Azeitao Wine Tasting from Lisbon: A Complete Guide

Azeitao wine tasting takes you to the cellars just south of Lisbon where Moscatel de Setubal, one of Portugal’s great sweet wines, has been made for generations. Two estates open their doors in Vila Nogueira de Azeitao: Jose Maria da Fonseca, the family behind the Periquita brand since 1834, and Bacalhoa, set inside a 15th-century palace. You can reach them by train and bus, by car, or on a guided tour from Lisbon.

The honest catch is logistics. Azeitao has no train station, the two big wineries sit a couple of kilometres apart, and someone has to drive back to Lisbon after the tasting. This guide covers what each winery visit is actually like, what Moscatel de Setubal really is, how to get there without a car, and the real trade-off between doing it yourself and booking a tour that handles the driving. If you are still choosing between the Douro, the Alentejo and the coast near Lisbon, our guide to which Lisbon wine region to choose compares them. This article is about the closest one, Azeitao.

Where Is Azeitao, and Why Wine Lovers Go

Azeitao (full name Vila Nogueira de Azeitao) is a village on the Setubal Peninsula, about 40 minutes south of Lisbon across the 25 de Abril bridge, on the northern edge of the Arrabida hills. Wine lovers go for two reasons: cellars you can walk through, and Moscatel de Setubal tasted where it is made.

The setting is the reason the wine exists. The limestone slopes of the Serra da Arrabida shelter the vineyards from the Atlantic and hold the heat, which is what ripens the Moscatel grapes to their honeyed sweetness. The same hills give you the cove beaches and the fishing town on the other side, so a wine morning turns into a coast afternoon with almost no driving. Many people pair it with an Arrabida day trip for exactly that reason.

What Is Moscatel de Setubal?

Moscatel de Setubal is a fortified sweet wine made mainly from the Moscatel of Alexandria grape on the limestone slopes around Setubal and Azeitao. It runs 16 to 22 percent alcohol, and the region was demarcated in 1907, which makes it one of the oldest protected wine areas in Portugal.

The method is what gives it that dried-fruit intensity. After pressing, grape brandy is added to stop the fermentation and keep the natural sweetness, then the wine rests on its Moscatel skins for around three months to soak up aroma, and it ages a minimum of 18 months in large old wood. A wine must be at least 85 percent Moscatel to carry the grape name on the label.

• Young Moscatel: orange blossom, marmalade and fresh grape, bright and easy to like
• Aged Moscatel: dried fig, walnut, honey and spice, darker and slower to drink
• Moscatel Roxo: a rarer pink-skinned version, delicate and floral, worth asking for

For the official rules behind the wine, the national body Wines of Portugal keeps a plain-language page on the Moscatel style.

The Two Wineries You Can Visit in Azeitao

Two estates in Azeitao offer guided visits with a tasting: Jose Maria da Fonseca and Bacalhoa. Jose Maria da Fonseca is the classic cellar tour and the home of Periquita and aged Moscatel. Bacalhoa pairs its wine with a 15th-century palace, formal gardens and a tile and art collection.

Jose Maria da Fonseca: the family cellars

This is the visit most people picture. The tour starts in the Casa-Museu, the family house and museum, then moves into the working cellars, including the Adega dos Teares Velhos, where barrels of Moscatel de Setubal sit ageing for decades. The family has made wine here since 1834 and is now in its seventh generation. Periquita, first sold in 1850, is often called Portugal’s oldest table-wine brand, and it ages in these same cellars.

Visits run daily and end with a tasting. The winery lists visiting hours of 10:00 to 17:30 from April to October and 10:00 to 16:30 from November to March, with the shop open later. Booking ahead is recommended, by phone, WhatsApp or email, and you can arrange it on the official Jose Maria da Fonseca site. This is the estate our own wine day visits.

Bacalhoa: wine, a palace and azulejos

Bacalhoa is a different kind of visit. The Quinta da Bacalhoa dates from the 1480s, and the guided tour takes in the palace, the gardens and part of the Berardo collection of Portuguese tiles and art, which includes one of the country’s oldest dated azulejo panels. The tasting happens in a dedicated room at the end. Guided visits run at set times through the day and also need booking ahead.

How to Get to Azeitao from Lisbon

You can reach Azeitao three ways: the Fertagus train to Setubal plus a local bus, driving across the 25 de Abril bridge in about 40 minutes, or a guided tour that includes transport. There is no train station in Azeitao itself, which is the detail most guides get wrong.

By train and bus (the budget route)

Take the Fertagus train from Roma-Areeiro (it also stops at Entrecampos, Sete Rios and Campolide) south across the bridge to Setubal. The ride is roughly 50 minutes, trains run about every 30 minutes, and a single fare is around 4.55 euros on a Navegante card. From Setubal, a Carris Metropolitana bus (line 4562 via Palmela, or line 4470 heading toward Praia do Creiro) runs to Vila Nogueira de Azeitao.

The honest downside is frequency. The Azeitao buses are not frequent, and they do not shuttle you neatly between the two wineries, so this route suits one relaxed winery visit rather than a two-estate day. Check live times on Carris Metropolitana before you commit.

By car

Driving is the flexible option. It takes about 40 minutes from central Lisbon on the A2 across the 25 de Abril bridge, there are tolls, and parking in the village is easy. A car lets you visit both estates, the cheese shops and a beach in one loop.

By guided tour

A guided tour solves the driving problem, because the guide drives and everyone gets to taste. It also handles the bookings and the gap between estates. Our full-day wine tour from Lisbon visits the Jose Maria da Fonseca cellars in Azeitao and a family-run vineyard, adds lunch and beach time in Sesimbra, and drives through the Arrabida park, all with Francisco guiding the history and the wine.

What to Eat in Azeitao: Cheese, Cake and Moscatel

Azeitao is as known for food as for wine, and both local specialties are built to sit next to a glass of Moscatel. Save room for them.

Queijo de Azeitao is a protected sheep’s milk cheese set with wild thistle instead of animal rennet, which gives it a soft, buttery, almost spoonable centre. The traditional way to eat it is to slice off the top and scoop out the middle with a spoon or bread. It was named among the world’s best gastronomic products at the Great Taste awards in 2014.

Torta de Azeitao is the sweet counterpart, a thin rolled sponge cake filled with a lemony egg-yolk cream and dusted with cinnamon. It has been made in the village since 1901, and a slice with a small glass of aged Moscatel is the classic Azeitao pairing.

Make It a Full Day: Azeitao, Arrabida and Sesimbra

Azeitao sits between two of the best day trips near Lisbon, so most visitors combine a tasting with the coast rather than driving home after lunch. The wine, the beaches and the fishing village are all within the same 20-minute radius.

• Add a beach: the cove beaches inside the Arrabida Natural Park have some of the clearest water near Lisbon
• Add a fishing town: the town of Sesimbra is built for a seafood lunch by the harbour
• Add the regional capital: Setubal is the gateway to the peninsula and its dolphin-watching boats

A wine tasting in the morning, a seafood lunch by the water and an afternoon on a cove beach is the day most travellers remember, and it is the exact shape of our guided tour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Your Azeitao Wine Day

Azeitao gives you Moscatel de Setubal tasted in the cellar where it ages, a sheep cheese you eat with a spoon, and the Arrabida coast 20 minutes away. Do it by car if you have a designated driver, by train if you only want one relaxed winery, or let someone else drive so nobody has to sit out the tasting. Our full-day wine tour with Francisco pairs the Azeitao cellars with Sesimbra and the Arrabida park, transport and lunch included.