Enotourism & Experiences
A bottle travels well. A place does not. There are things a wine only tells you once you have stood where it comes from — the granite underfoot, the salt carried on the wind, the hands that shape it season after season. Casca Wines opens two doors into that world, each one hosted by the person who makes the wine.
Why we open these doors
We don’t do wine tourism to sell more bottles. We do it because there are truths about a wine no technical sheet ever tells — they only show themselves once people stand on the ground it comes from.
Whoever hosts you knows the wine from the inside: depending on the experience, Hélder Cunha himself, one of the house’s winemakers, or a wine lover who lives and breathes Colares like few others — never a generic guide reciting a tourist script. The Masterclass is always with Hélder Cunha in person.
The visit is done on foot, inside the vineyard, in the sand. That is why the groups are small.
Visit to Colares
In the late 19th century, phylloxera swept across Europe and rewrote the continent’s wine: almost no ungrafted vine survived. Colares was one of the rare exceptions — the Atlantic sand this vineyard is planted in is ground the insect could never cross. The rows of Ramisco and Malvasia walked on this visit are, for that reason, the last frontier: among the last ungrafted vines left standing in Europe, nearly two hundred years after they were planted, never grafted, never interrupted.
It begins in Sintra, at Casa do Preto, over the regional pastry the house has been making since 1931, and goes on to the vineyards of Colares, where you walk the rows on foot — deep sand, cane windbreaks, the wind that shapes every vine. Then the coast the wine comes from: Praia da Aguda and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe. It closes with a guided tasting of five wines, Ramisco and Malvasia de Colares among them — seated and talked through, on the Atlantic front, with a cheese and charcuterie board included.
Three to four hours, depending on the group. €150 per person; visits run from 2 guests upwards. With Hélder Cunha himself, there is a supplement of €150 per group, subject to availability. All year round. The Cellar Table’s Legacy members hold priority booking and a member price on this visit.
Masterclass with the Winemaker
A guided tasting of 5 to 7 Portuguese wines, hosted by Hélder Cunha himself, from the granite of the Beira to the schist of the Douro to the sands of Colares — not a script, a conversation. Roughly 1h30, in Portuguese, English or Spanish.
75€ per person, minimum 6 guests. Legacy members receive two seats at one of these Masterclasses each year, included in membership — part of the group, not a private session.
Book
Tell us the date and the time of day you would like. We confirm availability, and only then send the payment link.
Colares Vineyard Visit
Masterclass with the Winemaker
Before you book
- Two time slots a day, morning and afternoon. The visit takes three to four hours, depending on the group.
- We meet at Casa do Preto, in Sintra — a pastry shop that has been making its own since 1931. That is where it begins, over the local pastries.
- Transport is not included. Each group travels between the stops in its own vehicle; our host guides the route in a separate car. Sintra is about thirty minutes from Lisbon.
- The tasting is seated and talked through, on the Atlantic front, with a cheese and charcuterie board included.
- Lunch and dinner are not included. If you would like to stay on, we will help book a table; it is paid directly to the restaurant.
- Your host is one of the house winemakers or hosts. To have Hélder Cunha himself, there is a supplement of €150 per group.
- Comfortable closed shoes you do not mind filling with sand.
- The booking is confirmed once we confirm the date. Only then do we send the payment link.
