Wine Tour to the Alentejo region of Portugal

Example of a previous tour

Download the Portugal trip brochure!

Right now Portugal is one of the most exciting wine countries in Europe, come and join us in Lisbon on this long weekend starting the 17th of October when it is still nice and sunny.

Alentejo is definitely one of the up and coming wine region in Portugal but it is also well known for its vast cork oak forests, it is a fascinating landscape. You will find an incredible enthusiasm for wine making here and there is a great deal of investment being made at the moment so don’t miss this opportunity to discover some of the most interesting wine estates in Portugal.

You will travel to Lisbon independently, arriving, at the latest, by the evening of October 17th. Or why not arrive a little earlier and spend a few days in this beautiful city?

Special offer:

A brand new book on the wines of Portugal will be published just in time for this trip! The Wine & Food Lover's Guide to Portugal, written by Charles Metcalfe (co-founder and previously editor of Wine International) and his wife Kathryn will be on the shelves in September. Perfect to bring with you on the trip!

Through BKWine you can buy the book at a preferential price directly from the author.

All you have to do is send us an email (info@bkwine.com) and say that you are interested in the book offer and in this trip. We'll send you details of how to get the book and keep you informed of the trip. (NB: It's in no way an engagement from your side to go on the trip. Just to let us know that you are interested.)

Programme (subject to changes)

About the wine estates we visit

We want you to experience the best and the most interesting estates. Therefore, we put a lot of effort into finding really good producers to visit. Contrary to what one might think, the most exciting wine producers are not always the "famous names". Often the passionately engaging visits happen when you meet the winemaker or the owner himself (or quite often herself) and his family. Frequently detailed discussions get underway where a true understanding of how things really “work” develops, we may even stay and have lunch at the winery (unlike in the US many of these do not have purpose-built restaurants). This is also why our trips do not have large numbers of visits on the programme. Even so, we regularly run short of time due to conversations lasting a lot longer than intended and where more and more wines are brought out to taste, somehow time flies.

The trip is a mixture of small family producers and larger, well known wine estates - carefully selected to give you the unique wine experience.

Wednesday October 17th

Arrival in Lisbon.

For those of you who like to arrive early we have arranged to meet at 6 pm at Sala Ogival (address will be given to you later), where we can enjoy tasting wines from several regions of Portugal.

Following that you are free to explore Lisbon and its many restaurants, at your leisure.

Thursday October 18th

Alentejo

Setting off after breakfast we arrive in the lovely town of Evora in the Alentejo region by late afternoon. We should have time for 2 or 3 visits before checking-in to our hotel. These visits are likely to include:

Quinta de São Jorge, Montemor O Novo

High quality wine production and a vine nursery for us to enjoy.

Herdade de Esporão, Reguengos de Monsaraz (lunch)

This is a big and exciting producer run by an Australian wine maker. Following much investment this estate is now a fine example of the old and new world of wine making.

Following this we check-in to our beautiful hotel in Evora. the Hotel de Cartuxa**** i Evora. It’s a modern hotel with a mixture of traditional Portuguese design and trendy details. There is also a restaurant and a comfortable bar to enjoy. We spend 2 nights at this hotel.

The evening is yours to explore the picturesque and historical town of Evora.

Friday October 19th

Northern Alentejo.

Our visits include:

Herdade do Perdigao, Monforte

Here the grapes are grown at high altitudes on the southern slopes of the Serra da São Mamede mountains. The climate is cool and rainy in the winter but hot and dry in the summer. The estate is mainly planted with traditional Portuguese grape varieties, such as Trincadeira, but also with some Cabernet Sauvignon.

J P Ramos, Estremoz

João Portugal Ramos is one of the most famous Portuguese wine makers, his wines are selling successfully all over the world.

Herdade do Mouchão, Sousel

This quality conscious estate is becoming quite well known. Very good wines are made from Alicante Bouschet grapes amongst others and old vinification traditions are still maintained at the vineyard.

The evening is yours to explore as you wish.

