Sandeman

The wine tour was fantastic with a great guide who managed to answer all the questions. We went for the 5 wine tasting which was with a group size of 10 people and held in a private room which made it feel even more special. I have to agree with our host that for value for money and taste that the 20 year tawny wine was by far the best in all respects. A worthwhile tour with a lasting memory!

We did the tour! The tour guide was dressed up as the wine label logo, which was fun! Able to sample three varieties at the end of the tour - not our favorite but still enjoyed the experience.

Very nice tour, well worth your time and money. The tasting was great and offered us some new varieties that we had not tried before.

The Sandeman 1790 tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Porto. It’s great value for money. The tour itself was really interesting and just the right length. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, and the small group size made the whole experience feel more personal. The best part was the tasting at the end in the private 1790 room. It’s a beautiful space and gives the whole experience an extra touch that you wouldn’t get in the regular tasting room. Highly recommend choosing this version of the tour.

The House of Sandeman is one of the most iconic wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, with a long and distinguished history dating back to 1790. Known for its legendary silhouette logo of the caped man, Sandeman has built a global reputation for quality Port and Sherry wines. The location itself, overlooking the Douro River and the city of Porto, adds to the sense of heritage and prestige. During my visit, I enjoyed a glass of Sandeman Tawny 10 Years, which was rich, smooth, and beautifully balanced—a true pleasure to sip slowly while taking in the view from the terrace. It’s clear that the wine speaks for itself in terms of quality and tradition. Unfortunately, the service did not match the level of the product or the setting. The staff on the terrace were slow and noticeably inattentive. After waiting quite some time, I had to go inside to ask for the check, as there was no one available outside. This lack of attention somewhat detracted from what could have been a perfect experience.

We absolutely loved the 1790 tour with a tasting of 5 port wines afterwards. Our guide, Rita, was very knowledgeable, friendly and could answer all our questions. The only time slot we could book was at 10am, but that ensured we were only 4 in the group. The tasting afterwards was done in a private room, which made it more intimate and special. This tour is very interesting, value for money and highly recommended. The Sandeman port tasting was absolutely wonderful, ranging from the very sweet white port to a beautiful 20-year old tawny port. In the end we were at the cellar for 3 hours, staying after the tour, sipping and appreciating the tasters.

Absolutely fantastic! Great tours (in perfect German as well), amazing Ports to try - all combined with the rich history of Sandeman! Will order online 🙃

It’s our favorite Porto wine. Unfortunately tasting tour was sold out but we enjoyed a few drinks. The worst thing is they charge ICE 1€!!!! My husband was so angry!! Because we didn’t ask for it. Waiter asked us so we said yes! Wine was super light taste less with full of 1 € additional charged ICE

We stopped by after a flight at Kopke's to try more port. It was very packed but we managed to snag a small two person table outside. Must to our delight they had port cocktails which were quite lovely. The port we had was also delicious. We had a couple of small snacks to tide us over until dinner. This plate is definitely worth a stop!!

There are multiple tours each day in English and Portuguese. Sandeman is well located on the Main Street. The person who answered my questions about tours was friendly and she said that they allow dogs on tours. You can also taste port at their store next door.

Nice winery experience in Gaia at the Sandeman Winery cellar. The tour entailed a guided tour through some show and tell areas and moved into the cellar which was the primary focus of this tour. The tour ended with a tasting of some of Sandeman Ports which was nice and very enjoyable . This experience although good fell a tad short of some of the better ones we have been on in Porto and the Douro valley where there was not as much detailed discussion around the history of the winery, their Douro valley vineyards, the types of Ports they make and process for making their ports. The better wine tours spent more time on these area's and if this were the only winery tour you did while in Porto you definitely would've missed out on some key educational information that i found fascinating. The better tours we have experienced covered this part of the port wine business in better detail and is the reason I gave Sandeman four versus five stars. Having said that, it was still a fun experience and one I would recommend to anyone in Porto especially if you are there for multiple days.

