sundays and Poças on Mondays. Cockburn’s, Cálem, Casa Kopke and Real Companhia Velha close on 25 December and 1 January, and Taylor’s opens 12:00 to 18:00 on both days.
- Price. Almost every lodge sells a standard visit at €16 to €25, with three or four ports. The dearer visits pour older tawnies and Vintage Ports: see the lodges below.
The lodges
Taylor’s
€25 · audio guide in 13 languages · 10:00 to 18:15 daily · no pre-booking
An audio-guided visit of about an hour, followed by a 30-minute tasting of Chip Dry, a Late Bottled Vintage and a 10 Year Old Tawny. The audio runs through a QR code on your phone, so bring headphones. A child aged 8 to 17 is €9 and under 8 free. On 23 June the cellar closes at 15:00, and on 24 and 31 December at 17:00. Taylor’s Port Cellars & Tastingad on GetYourGuide is from €25, the same price (4.6 stars from 5,108 reviews).
The cask cellar at Taylor’s. Photo: Ray in Manila, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Fonseca
€16 · self-guided audio tour · 11:00 to 17:45 daily
The cheapest standard visit: an audio tour with a commented tasting of Bin 27, Siroco (a white) and Terra Prima. A child aged 5 to 14 is €8. The last admission for the audio tour is 17:45. Porto: Fonseca Port Wine Cellar Tour & Tastingad is from €16 (4.2 stars from 538 reviews).
Real Companhia Velha (Royal Oporto)
€20 · 45 minutes · four ports · Monday to Saturday · booking required
A guided tour that pours a Lágrima white, a rosé, a Late Bottled Vintage and a 10 Year Old Tawny. The company says it is the oldest Portuguese company, founded on 10 September 1756 by royal charter. Tours run 10:00 to 16:30 Monday to Saturday, the cellars are up the hill at Rua Azevedo Magalhães 314, and the company takes payment by Multibanco or cash. Royal Oporto Tour na Real Companhia Velhaad is from €20 (4.8 stars from 701 reviews).
Burmester
€22 · guided or self-guided · 10:00 to 19:00 daily, last visit 18:00
At the foot of the Dom Luís I bridge’s lower deck. The Classic visit is €22 with two ports, the Premium €23 with three (a Fine White, an LBV and a 10 Year Old, with chocolates) and the Tawny Experience €35 with 10, 20 and 30 year olds. Changes are free up to 48 hours ahead, and bookings not cancelled five working days ahead are charged in full. Burmester Cellar Tour with Tasting & Pairing Optionsad is from €23 (4.5 stars from 2,079 reviews).
Sandeman
€23 · 50 minutes · guide in the Don’s cape · 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00
The Porto Sandeman Visit pours a white, a ruby and a tawny, and the guide dresses in the black cape and hat of the brand’s logo. It is sold in Portuguese, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian, and the last visits are 12:15 and 17:15. The 1790 Visit is €35 with five ports and the Old Tawnies visit €53. Refundable up to 3 days ahead through Sogrape. Sandeman Cellar Tour with Port Wine Tastingad is from €23 (4.6 stars from 123 reviews).
The ageing room at Sandeman, with a caped figure silhouetted at the far end. Photo: Ken & Nyetta, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Ferreira
€23 · 50 minutes · three ports · 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00
The same booking system and hours as Sandeman, from Sogrape. The Port Ferreira Visit is €23, the Dona Antónia Visit €35 with five ports, and the Vintage Visit €55 pours four ports in the Blue Tiles Room (Sogrape).
Poças
€25 · guided · Tuesday to Sunday · closed Mondays
A working lodge with more than 800 casks and a cooperage. Port Essentials is €25 (a white, a ruby, a 10 Year Old Tawny and a Soberbo vermouth), Port & Chocolate €35 and Golden Years €45. Open 10:00 to 19:00 from May to October (last visit 17:30) and 10:00 to 17:30 from November to April (last visit 16:30), and the lodge recommends booking. Guided Tour and Tasting of 3 Port Wines at Poçasad is from €23 (4.6 stars from 1,296 reviews).
Churchill’s
From €25 · guided, 1½ hours · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00
A tour of a working lodge with a tasting of a Dry White, an LBV and a 10 Year Old Tawny, tucked away from the riverside crowd at Rua da Fonte Nova 5. The €25 basic tour is paid on site, and the lodge books online for the dearer tastings: €40 for Douro wines or a blind tasting, €50 Vintage and €65 aged ports. Last visit 17:00. Churchill’s is closed on Sundays.
