Last updated: 06/25/2022
Discover Cave Cálem, one of the most traditional Port wine cellars where you can take a guided tour, tastings and even watch a traditional fado show.
PORT CALEM
Porto Cálem is a company founded in 1859 by António Alves Cálem. The wines come from the incredible Douro region and, for decades, were transported to Vila Nova de Gaia (a city next to Porto where the famous cellars are located) by rabelo boats, a traditional Portuguese wooden boat. The wines are aged in Gaia due to the perfect temperature and humidity conditions provided by the cellars in this area.
At a time when trade routes were mainly European, Cálem decided to export to Brazil, establishing a very successful trade relationship. And it was precisely with the success of exporting Port wine to Brazil that Cálem's business expanded and the company ended up acquiring its own shipping fleet.
The Calém brand stands out in the market for the excellent quality of its wines and centuries-old history. Its cellars have a great reputation in the wine sector and stand out as a world reference, being one of the most visited cellars in the world. Remaining in the same family for four generations, it was acquired by the Sogevinus Group in 1998.
PORT WINE
Port Wine is produced from grapes grown and processed in the Douro region. The wine produced is then fortified by adding a grape brandy to stop fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine to increase the alcohol content. The wine is then stored and aged, in barrels stored in a cellar (cellar), before being bottled. The wine received the name, “Porto”, in the second half of the 17th century from the port city of Porto, at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was taken to the market or taken for export to other European countries.
TYPES OF PORT WINE PRODUCED BY CÁLEM
Cálem basically produces 4 types of Port wines:
- White: Straw-white or straw-yellow colour, delicate aroma of fresh fruit, floral notes | good to be served as an aperitif, with fresh salads and tropical fruit desserts
- Ruby: Ruby color, notes of red fruits, fruity | ideal to accompany cheeses, sweets with red fruits and chocolates
- rosé: Bright pink color, floral and fruity aromas of strawberry, cherry and raspberry | can be consumed in a glass with ice, herbs or berries or as a base for cocktails
- tawny: Auburn color, with aroma of nuts and fruits, velvety | wines from a single year that age for a minimum period of 10 years, are produced from a blend (mixture) and contact with the wood of the barrels | good to accompany nuts and sweets
CAVE CALÉM INFRASTRUCTURE
Cave Calém has a space for holding various cultural, social and business events, which include Reception Rooms, Lunch Room, Dining Room, Exhibition Room, Meeting Room, in addition to an Auditorium with capacity for 20 people. equipped with multimedia projects and advanced audio system, and a terrace overlooking the Douro River with capacity for 20 people. The most popular experiences are those that include a tour of the cellars and wine tasting. Below, learn more about each of the main experiences on offer.
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TYPES OF EXPERIENCES IN THE BASEMENT CALEM
THE Cave Cálem is the most visited Port wine cellar in the world. It offers some types of experiences, all of them with Port Wine tasting, of course! See more information about each of them below.
1. VISIT & TASTING
This is the most common tour, where visitors can learn more about the Port wine production process. The visit is available in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.
- What's Included:
- 15-minute interactive museum visit
- Informative visit to the cellars
- Tasting (there are two types):
- STANDARD: 2 wines (Cálem Fine White and Cálem Special Reserve Tawny)
- PREMIUM: 3 wines (Cálem White & Dry, Cálem Tawny 10 Years Old, and Cálem LBV)
- Schedules: tours between 10am and 12:20pm and 2pm to 5pm, usually every 20 minutes – check the tour language before booking
- Ticket: 14€ – Click here and book now, pay later, with free cancellation option up to 24 hours in advance
2. VISIT, TASTING & FADO
This is one of the most popular tours because it manages to combine an informative tour, Port wines and a fado show. Everything on this tour is done in English.
- What's Included:
- Informative tour of the cellars in English
- Tasting of 2 wines (Cálem Fine White and Cálem 10 Years Old Tawny)
- Fado show lasting 45 minutes
- Schedules: daily at 6:30 pm
- Ticket: €23 (over 11 years old) – Click here and book now, pay later, with free cancellation option up to 24 hours in advance
3. VISIT & GASTRONOMY
For those who like to pair wines with cheeses and chocolates, the request is to participate in a gastronomic tour. There are two options available:
>>> WINE AND CHOCOLATE
Tasting of chocolates paired with wines. The tour is available in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.