Right by the water in Porto, so the vibes were amazing! You can watch the people bustling by and watch the boats sailing past! Also, they have so many delicious sounding cocktails that I wanted to try but couldn't because I was pregnant at the time. However, we got some starters and it was so yummy! The olives were so fresh and was perfect with the bread! My mom, husband my mother in law got a flight of wine and they enjoyed it! I want to go back when I am in Porto again!

While this is a great place to watch the sun go down, people watch, and a great view of the river side, the service was very slow and not very good. We tried a couple of the ports that were just OK and had the cheeseboard which was very tasty, but again, I think you come here for the view and for sunset!

One of the top Porto houses. Book in advance for the tasting and tour - it was one of the highlights of our Porto visit.

While we weren't able to do the tour here, we did get the opportunity to to grab a drink or two on their outdoor patio/bar out front. Our first full day in Porto was reserved for exploration of the Cais da Ribeira and Vila Nova de Gaia neighborhoods right by the river. This was our first stop in Vila Nova de Gaia after crossing the famous Dom Luis I bridge. It was a pleasant experience with great views. Perfect place to relax at on a Sunday afternoon. Sandeman is a famous name in the port wine industry, so I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area.

Really good Hostel. The breakfast in the morning was very nice. The managers and desk attendants went above and beyond to help us navigate the next leg of our trip. The rooms have lockers and multiple private bathrooms (10 person co-ed room). Good for the price!

I'll be completely honest in saying Sandeman was not at the top of my list of port cellars I'd planned to visit. I flat out was probably going to all together skip then, that was until I was going to take a river boat cruise but needed to use the restroom before boarding so I wandered over really to inquire about using the restroom and something just told me I wanted to stay. An English tour was starting in a couple of minutes and I purchased the premium tasting (although the day before I'd done a premium tasting at another nearby cellar and did not enjoy the selections much at all). I went with my instinct because I often want to try it all, so premium and a quick bathroom break before our tour started was where I was at. I loved that my tour was basically a private tour, myself and one other guy so the two of us and our tour guide. Walking through the aisles of their cellar just felt magical, as if I was in a different universe. I loved the experience and loved learning all about them. Their video at the end is also so nicely done and the Ports OMG!!! I don't even drink Port and I loved all three of mine. They were so absolutely yummy! It was then that I realized, I've purchased this brand port for my dad back at home as he LOVES and I mean LOVES Port. So while I had all together written this cellar off, I will admit it was my most favorite experience port tasting in Gaia and cannot be skipped even if you too are feeling similar to how I was feeling about them. Loved every minute of this experience and went back to do the river boat cruise an hour later feeling really amazing, 20% alcohol will do that to a girl ;)

As a new convert to Port Wine prior to my trip to Portugal..I was excited to try many different brands and when I saw Sandeman..I said ok ..this is one of the top companies...let's give it a go! So glad that I did-we decided to sit in the terrace to have a flight of the ports! The staff were sooooo friendly and super helpful that we ended staying for some tapas as well! I really enjoyed the Founders Reserve and 30 year of the brand! I think I am leaning more to the aged Ports the best! I seems to have an expensive palette..what's a girl to do but indulge! Lol Now that I know! I will educate all my friends of the beauty of Port Wine....Such A Lovely Taste! Yum!

A perfect riverside restaurant with a nice variety of foods. Exceptional service! Trust their food recommendations...they know what they are doing here!

We were staying in Porto and across the famous Louis X bridge is Gaia. Across this bridge is where all the port wine shops are! We were playing tourist and decided to head over to Gaia. Sandeman is very close to the bridge, you basically just walk down the main street and look to your left for a huge sign that says Sandeman. It is the port wine store that is open the latest. If you can make it to Croft Winery, I highly recommend you do that too but we were late (it closed at 4pm) so Sandeman it is. We came for a tour at 7:25pm but they had started their last tour already. We just missed it by about 10 minutes and the register lady was unapologetic and sneery about us coming in late. Yo! Instead, we headed to the bar to get a glass of the 40 yr tawny and took it outside to drink and soak up the views. You can see the river and the bridge from the outside drinking area. There is food too, of course. The 40 yr tawny was good but not as good as the 20 yr barrel aged Messia we bought from the basement shop with alcohol off the main shopping street. If you can buy that bottle, you must. It is comparable to a Suntory Yamazaki whiskey. Very pleasant experience overall. Do cross that bridge.

