About this experience
Enjoy a guided visit and premium tasting at Cockburn’s Lodge, the largest Port cellar in the historic quarter of Vila Nova de Gaia. See the only open cooperage in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Highlights
- Learn about Cockburn’s fascinating 200-year history
- Watch a cooper hard at work wielding mallets
- Explore Cockburn’s Lodge, the largest Port cellar of Vila Nova de Gaia
- Choose between a premium and classic option to suit your taste
What's included
- Vintage, Classic, or Premium experience (depending on option selected)
- 1-Hour Cockburn’s Cellars tour (all options)
- Wine tasting (varies depending on option selected)
- Chocolate pairing (if option selected)
How to use
- Show Mobile Ticket
- At Redemption Counter
What to expect
Visit the Cockburn’s cellars, also known as ‘lodges’, and discover the most extensive wine cellars in the historic quarter of Vila Nova de Gaia. Located opposite the twin city of Porto across the Douro River, this region is known for its beauty.
Watch the dedicated team of coopers disassemble barrels stave by stave for maintenance and then reassemble them (please note our coopers work from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4.30 pm).
Go inside the sturdy granite walls of the Cockburn’s lodge house, which boasts 6,518 seasoned oak barrels of maturing Port and the equivalent of a further 10,056 barrels held in tones and vats.
This sizeable and priceless stock provides the basis for the creation of Cockburn’s renowned Ports, including the famous Special Reserve.
On this guided tour, you will have an authentic experience of a fully working Port cellar. Start your visit with a trip to the Cellars museum, which charts Cockburn’s fascinating 200-year history.
A series of exhibits reveal the stories of the families that built Cockburn’s; their planting of vineyards in the Douro Valley and the making of legendary Ports that turned Cockburn's into a world-renowned producer.
Your visit continues through the working sections of the buildings where thousands of oak barrels and vats hold Cockburn’s valuable stocks of maturing wines. At this point, you will pass through the longest ageing gallery of any Port cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Filled with the impressive sight of thousands of barrels, stacked 4 high, you'll learn about the importance of maturing Port in seasoned wood as well as the central role of the cooper.
In the main tasting room, you can choose from the following tastings:
Classic:• Cockburn's Special Reserve• Cockburn's Late Bottle Vintage• Cockburn's 10 years old
Premium tasting with chocolate pairing:• Cockburn's Fine White paired with Passion fruit chocolate • Cockburn's 20 Years old paired with Yuzu cinnamon chocolate• Cockburn's Quinta dos Canais Vintage paired with Raspberry chocolate
Tawny tasting:• Cockburn's Fine Tawny• Cockburn's 10 years old• Cockburn's 20 Years old
Vintage Tasting paired with cheese:• Cockburn's Quinta dos Canais Vintage paired with Sheep Cheese• Cockburn's 2016 Vintage paired with Cow, Sheep and Cheese • Cockburn's 2017 Vintage paired with Goat Cheese
Super Premium Tour:• Cockburn's Special Reserve• Cockburn's 20 years old • Cockburn's Vintage
Aged Tawny tasting:• Cockburn's 20 Years old•Dow's 30 years old•Graham's 40 years old