Albufeira, Barcelona and more
A host pours a flight of four to six wines and takes the group through where each comes from and what to look for, with water and something to eat alongside.
A host pours a flight of four to six wines and takes the group through where each comes from and what to look for, with water and something to eat alongside. It runs about ninety minutes, sitting down, at a bar, a shop or your accommodation.
Some hosts turn it into a blind tasting with teams and a scoreboard, which suits a group that needs something to compete over.
Measures are tasting-sized, so it is not a drinking session. Do not put it after a long afternoon, because the point is to still have a palate.
Open a city to see the weekends you can add it to.
Wine tasting near Albufeira means a vineyard tour inland, about 15 minutes' drive from the Old Town. Tours take two hours with an English-speaking guide, run at 11am or 2.30pm on weekdays, and cover the vines and the winery before a tasting of reds, whites and rosés. Another local vineyard pours four regional wines with homemade bread and olive oil, and that one includes transport. Otherwise, book a taxi or a ride both ways, and keep it as an afternoon before an easier evening.
The Barcelona tasting is held in a private area of a city-centre bar in the Gothic Quarter rather than out at a vineyard, so there is no travel involved. A sommelier takes the group through five local and international wines over about two hours, with a selection of cheese alongside. Sessions are in the afternoon, typically at 12pm, 2pm or 4pm, which makes it an easy slot between a late breakfast and dinner. Ask for the Spanish and Catalan wines to be the focus if the group wants it to feel local. It leaves enough time to change before the evening.
Lisbon gives you two choices. Most groups stay central: a guided tasting of three or four Portuguese wines in a bar near Largo Luís de Camões, running one to two hours with afternoon and early-evening slots, or a quick 40-minute port tasting in a bodega between 5pm and 10pm. The alternative is a vineyard tour in the Azeitão wine area, a 50-minute drive from the centre, led by an English-speaking sommelier for about an hour and a quarter; transport is not included, so it needs a minibus. Everything is 18-plus, and the port tasting makes a good pre-dinner stop.
2 nights
From £305 pp
Flights are not included.
A three-star central hotel in Lisbon, the usual standard for the city, with short airport transfers.
IN THEIR WORDS
Brilliant festival … the event was organised extremely well and there was always someone on hand to help with anything.
Albufeira, Barcelona, Brighton, Edinburgh, Lisbon and Liverpool.
In Albufeira, from £54 pp. In Barcelona, from £49 pp. In Brighton, from £65 pp. In Edinburgh, from £47 pp. In Lisbon, from £39 pp. In Liverpool, from £49 pp. Flights are not included.
Yes, in any of these cities: Albufeira, Barcelona, Brighton, Edinburgh, Lisbon and Liverpool. Add it when you get an instant price, or ask us.
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