Lisbon & The Alentejo Countryside Wine Trip
Explore Lisbon, its surroundings, and the Alentejo, discovering superb Portuguese food and wine along the way. Start your trip in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, where tradition and innovation coexist in neighborhoods spread across hills overlooking the river. Here you´ll be introduced to the food and wine of Portugal. Then you’ll head out of the city to the nearby Lisbon wine region, where fine wines are made from vineyards near the Atlantic. Your second destination is the undiscovered Alentejo, an expansive region, famous for cork, olives and wine, dotted with whitewashed villages and hearty red wines. Savor the traditional local cuisine, visit the region’s most exciting wineries, and stay at a luxurious hotel, a relaxing end to your journey through the center of Portugal.
Trip At A Glance
6 Days / 5 Nights
Days 1 - 3 in Lisbon
Your days in Lisbon include a private food and cultural tour which becomes dinner and a day visiting two family wineries near Lisbon and lunch with a winemaking family. All of this is accompanied by restaurant reservations at some of the great eateries in Lisbon and free time for exploring the City on Seven Hills.
Days 4 - 5 in the Alentejo Region
The pastoral Alentejo is tailor made for relaxing and taking in the beautiful countryside and historic villages. You’ll set up at a beautiful hotel in the town of Estremoz where you’ll be surrounded by the stunning Alentejano white architecture and simple style. You’ll visit two of the top wineries in the area and taste their wines with the owners/winemakers. You see, the Alentejo is one of the most unspoiled places we know on the Iberian Peninsula.
Lisbon & The Alentejo Countryside Wine Trip
Day 1 - Lisbon Food Tour
Arrive in Lisbon. Private airport transfer
Lunch at A Cevicheria
Private Food Tour
Overnight Lisbon
Portugal
Portugal is a nation shaped by the Atlantic. The beaches of the Algarve, Lisbon and Porto’s proximity to the sea and history of trade, wine regions from Setúbal to Vinho Verde, the sea is there. Perhaps the openness of a seafaring nation is what makes Portugal such a great place to visit. Traditions are alive here, and people will be happy to show them to you with pride. The rarified exists as well, but even there chefs are never to busy to talk and winemakers will invite you to eat with the family. Snobbishness is a rarity; the opposite is much more common. Maybe that’s why it’s taken so long for the rest of the world to discover Portugal: they were too humble to tell everyone what amazing treasures they had. Lisbon is a true jewel, with its hills overlooking a sea of red roofs bathed by Atlantic freshness. Porto feels frozen in time, until you see the amazing new hotels, restaurants, and port lodges. And the wine, where to start? If you want to taste some of the best-kept secrets in Europe made from grapes you can neither place nor pronounce, there’s no better place.
Lisbon
Portugal’s capital is impossibly scenic: hilltop viewpoints overlooking red-roofed buildings, pastel-colored walls, and the Tejo River estuary that blends into the Atlantic. This was an imperial capital in the days of the Portuguese Empire which lisboetas so love to recall, and at times you can still feel that weight and grace that only the world’s great cities possess. The old blends seamlessly with the new, from the winding fado-filled streets of the Alfama to the futuristic Parque das Naçôes. You can taste the contrast from the deeply traditional restaurants where three can comfortably share an entrée to innovative Portuguese chefs who reinvent and reinterpret dishes from home and from the former empire. It’s an exciting city that will leave you wanting to come back and explore deeper, a place that calls to you even from across the Atlantic.
A Cevicheria Lunch
At A Cevicheria, Chef Kiko Martins combines Portuguese products with international influences from his travels around the world. As the name indicates, the speciality is ceviche, served in a modern bar in Lisbon’s upscale Principe Real district. Inside, with a stuffed octopus hanging from the ceiling, enjoy exquisitely prepared ceviche accompanied by pisco sours, a classic drink from Peru. For a unique fusion, try the cod ceviche, made using the national fish of Portugal with ceviche techniques. NOTE: A Cevicheria does not take reservations. They are open from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
Lisbon Food Tour
This two-in-one experience starts with a food & cultural walk in the evening and ends up with a Portuguese small-plates dinner. Along the stroll, we'll show you the exciting contrast between the trendy and sophisticated Chiado neighborhood and the reborn Cais do Sodré, an old and dark fisherman district now transformed into a new food and drinks hub in Lisbon. You will visit a renovated and vibrant food market, a canned fish store, and a Portuguese custard tart bakery, and taste delicious Portuguese cheeses, charcuterie, canned fishes, custard tart, Vinho Verde, red wine and coffee. The walk will end up at a casual and cozy restaurant in the heart of the Bica neighborhood for a relaxing Portuguese dinner.
