On the far side of the Serra da Estrela the granite carries on but the climate hardens, with icy winters and short dry summers across 16,000 hectares of vineyard ringed by the Estrela, Marofa and Malcata ranges.
Tip: Guarda is an hour away and holds the regional wine solar; the historic villages of Marialva and Sortelha are the reason to stay past lunch.
The range that blocks the Atlantic damp on the western side, forty minutes from Viseu. Its museum holds cars and paintings under one roof and the Tondela estates sit on the slope below it.
Pours: Tondela sub-region red, Encruzado
Tip: Pair the museum with Casa de Mouraz or Quinta das Queimas on the way back down; both are within twenty minutes of Tondela.
The range that walls the region on its eastern side, rising to the Torre. The cheese that carries its name is the pairing that defines eating here, and its protected area covers the same municipalities as the vines.
Pours: Serra da Estrela sub-region Encruzado, Old-vine Dão red
Tip: Drive up through Seia or Gouveia and stop at a queijaria on the way; the cheese is at its best from December to March.
One of the four ranges that shelter the region, a walled Carmelite forest above Luso with a via sacra, hermitages and a neo-Manueline palace built on the old convent site.
Pours: Bairrada Baga red, Bairrada sparkling
Tip: Combine the forest walk with lunch in Luso or Mealhada, where roast suckling pig is the local order rather than an optional extra.
The Mondego rises on the Serra da Estrela, runs through this region and reaches the sea at Figueira. Coimbra sits downstream with its university, its conventual sweets and the chanfana villages beyond.
Pours: Dão red on a Coimbra wine list, Bairrada sparkling
Tip: Chanfana, old goat stewed in red wine, comes from the hills just south of Coimbra and is the dish to order with a Dão red.
West across the Caramulo, clay replaces granite and Baga replaces Touriga Nacional. The Bairrada bottles the sparkling wine this region does not, and roasts the suckling pig that Dão reds accompany.
Pours: Bairrada espumante, Baga red
Tip: Anadia and Mealhada are the two stops: the wine museum in one, the suckling pig in the other, an hour apart from Viseu.
Schist instead of granite and a river gorge instead of a plateau, less than an hour north over the Montemuro. The same noble grape behaves completely differently, which is the whole reason to go.
Pours: Tawny Port, Douro still red
Tip: Lamego is closer than Peso da Régua at 62 kilometres; do Lamego and one Baixo Corgo quinta rather than pushing east to Pinhão.
After hotel pickup in Coimbra, we take direction to activity start in Viseu. Day dedicated to bicycle touring on an old railway branch that has 130 years of transpor...