Wine Tasting at Wine & Soul in Sabrosa

There are Douro wine tastings designed to impress tourists, pretty rooms, average wines, a rehearsed pitch. And then there's Wine & Soul, in Vale de Mendiz, in the heart of the Sabrosa municipality, where Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges open the doors of Quinta da Manoella and let century-old vines tell their own story.

Who Are Sandra and Jorge

Sandra Tavares da Silva was the first female winemaker in the Douro. Jorge is a fifth-generation wine producer. In 2001, with no vineyards and no winery, they launched Wine & Soul with one clear goal: to prove that the Douro produces world-class table wines, not just Port. In 2009 they acquired Quinta da Manoella, an estate dating back to 1838, with old vines over a hundred years old.

This isn't a corporate operation. It's a couple who knows every parcel, every grape variety, every terroir by heart. When they pour you a tasting, you feel it, real closeness, genuine knowledge, passion without the marketing polish.

The Tasting Experiences

Wine & Soul offers three tasting formats, all including a winery visit. My recommendation? The Terroirs Tasting, which starting from €40 per person offers the best balance of variety and depth.

Terroirs Tasting (from €40)

Seven wines spanning the full spectrum of what Wine & Soul does: Manoella White, Manoella Rosé, Manoella Red, Guru White, Pintas Character Red, Manoella Ruby Reserve, and Manoella 10 Years Old Tawny. It's a hands-on lesson in how the same valley, the Pinhão Valley, can yield such distinct wines. The Guru White, a field blend from ancient vines, is usually the one that catches first-time visitors off guard.

Port Tasting (from €55)

Six Port wines paired with chocolates. If Port is your passion, this is the one. But if you've never tried Wine & Soul's table wines, the Terroirs gives you a much fuller picture.

Premium Tasting (from €105)

Nine wines including their flagships, Pintas Red and Quinta da Manoella Vinhas Velhas, paired with a board of regional cheeses and smoked sausages. Worth every euro if you want to understand why Pintas scored 98 points from Wine Spectator. This is the kind of wine that changes how you think about the Douro.

What the Visit Is Like

Each experience lasts roughly two hours. It starts in the winery, where you walk through the winemaking facilities and understand the process, from grape reception to barrel ageing. This isn't a scripted group tour. Ask questions and you'll get real answers from people who actually make the wine.

Then comes the tasting, overlooking the valley. If you've read about the Douro estates nobody talks about, you'll know that some properties have a way of making the world slow down. Manoella is one of them. The afternoon light on the terraces is particularly beautiful, so if you can, book the session from 3pm onwards.

Every tasting ends in the wine shop, where you can buy direct from the producer. Prices are cellar-door, no middleman, a real advantage over buying the same bottles in a shop.

Practical Tips

• Booking required: No walk-ins. Book through wineandsoul.com/wine-tourism in advance. Minimum 2 people.
• Language: Tastings are conducted in English and Portuguese.
• Getting there: The winery is at Avenida Júlio de Freitas, Vale de Mendiz, 5085-101 Pinhão (Sabrosa municipality). Use GPS, the valley roads are narrow and signage isn't always obvious. By car, it's about 2 hours from Porto via the A4 and then the N322.
• What to wear: The winery can be cool even in summer, so bring a layer. Comfortable shoes for walking through the facilities.
• Best time: March to November. September and October during harvest are something else entirely, you'll see grapes arriving and the work happening in real time. But it's also peak demand, so book further ahead.
• Driving: Remember you'll be tasting several wines. If travelling as a couple, agree who drives. Better yet: stay overnight in the Sabrosa or Pinhão area.

Why This Experience Is Worth It

The Douro doesn't lack quintas that welcome visitors. But many of the big estates have turned wine tourism into an industrial operation, large groups, rushed tastings, minimal contact with the people who actually make the wine.

Wine & Soul is the opposite. It's a project by two passionate winemakers, with century-old vines and wines that compete with the world's best. When you sit down to taste Pintas overlooking the valley where the grapes grew, you understand the difference between tourism and a genuine experience.

If you're exploring Sabrosa, pair this tasting with the region's literary trails, Miguel Torga's footsteps cross these same landscapes, and there are few better ways to end a cultural day than with a glass of Douro in hand.

Contact details:
Wine & Soul, Quinta da Manoella
Av. Júlio de Freitas, Vale de Mendiz, 5085-101 Pinhão (Sabrosa)
Website: wineandsoul.com
Booking: wineandsoul.com/wine-tourism