Day 2 - Explore Lisbon
Free day in Lisbon
Dinner at Solar dos Presuntos
Overnight Lisbon
On Your Own in Lisbon
Viúva Lamego
Tile workshop where artists produce hand-painted tiles for sites throughout Lisbon.
Collection includes Egyptian art, Greco-Roman art, Mesopotamia, the Islamic Orient, Armenia, the Far East and, where Western art is concerned, sculpture, the art of the book, painting, eighteenth-century French decorative arts, and works by René Lalique, as well as large collection of modern Portuguese art in the world.
Centuries of Portuguese tile art on display.
Dinner at Solar dos Presuntos Restaurant
Solar dos Presuntos is as classic a Lisbon restaurant as you could hope for. The entrance to the restaurant is dominated by a lobster tank and top-quality Portuguese presunto hams. Tables topped with white tablecloths fill winding dining rooms wallpapered with photos of famous patrons of the restaurant. Old-school waiters efficiently serve up delicacies like grilled lobster, fresh-caught fish baked in salt, seafood rices, hearty meat dishes, and Portuguese essentials like cod and açordas. This is a place to celebrate and enjoy yourself untroubled by modernity. Don’t miss the extensive wine list with great representation of regions across the country.
Day 3 - A Day in Lisbon Wine Country
Driver to Quinta do Sanguinhal
Wine tasting at Quinta do Sanguinhal
Private visit, wine tasting & lunch at Quinta de Chocapalha
Return to Lisbon
Overnight Lisbon
Wines of Lisbon
The wine region north of Lisbon, today known as Vinhos de Lisboa, has a long history of producing excellent wines. During the heydey of the Portuguese wine trade in England, Port wine and Lisbon wine were the two most respected Portuguese export wines. As the global wine world has rediscovered Portugal and its wines in the last few decades, the wine regions near Lisbon have received renewed attention. New wineries have been started, forgotten grapes have been resurrected, and the old guard of producers who remained in the 21st century have found themselves in the enviable position of being ahead of the curve.
Quinta do Sanguinhal Wine Tasting
Of the storied producers that remain in the Vinos de Lisboa region, Quinta do Sanguinhal occupies a category of its own. The winery has existed since the 19th century and has been owned by Pereira da Fonseca family for a century. The vineyards lie in the Óbidos district, some just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Three quintas make wine at Sanguinhal, with each line bottled under the name of the estate.
Single estate bottlings and a wide range of grapes mean Sanguinhal produces many different wines. The most remarkable are those that highlight Portuguese grapes and the unique terroir of the Óbidos district, where sandy and clay soils are found and the climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby mountains. Sanguinhal is best known today for their red wines made from Portuguese grapes like Aragonez, Touriga Nacional and Castelão. The top reds are aged for years in barrel and bottle before release. These wines’ power and complexity are balanced by their freshness. Sanguinhal white wines make use of the unusual Portuguese grape called Vital as well as Arinto, Fernão Pires, and international grapes like Chardonnay. Lisbon was traditionally a white wine producing region, and Sanguinhal’s wines show why, combining Atlantic freshness with great fruit and aging potential.
Sanguinhal has a long history of producing fortified wines and brandies. The fortified wines are a fascinating glimpse into the past, when many Portuguese wines were fortified for export and stored in large barrels. The old distillation equipment is on display at the winery, and brandy and bagaceira (grappa) production continues at Sanguinhal.
Quinta de Chocapalha Visit & Wine-pairing Lunch
Wine has been produced at Quinta de Chocapalha for hundreds of years, but when the Tavares da Silva family purchased the estate in the 1980s it was producing low-quality bulk wine. The family replanted and grafted vines, seeing the potential of the terroir, and they began bottling wine in 2000. Meanwhile their youngest daughter Sandra Tavares had made a name for herself as a winemaker at Quinta Vale Dona María in the Douro. Sandra and her husband now own the legendary Wine & Soul winery in the Douro. She is the chief winemaker at Chocapalha, focusing on single plots and combining local knowledge and tradition with modern winemaking techniques. Sandra has used her talents to make Quinta de Chocapalha one of the most respected wineries in the Lisbon area.
Join the Tavares da Silva family for lunch at Quinta de Chocapalha. You’ll have the chance to see how their wines pair with Portuguese cuisine while eating with the enchanting family and getting an inside perspective on their wines.
