Quinta do Panascal
Fonseca Port Tasting in the Douro Valley
Quinta do Panascal
Address: 5120-496 Valenca do Douro, Portugal
GPS Coordinates: +41° 8′ 48.30″, -7° 34′ 23.39″
The famous Fonseca Port house has its Douro Valley headquarters at Quinta do Panascal. The estate is a great place to go Port wine tasting when you are visiting Portugal.
The quinta is open daily for tours and tastings, and reservations are not necessary. Visitors can go there to learn about Fonseca Port and its sister brands, Taylor’s and Croft.
Fonseca’s estate offers an audioguide winery tour, a video, and a tasting of three Port wines for just 3 euros. For groups of 10 or more, delicious traditional Portuguese lunches can be arranged on the quinta’s top floor terrace.
The landscapes at Fonseca’s Quinta do Panascal are beautiful, with the vineyards climbing up steep terraced hills from the river below. The winery tour winds through the vines, offering visitors a unique opportunity to walk through the grapes as they learn about the winemaking process.
Fonseca Port’s Douro Valley estate can be accessed by car, on foot from the Douro River, or by water taxi or boat. The latter options involve a walk up a steep hill to the quinta, but the views are well worth the climb.