We skipped the wine tour, but only because it was such a beautiful day and the patio was open and buzzing! We sat ourselves in the sun and ordered four different glasses of wine so we could all try each others. The tawny was my favorite! We also ordered a cheese and meat platter that was devoured within minutes. Sandeman offers a lot of interesting cocktails made with their ports, which I had never seen before. It was the perfect place for a relaxing afternoon in Porto. They even played fun, classic music that made for the perfect day. Would definitely go back!

An all-around excellent experience at Sandeman's port cellars! Our tour guide, donning the trademark Sandeman Don's cape and hat, did a wonderful job of explaining the production and aging process, then walked us expertly through a tasting of three of Sandeman's ports - one white, one ruby, and one tawny, all quite good. The pours are quite generous so pace yourself, especially if you're going to be finishing off your friends' pours as well... I also very much appreciated the small tour size, limited at 15, making for a very pleasant, low-key experience. (Càlem, in comparison, has 40 in a group, making it feel more like Disneyland - skip them and come here instead.) Of course, there's a nice gift shop at the end of the tour. Get a box or two of the port dark chocolates to bring home with you - just trust me on this one. What made our visit to Sandeman extra-special was hanging out at their lovely terrace, featuring Bar George, named after one of the founders. It was a glorious, sunny 20°C day in Porto, so we grabbed a table right near the pedestrian street that runs along the waterfront and spent the next three hours or so just tallking and watching the world go by while enjoying some wonderful port-based cocktails and nibblies. The view of the city of Porto across the river and the Dom Luís I Bridge was just spectacular, a perfect picture-postcard backdrop for a great day in Porto. I'd suggest taking a morning tour around 11 am so you can spend the early part of your afternoon enjoying the terrace, taking in the old-world beauty of Porto. Be sure to reserve your spots in advance (easy to do by e-mail), make sure you ask for a tour in the language of your choice, and get the premium tasting - just 3 euro more but well worth-it!

Mix some tawny port wine with Harry Potter and you get...Sandeman! One of the older port wineries still in existence, they offer informative and humorous tours of their cellar with a tasting. The tour guides all wear capes and hats that are a homage to their iconic label. We recommend the 3 sample option so you can have all 3 main types: red port, white port, and the sweet tawny that Porto is famous for.

This is not the only change towards innovation since Sandeman have joined the group SoGrape along names such as House Feirreirinha and Offley in 2002. The House of Sandeman is now a complete experience for visitor in Vila Nova de Gaia. Besides the usual and very interesting Cellar visits, tastings and lovely Boutique, a whole new line of services is being developed at the very central lodge. Collaboration with the independence collective hospitality group has helped in providing lodging, the George restaurant upstairs as well as the terrace with a direct Douro view and the mobile bar with a menu dedicated to amazing Port cocktails. The house of Sandeman can now be seen as the full experience package. By the way, Port cocktails is the new best thing in the world, spread the word and the love. On the terrace, you can get some bite-sizes, tapas-style plates with a huge array of styles and tastes. The cheese plates are amazing! I can't get enough Portuguese cheeses.

I've checked out several of the Port Houses in the Porto, and for my money, Sandman is one of the best. Now, I have to confess that before this trip, I knew nothing about port, but after my tasting at Sandman, I am certain of one thing: "I like Port." You can take a tour which I am sure is wonderful, but my friend and I decided to go right for the port jugular and head to a tasting. They set us up with some white port, reserves, and tawny ports that were simply splendid. Although I was fond of the white, I fell in love Sandman's full bodied tawny reserve. Of course maybe it was just the name Tawny, for I seem to remember having lost my heart to Miss Tawny Kitaen back in the days of MTV and Whitesnske. Uhh sigh, well this port's full-bodied flavor was equally impressive, so much so that I had to purchase some cool gifts for some very special friends. Another reason why I love this place is their gift store is loaded with not only wonderful ports but collector tins, magnets, umbrellas, just about anything else you could imagine... Port flavored truffles! Be still my heart. Sandman's space is also impressive with deep dark wooden tables that face the cask area. The whole tasting area has the feel of a port cellar, and with smooth lighting it is really sexy. Yeah, sexy as Tawny Kitaen, my fellow port believer.. As sexy as Tawny Kitaen.