Return to Lisbon in the afternoon for free time before dinner.
Day 4 - The Alentejo & Évora
Private transfer to the Alentejo
Fitapreta winery visit
Évora visit & traditional lunch
Free afternoon
Dinner in your hotel
Overnight Alentejo
Alentejo
Sun-blasted expanses of vineyards, olive trees, and cork oaks with whitewashed villages, shining new wineries and hotels, and some of Portugal’s most traditional food and wine. The Alentejo shocks you with its space. In a country characteristically dotted with villages and small farmhouses, this is a land of huge farms and estates and few people. When you do find the towns they are beautiful: white-and-yellow houses, red roofs, and castles to remind the locals of Spain’s one-time occupation. Food here is simple, humble, and delicious: lots of olive oil, game, and of course the black pig, the same breed that becomes Spain’s jamón ibérico right across the border. Wine cooperatives used to dominate here, making rustic reds, but in the 1980s lisboetas started opening wineries here. International grapes were planted and thrived more so than in other Iberian wine regions; the quality skyrocketed. Now, though, all across Portugal indigenous grapes are gaining ground. Fruity, delicious Alentejo reds have succeeded, especially based on honorary local grape Alicante Bouschet. Here also, white grapes Antão Vaz and Roupeiro are drawing attention, but the return to traditional ways in wine is not limited to grape varieties. Talhas, the traditional Alentejo version of the wine amphora, have made a comeback. Stop in at an innovative winery and you’ll surely see these hulking clay pots alongside oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. Talhas, indigenous grape varieties, varied terroirs and simple cuisine, all set in a landscape of vines and cork oaks, are pure Alentejo.
Fitapreta Winery Visit
António Maçanita, winemaker at Fitapreta just outside of Évora, has become one of Portugal’s most creative winemakers since he first began making wine in the Alentejo in 2004. Maçanita makes wine all over Portugal today, but the Alentejo is the heart of his winemaking. He’s helped popularize the use of local grapes in the region, including rare varieties like Alicante Branco and Tamarez. Maçanita’s winemaking focuses on expressing the terroir of the Alentejo and managing the challenges of the region’s hot climate. He is one of a number of winemakers using clay amphoras to age wines, the traditional vessel of the Alentejo. The winery is known for its creative branding, such as a wine named after A Clockwork Orange and a line named Sexy. The wines themselves, however, are very serious and among the most interesting in the region.
Visit the Historic Town of Évora
Évora, whose roots go back to Roman times (the ruins of the Roman Temple of Diana are in the center of the city), was under Moorish rule before reaching its golden age in the fifteenth century when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Évora’s narrow medieval streets are lined with whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos (painted tiles) and wrought-iron balconies. This typical architectural style later influenced Brazilian architecture, especially in the historic center of Salvador de Bahía, Brazil. Today Évora is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Visit the historic center of Évora and enjoy lunch at a traditional restaurant before transfering to your beautiful hotel in the town of Estremoz.
Free afternoon in the Alentejo
Your hotel is made for relaxing, with pools, terraces and home-cooked meals on offer.
Dinner in your hotel
Stay in tonight and enjoy a home-cooked dinner prepared by a private chef based on local products from the garden and local farmers.
Day 5 - Alentejo Wines & Cuisine in Estremoz
Visit and tasting at Dona Maria winery
Estremoz visit
Lunch at Venda Azul Restaurant
Overnight Alentejo
Estremoz
Estremoz lies in the heart of the Alentejo, not far from the border with Spain. Its strategic location can be seen in its castle and the 13th-century city walls that surround the heart of the town. The town itself is picturesque, with the classic Alentejo whitewashed buildings with red roofs. From the Estremoz Castle there are great views of the the surrounding countryside. Estremoz is probably best known today for being one of the world’s largest sources of marble, which can be seen all over the town’s streets and buildings. Don’t miss the newly opened Museu Berardo Estremoz which houses what is considered Portugal’s largest private collection of azulejos–tiles–tracing 800 years of azulejos from their Moorish origins to the 20th century.
Dona Maria Winery Visit
The historic building housing Dona Maria lies just outside the town of Estremoz. Júlio Bastos, owner and winemaker at Dona Maria made a name for himself with Quinta do Carmo, which he sold to the Baron de Rothschild before beginning again at his family quinta under the name Dona Maria. The stunning estate has been equipped with everything needed for quality winemaking, but tradition remains strong, with grape stomping still taking place in marble vats and some wines aging in amphoras. Bastos bought and planted vineyards with the best grape varieties for the region, a mixture of local and international grapes. He chose sites with good soils that would allow him to avoid irrigation in the vineyards. The wines showcase the beauty of classic Alentejo wines. You’ll find garrafeira blends alongside single varietal red and white wines that offer a great insight into the terroir and potential of Alentejo wines.