Saturday October 20th

Beja

Our visits will include:

Herdade da Malhadinha Nova (visit and lunch)

This small and new estate of 18 hectares has the potential to become a leading estate in Portugal. At the International Wine Challenge 2006 it won a number of awards including: ‘Best wine in Alentejo’, ‘ Best wine in Portugal’ and ‘Best newcomer’. The first vintage was produced in 2003.

Herdade da Malhadinha is owned by the Soares family, there is also a restaurant where they serve a delicious pata negra-ham from their own black pigs.

Herdade da Mingorra, Beja

Another new project created by Henrique Uva. Here a number of different cuvees are produced across a broad price range but all with character and personality. They use a mixture of Portuguese and French grape varieties.

Late afternoon we return to Lisbon where we arrive around 8 p.m. Following check-in at our hotel the evening is yours for a last dinner in Lisbon.

Sunday October 21st

Departure

About the wine estates we visit

We want you to experience the best and the most interesting the wine regions have to offer so we put a lot of effort into finding really exciting producers to visit. Contrary to what one might think, the most exciting wine producers are not always the "famous names". The most passionately engaging visits often occur when you meet the winemaker or the owner himself (or quite often herself) and start discussing how things really "work”, maybe even taking the time for lunch at the vineyard. We deliberately don’t schedule a large number of visits on our tour as we find that often we run short of time because we tend to get involved in a deep discussions and end up tasting more and more wines then we originally intended.

The trip is a mixture of small family producers and larger, well known wine estates - carefully selected to give you a unique wine experience.

All visits are not finalised at the time of publishing as we are continuously working on ways to improve our tours. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you want more details.

Facts

Dates: October 17 - 21, 2007

Price:

Included in the price:

Single room supplement:

Travel to and from Lisbon is arranged by each participant independently of BKWine. We look forward to meeting you at the start of the tour on the evening of October 17th in Lisbon.

Tour organiser: Britt Karlsson, BKWine

Britt is of Swedish origin and based in Paris. She has worked in the wine world for 15 years specialising in wine education, wine journalism and wine tourism. Over this period she has organised over 100 wine tours. She has an extensive network of contacts in the wine regions and an excellent knowledge of recent developments. This unique experience and expertise is your guarantee that a wine tour with BKWine will be an exceptional experience.

To ensure that we receive a truly personal welcome the maximum group size will be about 18 people.

Our wine guides: Our wine guides are enthusiastic wine people with a thorough knowledge of both wine and local culture and gastronomy. Plus, of course, language since some of the visits often are in the local language (those visits are often the most interesting ones actually!) and we will then translate to English.

Our wine cellar tours are usually planned around a long weekend (Wednesday evening to Sunday morning) so that you can plan your holiday to also include other activities, such as visiting cultural sites, play golf – or why not drop in to a few more wineries while in the region (we’ll be glad to give you a few names to our preferred vinyards!).

From a gastronomic standpoint, our tours always include some gourmet highlights with local culinary specialities – we often plan at least one gourmet lunch at a winery or vinyard together with the winemaker.

Plan your wine country vacation with BKWine and we can guarantee you an unforgettable wine experience.

Book this trip

Please register for this trip not later than July 15, by phone to BKWine, Britt Karlsson, +33 1 58 88 04 66 or +33 6 80 45 35 70 or by email info@bkwine.com

Registration is confirmed by paying the registration fee of €100  (Full payment details following registration by phone or email). Full payment should be received at the latest one month before the departure date.

Important

We always travel in small groups. The maximum group is usually around 18. This is to ensure that our visits are of high quality and that we receive a personal welcome.

For this trip to take place, a minimum of 8 participants must be registered by July 15. Check with us before booking your travel.

You organise your travel independently to the destination but on location we take care of everything.

BKWine is a Swedish registered travel organiser. Travel guarantee to The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (“Kammarkollegiet”) in Sweden has been made according to Swedish and EU law.

For more inspiration

PS: We also do custom tours if you want to choose different dates or want something different.

BKWine AB
51, rue du Chevalier de la Barre
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
Phone: +33 (0)6 80 45 35 70
email: info@bkwine.com
www.bkwine.com 

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