Your favorite Lodges in Gaia?

[Andy Velebil]

Many of us here have been to Vila Nova de Gaia and have had the chance to visit some of the Port Lodges there, take tours, drink Port and even have lunch or dinner. While some of our members haven't had the chance quite yet. So....

1- For those who have been, what are your favorite 3-5 Lodges to visit and why?
1a- The second part of that question is what Lodge or Lodges have you not yet visited that are top on your list to visit next time you go?

2- For those who haven't been yet, what Lodges are top on your list to visit when you do go and why?

[David T.]

Whenever I am in Porto (which is quite often - 4 weeks last year, 6 this year), I try to get to a Port lodge every couple of days - the deal that I have with my wife is that I am free to go, but I have to take my son (who inevitably says "not Daddy Bottles.....again!"). I think that I have been to most of the lodges that are open to the general public, but I suspect that there are a few that I haven't made it to yet. So here are my favourites:

Taylors
Free entry, tour and tasting of two ports (LBV and chip dry); opportunity to try a vintage (I've tried both a Vargellas VP for ~€3 and a 2007 vintage for free because the bottle was about two drops short of a full glass!). A special place for me - I have been to 2 wedding receptions there, and know it to be a fanstic place. I once shared an office with a gentleman with the surname 'Bridge' who told me that 'the restaurant had been improved for his brother's wedding reception, when he married the chairman's daughter'... The actual tour of the lodge isn't great...but you get to see the mamoth cask that Taylor's LBV sits in. A short but steep walk up from the river.

Grahams
Best thing about this lodge is that you can try a wide range of VPs from the Symington stables (I think that there are 5 different vintages available, the oldest from the 80s - some SQVPs, others are full VPs). Second best thing is that the lodge is really well decorated, with a cracking view (which you can verify on the website). Third best thing is that there is a free bus to get there. Worst thing is that it is a LONG way up a steep and winding road from the river which is extremely pedestrian unfriendly (narrow, 2-way traffic and on a municipal bus route)...not good when walking alone, let alone with young childen ....and I didn't know about the bus until I got there. The 'classic tour' with tasting of 2 tawnies and the LBV is €3; there is a tawney and ruby version (€10 each) and a vintage version (somewhat more)...the tour is the same but you try different wines at the end.

Ramos Pinto
Best thing is the museum - you get to see the old offices and lots of old Ramos Pinto memorabilia, which I believe is unique among the lodges. Worst thing is that the lodge has been closed for ages - it looks like they have finished the restauration works, but I haven't seen it open once this year. I track the price of Ramos Pinto VPs in a number of outlets in Portugal, and I believe that the lodge is actually among the cheapest for some of the older VPs.

Krohn
I only visited very recently, and I really enjoyed the intimacy of this lodge - by far the smallest that I have seen. The visit is free (quite quick, but tasting is also complementary)...some very reasonable priced VPs...as low as €25.

[Christian Gollnick]

I totally agree with Taylor and Graham's. These are places that are a MUST for every visit. The restaurant at Taylor's is so far for me the best place to be for a nice lunch on a marvelous summer day, admiring the timeless beauty of Porto... however, I think that the new Graham's lodge will be strong competition. The Symington family will spend EUR 2 million to upgrade the Graham's Lodge and to built a restaurant. As far as I know, the view from the restaurant might be even nicer than the view from Taylor's restaurant... I admire them for investing so much money into this project, at a time when the economy in Portugal is going south and the port trade is also not a happy place to be in... Very brave - and hopefully the right thing to do. Good luck, Graham's!
Some people don't like the "Don"-guide experience at Sandeman - but I think that this is an interesting moment for the "normal" tourist... and it's also a very beautiful cellar... worth a visit in my eyes...
I like also Ferreira... this summer they had a nice exhibition about Dona Antonia. In general: good photo-opportunities over there...
Not a historical lodge with a lot of barrels and "angel's share" on the walls, but still very beautiful: The new lodge of Quevedo. A nice place to sit down and to taste a few of their marvelous ports...
Not a lodge, but a nice place to learn something about white port: Dalva... Very friendly staff, very good wine... (get a few bottles of DALVA 1952 before they are gone....!!!!). As I understand, Cruz and Dalva are building a new visitor center, very modern and very multi-media... I hope it's ready when I go the next time to Porto (July 2012)....

From all my experiences, the people in the port wine business are all fantastic, nice, generous, friendly, sophisticated, educated individuals... This is at least what I thought until I visited the lodge of Vasconcellos this summer. Now I know that not all people in this business are pleasant... This was a surreal experience... Maybe other people have had nice visits there... but I know that I rather prefer to go to the dentist than to visit that lodge again...

[Gerwin de Graaf]

From all my experiences, the people in the port wine business are all fantastic, nice, generous, friendly, sophisticated, educated individuals... This is at least what I thought until I visited the lodge of Vasconcellos this summer. Now I know that not all people in this business are pleasant... This was a surreal experience... Maybe other people have had nice visits there... but I know that I rather prefer to go to the dentist than to visit that lodge again...

We had quite a good time at Vasconcellas when we visited there. A nice, albeit short tour (it isn't a big place after all), given by a very enthousiastic young lady. We were with our group only there (3 adults, 2 small kids) and got full attention. The tasting room and the lodge in itself are not very big or impressive by the way.
What was very nice was the tasting after the tour.
We were offered generous samples of all their ports that were for sale, and although these are not supposed to be for free, we got free samples from every port exept the 40-YO Tawny. We paid for 1 sample, but got 3 (just a little less than 3 full ones) and got the paid amouont back as a discount on the bottles we bought afterwards.

[Glenn E.]

For tours the Sandeman and Ramos Pinto lodges are top notch. Both have museums which add to the experience, though the Sandeman museum is very small. Some think the Sandeman tour is too touristy, but it is very professional and informative. Yes, it's aimed at tourists, but they do it very well. At Ramos Pinto you need to sign up for a tour in advance so that you can select the language.

For tasting Graham's lodge is hard to beat. They also give a nice tour but there's no museum for variety. (Once you've seen one lodge tour they're pretty much all the same, so you need something like a museum to make them stand out.)

For lunch the Taylor lodge is amazing. The patio at their restaurant looks out on the Dom Luis bridge and is gorgeous on a nice day. I understand that Graham's is remodeling their lodge and adding a similarly nice restaurant, so I look forward to trying it on my next trip.

[Jeff G.]

For tasting Graham's lodge is hard to beat. They also give a nice tour but there's no museum for variety. (Once you've seen one lodge tour they're pretty much all the same, so you need something like a museum to make them stand out.)

well their cellars of certainly amazing.

I love the taylor lunch with some very reasonably priced sqvps in half bottles for sale.

grahams has a great line up at the tasting parlor with the rest of hte symington family brands.

sandeman was incredibly touristy and packed to the walls when i went so I didn't really enjoy it that much.

[Eric Menchen]

... but I have to take my son ...

He doesn't drink much, does he?

[Marc Sherwin]

C. da Silva

Not a lodge - but... well worth it.

[Moses Botbol]

C. da Silva

Not a lodge - but... well worth it.

Unique styling inside. Is it a restaurant? Salon? Furniture store? They did a great job making it into something unique and forward thinking. Nice location too.

Grahams is the one must visit if I could only see one.