Wineries & Bars Archives -

7 Port Wine Houses to Visit in Vila Nova di Gaia

I've been fortunate to visit Porto several times now, and every time we visit, we always make it our mission to check out some of the best Port wine houses in Vila Nova di Gaia- just opposite Porto across the Douro River.

Although wine is (typically) not made in Vila Nova di Gaia, its history is an interesting one for maturation and export. Historically, many Douro Valley wineries would bring barrels of wine down the Douro River to Vila Nova de Gaia for aging and bottling, as the Douro Valley was, until very recently (thanks to modern air conditioning), not suitable for maturing wines.

This led to a large chunk of Vila Nova di Gaia being converted to massive warehouses to house thousands upon thousands of barrels of wine, and, thanks to the advantage of being just a bit upriver from the ocean, also allowed for port access for exports around the world!

Today, many of the most famous wineries in the region have Port houses in Vila Nova di Gaia, and there are several you shouldn't miss when visiting Porto!

When we booked our trip to Madeira, we knew that visiting the island's acclaimed wineries for the famous fortified wine of the same name was a high on our list.

While we did not get to visit every winery on the island, we did our best and hit five of the top fortified wine producers (plus one bonus still wine maker as well).

So in this one, we thought we'd break down each of the Madeira wineries we visited and share some insights on what premium tours were worth it, too!

To say that we love Alsatian wine is an understatement. It is one of our favorite wine regions, not just in France, but anywhere in the world.

World-class Riesling? Yep. Stellar Pinot Gris? You know it. Even some sparkling Cremant? There really is a lot to love about Alsace!

During our visit, we got a chance to check out six great wineries in Alsace, and wanted to share a bit more about each in this one.

Note: Wineries in Alsace tend to have limited tasting appointments. Unless otherwise noted, contact wineries significantly far in advance when inquiring about tasting times. Most wineries we visited were not set up to accommodate walk-ins.

Champagne has always been a wine region that was rather high on our list to visit, and we were lucky enough to spend a few days in the region in late 2025 on our way to Alsace to check out the Christmas markets.

Although our time in the wine region was a bit more brief than we otherwise would've liked, we got a chance to visit five truly amazing wineries in Champagne to get our fill of spectacular traditional method sparkling wine.

From classics with world-famous cellars to new gems that redefined what world-class Champagne truly means, we hit a really nice cross-section in these wineries during our visit!

As with all of our winery roundups, this article only features the Champagne houses we personally visited when traveling in the region. We look forward to visiting more in our next trip to Champagne!

Note: Most producers in Champagne require advanced reservations. Some larger houses may have on-site bars for walk-in tastings; however, we booked all of our tastings well in advance. Reconfirm these details prior to visiting as Champagne houses can and do book up in advance.

Like most Nordic countries, Finland is a controlled alcohol state. This means that for all alcohol above a certain ABV (in this case, 5.5%), you have to visit a state-run shop to purchase your products.

We always find these areas interesting to visit as we like to see what kind of products that are offered, their price points, and any other interesting details visitors may want to know.

For higher-ABV products in Finland, you'll want to visit a local Alko store for beer, wine, and spirits. After visiting a few in Helsinki, employees unanimously told us one thing- go to the Arkadia location. The flagship store in the brand is one of the largest in Finland and, to paraphrase one rep we spoke to, the envy of all Nordic countries.

This high praise set the bar really high for us, and after visiting, we have to admit, we'd love an Alko Arkadia in our own state too. Yes, it is that good!

We always like to find great wine stores when we travel to see what life could be like if we didn't live in the lovely controlled state of Pennsylvania.

When we made a weekend trip to New York City, we knew what store we had to check out- Astor Wine & Spirits.

This one had a reputation as one of the finest wine stores in New York, and we had even ordered deliveries from them from time to time. So as (admittedly infrequent) customers, we knew this would be a pilgrimage-style spot for us.

As much as we liked the wine selection here, the spirits were also just as, if not more, impressive!

As a Pennsylvanian, you can imagine that I have some pretty strong opinions about our state-managed wine and liquor stores. They are, well, not that great and leave us yearning for more.

This is perhaps best felt when we go to other states that have massive entities selling all things wine and spirits, and in the USA, we get this feeling the most when visiting Total Wine.

A giant grocery store of wine, and some even with a huge spirits selection as well? This one really should be in all 50 states.

Systembolaget is the Swedish, state-run liquor company. Effectively meaning “the System Company,” Systembolaget controls virtually all alcohol sales greater than 3.5% in Sweden- so, everything apart from limited low-ABV content beer and other similar products.

Naturally, we had to head into a Systembolaget when in Stockholm to see what the stores are all about and find out what the wine selections are like!

Monopoly states for alcohol sales are interesting. We would know- our home state of Pennsylvania has state-controlled liquor sales and has only recently opened up the distribution of wine and beer.

So when we visited Norway and read about their strict control of alcohol, we knew a bit about what to expect.

As it turns out, their state liquor store, Vinmonopolet, is actually pretty good in terms of selection and price- the latter by US standards at least. The only downside? The stores are few and far between!

When traveling in Sicily, you really need to check out some wineries. But there is far more to Sicily than the famous wineries on Mount Etna, and other regions like Vittoria, Marsala, and the island of Pantelleria also make some absolutely beautiful wines from grapes like Nero d'Avola, Frappato, Nerello Mascalese (Etna), Zibibbo, fortified Marsalas, and so many more.

Over my two visits, I have had the chance to explore several wineries in Sicily, primarily focused around Marsala and Etna regions in particular.

So, in this one, I thought I'd share a bit more about each of the wineries we've personally visited and what you can expect at a tasting! Be sure to check back in the future as we will update this article when we return to Sicily and check out more producers.

Note: As with all of our winery guides, the following are a selection of Sicilian wineries we've personally visited- particularly in the Etna and Marsala areas. These are just a starting point as there are many great wineries to check out all over Sicily! It is also worth noting that many of the wineries featured in this article are available in the USA on companies like Wine.com. When tasting, we did a quick price/availability check to maximize our shopping experience.

7 Port Wine Houses to Visit in Vila Nova di Gaia

5 Madeira Wineries to Visit for Fortified Wine Tasting

6 Wineries in Alsace to Try When Visiting the Famous Region

5 Champagne Wineries to Visit for an Excellent Tasting

Alko Arkadia is the Flagship Store Not to Miss in Helsinki

Astor Wine & Spirits is a Gem in the Heart of New York City

Total Wine is the Grocery Store of Wine Want Everywhere

Systembolaget Offers State Sold Wine and Spirits in Sweden

Vinmonopolet for National Wine and Alcohol Sales in Norway

7 Wineries in Sicily to Check Out When Exploring the Island