I’m a planner, so when our advisor from Cox & Kings asked if she could tuck a few surprises into our Portugal trip, I hesitantly agreed. I’m glad I did.
At Quinta da Pacheca, a Douro Valley winery that’s been in the same family since 1738, I was invited to step into a concrete vat and crush grapes the Portuguese way — with my feet. Another day, a surprise dinner ended with our host pouring glasses from a jug of 50-year old Port he’d inherited from his grandfather. Smooth, sweet and slightly oxidized, it was a high point of the trip.
See related story: Stomp Some Grapes, Taste Some Wine, Sleep in a Giant Wine Barrel at This Luxury Getaway
– Katie McElveen is a travel writer whose work has appeared in Real Simple, Business Traveler, Fodor’s, Expedia, Sherman’s Travel, Travelocity, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Islands, Town & Country, Global Traveler, Southern Living and Spa.