Cálem
Interactive museum, cellar tour and tasting · 10:00 to 19:00 daily · closed 25 December and 1 January
By the river on Avenida Diogo Leite, with tickets sold on the lodge’s own booking site. Cálem Cellar Tour, Interactive Museum & Wine Tastingad is from €22 for an hour (4.5 stars from 5,336 reviews) and the Cellar Tour, Fado Show & Wine Tastingad is from €28 for 75 minutes.
Cockburn’s
Reservation only · about 1½ hours · 10:00 to 17:30 from April to October
A tour and tasting in what the lodge calls the largest wooden port cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia. The lodge sells a Tawny tasting, a premium tasting with chocolate and the Cask to Kitchen at €75, a tour with three ports and a Basque-style lunch at Sagardi, a 30-minute walk along the river. From November to March the visits run 10:00 to 17:00. Cockburn’s Port Lodge Tour & Tastingad is from €22 (4.8 stars from 4,456 reviews).
Graham’s
Reservation required · visits 10:00 to 17:30 from April to October
The Graham’s 1890 Lodge is by reservation only. The Graham’s Port Lodge Tour & Premium Wine Tasting, Main Roomad is from €40 for 2 hours (4.8 stars from 2,236 reviews), and the Vintage Room tastingad from €70. The lodge’s own page prices the lunch visit at €140 and a boardroom tasting of six Symington ports at €250. From November to March visits run 10:00 to 17:00.
Casa Kopke
A tasting room, not a cellar tour · 10:00 to 19:00 daily · walk in
A shop and tasting room on Avenida Diogo Leite with flights and more than 30 wines by the glass, served with cheese, crisps, olives or nuts. It calls itself the world’s oldest port wine house, founded in 1638.
What to pour
Port is a wine fortified with grape brandy, made only in the Douro, and the Port and Douro Wines Institute (IVDP) says it is usually 19 to 22% alcohol. A flight on a lodge’s list follows IVDP’s two ageing styles.
| On the list | What it is |
|---|---|
| Ruby, LBV | The ruby style keeps the fruit and strength of a young wine. A Late Bottled Vintage is a single harvest bottled after 4 to 6 years in wood |
| Vintage | One year’s grapes, bottled 2 to 3 years after the harvest, then aged 10 to 50 years in the bottle. The dearest tastings pour it |
| 10, 20, 30, 40 Year Old Tawny | A blend aged in cask or vat, with dried fruit and nuts, stronger as it ages |
| Colheita | A single-year tawny aged in cask for at least 7 years |
| White, Lágrima | White port runs from extra dry to very sweet. Lágrima is the sweetest |
Before you go
The riverside lodges sit beside the Dom Luís I bridge, and World of Wine is in the same part of Gaia. For tastings that are not a single lodge, port wine tasting tours in Porto compares the walking tours, the cruise with a tasting and the cheese pairing. The grapes grow upriver: the Douro Valley day trip visits the quintas. What to book before you go to Porto lists the city tickets, and where to stay in Porto says whether Gaia or the Ribeira suits a longer stay.
Common questions
How much does a port wine cellar visit cost in Porto?
The standard visit and tasting is €16 to €25 at most lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia: Fonseca €16, Real Companhia Velha €20, Burmester €22, Sandeman and Ferreira €23, and Taylor's, Poças and Churchill's €25. The price rises with the age of the ports poured, not the length of the walk.
Do you need to book a port cellar visit?
Graham's, Cockburn's and Real Companhia Velha say reservation is required, and Poças recommends it. Taylor's says no pre-booking is needed. Cálem, Fonseca, Sandeman, Ferreira and Burmester sell tickets online.
Which port cellars are closed on Sundays and Mondays?
Real Companhia Velha and Churchill's are open Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday. Poças is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Monday. Taylor's, Fonseca, Sandeman, Ferreira, Burmester and Cálem list daily hours.
Which port lodges have a live guide?
Sandeman, Ferreira, Graham's, Cockburn's, Churchill's, Poças, Real Companhia Velha and Cálem have a guide. Taylor's and Fonseca run on audio, and Burmester offers a self-guided option.
Where are the port cellars in Porto?
In Vila Nova de Gaia, on the south bank of the Douro, across the Dom Luís I bridge from the Ribeira. Burmester, Casa Kopke and Cálem are by the river near the lower deck of the bridge, and Taylor's, Fonseca, Graham's, Cockburn's, Churchill's and Real Companhia Velha are up the slope.
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