Lunch at Venda Azul Restaurant
Located in the heart of the historic town of Estremoz, Venda Azul is the perfect traditional Portuguese restaurant to enjoy the cuisine of the Alentejo. The exterior is nondescript but opens into a cozy dining room filled with tables topped with blue and white checkered tablecloths. Warm service accompanies a selection of generous portions of classic Alentejo dishes. Specialties include grilled Iberian pork and the rices and açordas (soups) for which the Alentejo is known in Portugal. Venda Azul will show you the best side of traditional Portugal.
Day 6 - Departure
Transfer to the Lisbon airport for departure or to central Lisbon to extend your stay.
Hotels
Lisbon Hotels - 3 nights
Bairro Alto Hotel - 5 star hotel
A boutique 5-star hotel located in Lisbon’s hilltop Bairro Alto neighborhood. The hotel is freshly restored with respect for the building’s long history as a hotel and tasteful decor. The rooms are luxurious and very comfortable. You’ll find a restaurant from star chef Nuno Mendes, a terrace with stunning views of the city, and more for dining options. This is a classic luxury option in the center of Lisbon.
Casa Balthazar - Boutique hotel
This boutique hotel in central Lisbon is a true retreat. Each room is different in this historic property. We love the views from the Rossio room and the terrace, perfect for opening that bottle of wine, of the Panoramic Terrace Room.
Lisboa Carmo Hotel - Well located boutique hotel in one of Lisbon’s prettiest squares. Walking distance to bars and restaurants in the Barrio Alto, albeit uphill. Upper story rooms have views of the castle and the Tagus River.
Valverde Hotel - Discreet luxury on Lisbon’s elegant avenue, the Avenida da Liberdade, in lower Lisbon. Recommended rooms are Classic and above categories.
Alentejo Hotel - 2 nights
Estremoz
Dá Licença offers a beautiful, private experience near the picturesque town of Estremoz. An old farmhouse has been converted into a design hotel by owners Franck and Vitor, who both come from the world of art and design in Paris. Art is everywhere in the rooms and public spaces: there is even an art gallery in the former olive press. The nine rooms are luxurious, with design that integrates with the surrounding landscape of olive trees and open sky. Several suites even have private terraces with pools. Meals are prepared by a private chef based on local products from the garden and local farmers.
Lisbon & Alentejo Trip Includes
5 nights hotel, double occupancy
breakfast daily in the hotels
expert private guides
private visits and premium tastings at wineries
lunches with wine while touring
restaurant concierge service
deluxe air-conditioned transport
incoming and outgoing airport transfers
full trip planning
in-country trip assistance and support
Epicurean Ways expertise
Not Included
flights to/from Portugal
tips to guides and drivers (optional but appreciated)
travel insurance (recommended)
extra charges in hotels (minibar, room service, etc)
A note on winery visits, restaurant selections and hotels
All tours, experiences and hotels are subject to availability and will be confirmed upon booking the trip.
You will be accompanied by a driver-guide during your wine touring. Your visits and tastings will be private and with the winemaker, a family member or an expert who knows the winery and the wines well. We work with the wineries to make sure that you taste the best and most representative wines during each visit. It is sometimes possible to arrange extended tastings that include old vintages or rare wines. We have an extensive group of wineries whose owners we know and with whom we work regularly, so we can guarantee high-level visits even if a winery has to be substituted. If you have an interest in visiting a particular producer please let us know.
We include restaurant concierge service as part of your trip. Note that our restaurant suggestions are just that–suggestions. Places we love, places to go back to time after time. We recommend these places after years of experience eating in Spain and Portugal together with frequent research and input from our local partners. We aspire to guide your choices with information on the styles of cuisine and restaurants; the choice on where to eat is yours based on your preferences and desires.
We have extensive experience with hotels ranging from 5-star luxury properties to private boutique hotels. Let us know your preferences and we will tailor the hotel choices for you.
Trip Prices
Note that we can customize this trip for you. Add days in your arrival or departure city or in other locations or make changes to the experiences, winery visits, restaurants, or hotels included in the trip. Whatever it is, we’re here to work with you. Once you’re happy with the trip plan and have some idea of your dates we will calculate and send you the price.