- What's Included:
- Visit to the interactive museum
- Guided tour of the cellars
- Tasting of Cálem Colheita and Cálem 10 Years Tawny wines with 4 types of chocolates (allergenic: milk, chestnuts and nuts, soy and egg)
- Schedules: tours between 10:00 and 12:20 and 14:00 to 17:00, usually every 20 or 40 minutes – check the language of the tour before booking
- Ticket: 25€
>>> WINE AND CHEESE & CHOCOLATE
Tasting of cheeses and chocolates paired with wines. The tour is available in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.
- What's Included:
- Visit to the interactive museum
- Guided tour of the cellars
- Cálem Late Bottle Vintage, Cálem Vintage and Cálem Colheita wine tasting with two types of cheese, two types of chocolate, crackers and jam (allergens: milk, chestnuts and nuts, soy and egg)
- Schedules: tours between 10:00 and 12:20 and 14:00 to 17:00, usually every 20 or 40 minutes – check the language of the tour before booking
- Ticket: 35€ – Click here and book now, pay later, with free cancellation option up to 24 hours in advance
4. VISIT, TASTING & 5D
This visit will be available soon and includes a tour, tasting and a 5D experience through a film that aims to awaken the sensations of visitors.
CAVE CALEM STORE
Right after the visit, on the way to the exit, we pass through the Cave Cálem store, with many products that go beyond wine bottles, but also miniatures for gifts, snacks, among other items. Even if you don't do any tour, it's possible to enter the shop and buy various items.
TOURS AND TICKETS TO CAVE CALEM
Below you will find a variety of tours, tours and tickets that include Cave Cálem. In addition to the previously mentioned experiences, you can choose to take a boat trip on the Douro River, see the city by hop-on hop-off tourist bus, among other options.
OUR EXPERIENCE AT CAVE CALEM
We chose experience “1. VISIT & TASTING” to learn more about Cave Cálem. We have already visited many wineries on other trips and were eager to learn more about the production of Port Wine, a process very different from traditional wine. We bought our ticket online and arrived at Cave Cálem a few minutes beforehand to exchange the voucher.
As the city receives many foreigners, wines that all tours in English, French and Spanish that day were already sold out, except for the tours in Portuguese. Anyway, I recommend buying the ticket in advance to guarantee the desired time.
1. MUSEUM
The tour begins with the guide leading visitors to the museum. The space is very interesting, full of information panels about wine production. For us, it was quite a learning experience, because we discovered that Port Wine is not really a wine, in the sense that the way it is produced is unique, reminiscent of a liqueur, except for the fact that it has no added sugar. The guide gives a series of explanations and also leaves a few minutes available for us to explore the museum on our own and ask him questions.
2. BASEMENTS
The second stop of the visit is the Port Wine cellars, where the explanations continue and projections are made on the large wooden barrels. The guide passes on a series of information and numerical data, talks about the types of wines produced, among other concepts.
What irritated me during our visit was that there was a family that apparently had French as their native language and, probably, as they couldn't find a time available for the tour in French, they entered our tour in Portuguese and couldn't stop talking to each other. , disturbing those who wanted to hear the guide. It was pretty disrespectful.
3. TASTING
After all the information in the basement, we went up the stairs that led to the tasting room. The guide was separating people by the tables to taste.
There are two types of tasting, one with two and one with three wines, but we didn't get a chance to choose which one we wanted to do. The guide has already directed us to a table with two wine tastings, right next to the French-speaking family who continued to speak during the explanations. How lucky for us, no?
I confess that I'm not a fan of sweet wines, in fact, of very sweet things in general because I get a little sick with high doses of sugar. The tasting experience could have been more interesting if there had been some food to accompany and “break” the sweetness brought by the wine a little. At least, in my case, it was. After the tour, you can stay in the tasting room for as long as you like and order other wines and assorted foods. See all available options and prices in this link.
IS IT WORTH THE VISIT TO THE CAVE CALEM?
Yes a lot! It was super interesting for us to learn more details about the production of Port Wine in one of the most traditional cellars in the region. But, I confess that, with my experience of visiting wineries, mainly in California, I wouldn't be able to do the same of going to 3, 4 cellars in the same day. First, because Port wines have a much higher alcohol content than traditional wines (on average, around 20% versus 12% to 14%), second, because I find it impossible to consume sweet wines at the same pace as traditional wines, precisely because be sweet and combine more with a dessert or to end a meal.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Cave Cálem
- Address: Av. by Diogo Leite 344, 4400-111 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
- Schedules: daily from April to October from 10 am to 7 pm | November to March from 10 am to 6:30 pm
- Entrance: varies between €14 and €35 depending on the type of experience
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