Sandeman is one of my favorite Port wine and I really like their image. When the time I got there, there was no outdoor bar like I saw in the other review. Maybe it's because of the curfew, also the frequency of the tour was reduced. The tour took around 40mins and it went really well, the guide was trying to be funny and spoke good English, very easy to understand. The cellar was big and there were a lot of big barrels. Everything was well explained and at the end there's the wine tasting. The guide was really friendly and nice and took pictures with us. We bought a bottle of vintage Port because it's a very good year according to them and also it's a year to be remembered. Overall I really recommend you to join the tour in Sandeman.

I will first say that I don't like Port wine, but I went because my husband loves it and Sandeman is his favorite. That said, we had a wonderful experience. We did the tour and it was amazing to see how steeped in tradition their process still is. The cellars are gorgeous and there's just so much history. Absolutely fascinating. The only part I didn't like was the tour guide (Denise, who was fantastic) was dressed in the cape and hat. Definitely cheesy, but she did a great job giving us the history and answering questions. At the end was the tasting and everyone else loved the wines, so I'll trust them, since they like Port. The George restaurant that is connected is a great place for drinks and lunch. My husband had the fried goat cheese (delish!) and tomatoes and I had the mushroom risotto which was amazing. Helpful service that aided us in wine pairings. Absolutely worth the visit. Also wanted to address the comment about slow service. You are in Portugal, not America. They are not a tipping society, so servers do not come by unless called. Portuguese culture allow for people to stay seated for hours and spend time talking. It's not uncommon for empty plate and glasses to sit there, as the people know when they want something, all they have to do is hail a server and they'll be taken care of. Please quit imposing your culture on others. If it took too long, it was because you're arrogance didn't take the time to learn how things work there. It takes a lot of hubris to critique a place steeped in culture because their traditions don't match yours. You're in their country, play by their rules.

Tour was nice, liked the self-guided tour a Taylors better, it was longer and provided more information. The gift shop was nice. Note if you want to take the tour in English make reservations, the fill up fast. There was long line to pay for tour. The tasteing was fine but they did not even break out a tawny, just a white and ruby. The outside bar was nice, with nicely priced port cocktails. Would recommend the tour, but not go again. Would recommend the cafe and go again.

Great place across the river from Porto. Great cheap food and drinks. Try the Bacaulaut fish!

Came here to meet up with Couchsurfers. We sat at the terrace until it started raining since the top covers have tiny holes so you won't be protected by the rain. They serve food and a variety of drinks. It's a trusting system - tell them what you ordered and pay for it at the counter. They have wine tours but we didn't do them. The bathrooms inside are clean. Walk straight in at the last door, it will be to the right if you are looking at the winery, and when you continue walking straight, you will see a toilet sign to your right. Warning - all the drinks are strong. Extremely strong - throat burning strong. One sip was enough for me. Others enjoyed it well.

As a tour, the tour offered great commentary and information about the winery and processes and port knowledge. I really enjoyed the information provided and the tour guide. What they show us was also pretty cool. I wish their tour schedule was more predictable or open. Showing up just to determine when their next tour in language of choice that still may be hours away is a bit ad hoc.

