Portugal Guide: Caves Cálem & Fado

Caves Cálem & Fado Porto

Address | Av. de Diogo Leite 344, 4400-111 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

On our list of must dos while in Portugal, we knew we wanted to taste and learn more about Port wine and to catch a fado show. When we learned that both experiences could be combined in one night at Caves Cálem, we decided to book tickets for their Tour Taste and Fado. We took a sunset walk from Porto to Nova de Gaia which is easily achieved by crossing the Dom Luis I Bridge.

Having arrived a bit early, we headed to the tasting room. This is something that I strongly suggest you do. The Port wines we ordered were far superior in taste to those that were included in the tasting. You can also order small bites, we enjoyed marinated olives and chocolates. After our visit to the tasting room we began our tour followed by a Fado show with Port wine tasting. Children are welcome to this event and they provided juices and of course the music was enjoyable to all age groups. Fado is the Portuguese word for Fate. It is mostly melancholic guitar and voice but an upbeat tunes concluded the show. Fado is so embedded in Portuguese identity in 2011, Fado, was classified by UNESCO as World Heritage. The performers were outstanding and we really enjoyed the show.