Most Port Wine companies have impressive histories. They can trace their founders and former owners back over many generations and sometimes even centuries. However, Ramos Pinto is very special – because I don’t know any other Port Wine company where the spirit of the late founder is still so palpable. Especially here in the lodge his spirit is all around us, we learn a lot about him and how he saw the world. Adriano Ramos Pinto (1859-1927) was a real marketing genius. He founded the company in 1880 when he was just 21 years old. He understood that he has to be different than the other companies – and he used his creativity to create beautiful labels and commercials for the company. He wasn’t afraid to use nudity – in a catholic country, a hundred years ago. He understood that Brasil is a very interesting market for Port Wine exporters and worked hard to get his brand recognized over there – and of course he succeeded. When most shippers were sending wine in big barrels around the world and depended on the importers to do the bottling and shipping, Adriano Ramos Pinto made sure that his bottles get amazing labels. Many international artists were contracted over the years to create beautiful and iconic marketing pieces for the company. A lot of those memorabilia are exhibited in the lodge in Gaia.
The whole building seems like a museum – it’s like time stood still. Beautiful furniture, office utensils – everything seems exactly so as if Adriano might return any given moment. After this this museum-like part of the house, we get to the warehouse where all the barrels age – a beautiful place. And finally we have the chance to taste the wine in a beautiful old hall.
The tour costs EUR 6 and it takes roughly 40 minutes. You will see the museum, the cellar and at the end you have a tasting of two Port Wines (a white Port and a Reserve Tawny).
The tours are offered in English, Spanish, French and of course Portuguese. Ramos Pinto uses a very interesting approach to determine which language will be used for the tour: The person that first reserves a spot on the tour gets to chose what language he wants it to be in! So make sure to book your tour early, so that you are the person to decide which language it will be in.
Approximately 50,000 visitors show up per year at the doorstep of Ramos Pintos’ beautiful lodge. It’s a very special tour – because the tour is a close encounter with the marketing genius of Adriano Ramos Pinto. In his office you will see a massive throne – which looks like it was made for a king. However, this was were his visitors were sitting – just to make them feel good. He understood psychology and used it to gain a great reputation in the world of Port Wine.
When you leave the lodge, make sure that you grab a few bottles of the 30 year old Tawny – it’s amazing. Visitors can upgrade their tasting, by the way. Packages of 5 different Port Wines are available – or visitors can order the desired wines by the glass.
By the way, even if here are many beautiful barrels, visitors see only a fraction of the Port Wine stock of Ramos Pinto. While the visitor lodge contains several hundred thousand of liters, the main lodge (ca. 600 meters away) contains 10 times more Port – but as there the real work happens, that lodge is not open for visitors. But that’s not a problem – because the existing Ramos Pinto lodge that is open for visitors is so beautiful that there is no need to visit the other place.
Avenida de Ramos Pinto, 400 – Vila Nova de Gaia
Telfs. +351 936 809 283 / +351 967 658 980
Web-Page: www.ramospinto.pt
Everyday from 10 am to 6 pm (except the 1st of January, Easter Sunday, and the 25th of December)
The last tour takes place one hour before closing.