Did you know that Portuguese rarely drink Port? It is true. Since it's invention, Port has been primarily for the export market. So it is no surprise that the big Port houses are visited mostly by foreigners. Sandeman is certainly one of the most iconic producer of the sweet wine. It's Port cellars are located here in "Gaya" right across the Douro river from Porto. The port grapes are grown upstream in the Douro valley, about 100 to 150 km from the famed city. The grape is crushed there (in various place including Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo) and brough here in trucks. In ancient time, it was first put in barrels and sent down the river on barges, The barrels are then stored here in Gaya until it has aged properly and is ready to sell. With the visit here of the cellars, you can expect a lot of marketing and theatrics... after all this is Sandeman claim to fame. You can expect a nice tour of the cellars and a good tasting session. You can also expect tours in various languages although, you should check before if you don't want to wait too long. What you can't expect however is deep knowledge of the vinification process... tour guides are mostly kids that reciting their lessons with enthusiasm but are no experts. All in all a pleasant experience, especially if you are interested in wines and spirits and if you combine it with a visit to the vineyards upstreams.

Lovely view. Drinks and service were bad. Servers ignored us most of the time we were there, walking by us constantly and acting like they didn't see us. For 45 minutes. Too long for empty glasses at a bar when we we seated NEXT to the bar... My Sandeman bliss was way too sugary. No need to overdo the sugar if the port is decent. He liked his tawny, though. And that view of Porto at sunset!

I'm not a huge port fan so I was guided by my travel companion and went for this tour as he liked Sandeman port. There are only a limited number of tours in English each day and we were lucky and arrived just before it re-opened for the afternoon at 2pm and waited to get tickets for the 2.30 tour. When we returned for the tour the ticket desk only had tickets left for the 5.45pm tour in English. The tour was about 45 minutes long but very informative both of how port in general is made and also with the history of Sandeman on this site. It's been here for over 225 years so they must be doing something right. At the end of the tour we got given 'tastes' of a white port and a ruby port which was included in the €6 price. They were huge and pretty much normal measures. There was no rush to leave and lots of space so you could have happily sat and drank your tasters enjoying the atmosphere. There is a small gallery area to the right as you enter that had an exhibition of advertising from the past 200 years. It was really interesting and nice to see the evolution of the brand. Well worth the entrance price.

Excellent and fantastic tour through the wine cellars of Sandeman. They offer diffrent packages and various languages. The guides are friendly and knowledgedable about everything around port wines. There is also a museum beside the tour you can visit. Tasting right after the tour was stunning. Also the shop offers you merchandise of Sandemans and all their wines.

They have tours in multiple languages. Sign up for one that works best for you. You may have to do this a day in advance. Tour includes a guide dressed up as the Sandeman logo. The woman we had was very good. Toured about 30 of us through some of the tawny and ruby storage areas. We also saw a short film After the 30 minute tour you end up in the large tasting room. The guide pretty much just tells you what you have and then you can stick around and taste your two glasses. If you signed up for the four or five port tastings they will put you in the VIP room and you can stay in there to taste the port. After the tasting visit the sales area and buy what you want. Its a bit of a large scale production but port is good. We went to a few wine shops in Lisbon and they do not carry this brand. In other words, buy it here.

Worldwide leader in port and sherry since 1790. With smart branding, you see a black cape figurine pop up anywhere in Porto -- often in long distances, on hilltops, in random fields, easy to spot as Batman -- and there is quite a family legacy, as well as mythology behind the man in black, that drives "Sandeman's" popularity. The wine tour itself is fanciful and gothic, and there's a great walkway through a series of blown-up, panoramic photographs hung on floor-to-ceiling high glass frames. This is grown-up fun at its best, yet the wine (port) is so impossibly superior to other countries that you will be remiss if you didn't take a few bottles home. I for one love the aged tawnies. #sublime

I didn't take the tour but my husband and I sampled two of their ports, ones that were recommended by our server. OMG, one was so awful, seriously tasted like some kind of cleaning solution. The second one wasn't much better, but drinkable. I'm not sure if we just got the worst two ports on their menu, but I could never recommend this place to anyone for Port

So cool! I really enjoyed this tour. As a marketer, I really appreciated Sandeman's pre-tour museum and the history itself. George Sandeman was one of the first businessmen to use branding and register his trademark, and implemented marketing. I'll leave that vague so there's a reason to take the tour. The tour guide spoke excellent English for the tour, still with a strong Portuguese accent, but when I asked a question, she didn't understand it, however a few Americans gave me a nod and a look that said they understood what I was asking, so it was a bummer I didn't get a straight answer. Maybe she was playing dumb because I was trying to steal company secrets, idk. That might have been it. The tour itself is really good. It's a decent length of time and the warehouse is very large. It's centuries old and absolutely fascinating to hear about how the port is made and what makes it so special. I really enjoyed it, and again, as a marketer I found it particularly interesting. Towards the end there is a video you get to watch that basically repeats everything the tour guide said, but I didn't mind the repetitive nature; it's good for memorization. Also the video showed images of the Durou valley and vineyards, so it's worth the watch. Finally, you get to taste the ports. While Sandeman has just under a dozen varieties of port, you get to taste two: a Ruby and White port. I absolutely love port, so it was wonderful to get to taste right there in Porto at an actual Port warehouse. The gift shop offered several souvenir options, so we bought a bottle of Port in the centaur Sandeman tin to work on for the rest of our Europe trip and keep the tin as a souvenir. I really enjoyed this tour. I wouldn't take it again, but I'd go next door and all around to see the other port wines to compare. Definitely worth a trip here though, I really enjoyed it!

The tour is okay but a fairly typical wine cellar tour. The cool thing is they have the guide dress like the Sandeman logo. We did not care for the port that we tasted at all.

Sandeman is one of the biggest makers of Port wine and their facilities are top notch. They offer wine tours in many languages and various price points (3 wine, 5 wine, wine and cheese tastings). The tour guides are incredibly knowledgeable and really take the time to explain the history of port wine and the process to make it. The tours are about 45 minutes in length and can easily be a part of your day. Watch out, the wine is quite strong... 20%!

I am only rating the service since they were pretty rude and very inflexible. I tried to get a tasting a was refused. Sigh-just have to go somewhere else. I was told you MUST go on a tour to get a tasting. So I said ok... and they replied the next one was in Spanish. I was ok with that since I had been on several tours already and they tell you the same basic information. I replied that then I could do the tasting? Basically I was told no... and they reluctantly let me into the gift shop... not sure I'll ever come back here again...

I really enjoyed the tour aspect. They actually talk more about the wine making process than they do about Mr. Sandeman himself (which I actually prefer). What's nice is that there are multiple tours that you can take. I decided on the classic tour which allows you to taste 2 wines at the end, but there are other options that allow you to get 3 or 5 options, plus another option that gives you a chance to taste some of their higher end wines.

Very interesting tour. It was nice to see huge barrels and hear interesting inside stories. Both red and white Porto we tasted were wonderful.

We took the tour of Sandeman and it was only okay. The ambience/space is impressive, but the tour felt rushed and touristy. We were practically running through the caves. The tour guides are dressed in the capes/hat of the brand logo which is a little cheesy. They finish with a port tasting but only two kinds. My personal suggestion would be to visit the winery without a tour, then spend your time on the beautiful terrace in front and organize a tasting of your own.

Our group did a tour here, the tour was not too long and quite interesting. Its a good price for the tour and you get a sample of several of their different port wines. For those of you who don't drink, their view of the Douro river is absolutely breathtaking

The ambiance of this restaurant is very nice and it is in a beautiful location. The food was very good, but not great. The food was tasty, but a little cold.

Yuri was so FANTASTIC a tour guide for the morning "free walking tour of Lisbon" that we immediately signed up for his afternoon tour of the Lisbon neighborhoods (e.g., Alfama), and for his tour of Sintra a couple days later. His knowledge of the long, complex and extraordinary history of the area was remarkable. The tour could have easily been presented like a dry lecture, but Yuri instead artfully delivered each fact- and story-packed tour with amazing energy, with an obvious love and passion for the country and its people, and in an almost a lyrical way that only a true romantic could. By the time we finished the last tour, it was clear that his approach reflected the essence of Portugal. If you have only a few days to spend in Portugal, a country that deserves at least a month, then these tours are absolutely necessary if your objective is to see and learn as much as you can in the time you have.