Funchal Food & Wine Tour: Madeira Bites, Poncha & Market Walk

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/23

Duration3h 30m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Wander Funchal’s streets tasting Madeira wine, pork sandwiches and poncha with a local guide

You’ll wander Funchal’s lively streets with a local guide, tasting Madeira wine (both Sercial and Malmsey), sampling marinated pork sandwiches with beer, sipping poncha, and trying fresh market fruits. Expect laughter over new flavors, stories behind every bite, and small surprises—like artisan chocolates or that perfect view down an alleyway you wouldn’t find alone.

3h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Food and wine tasting in Funchal

Visit Farmer’s Market
Taste Madeira fortified wines
Try marinated pork with local bread
Sample local beer
Enjoy artesanal chocolates
Taste local baked sweets
Drink Barbusano white wine with crostinis
Try Poncha
Taste seasonal fruit
Sample tuna, fried cornmeal, Brisa Maracujá

The Experience

The first thing I noticed was the smell—ripe fruit and something sweet drifting out from Mercado dos Lavradores. Our guide, João, waved us over to a stall stacked with passionfruit and these odd spiky bananas (I still can’t remember the name). He handed me a slice of something orange and tart—said it only grows here. I took a bite before he finished explaining. The place buzzed with locals buying flowers or just chatting in bursts of Portuguese that sounded like laughter half the time.

We ducked into a tiny bar next for our first sip of Madeira wine. Sercial, João said, is the dry one—he raised his glass and grinned like he’d heard that joke before. It tasted sharp at first but mellowed out if you let it linger. There was this old couple at the next table dunking bread in marinated pork sauce—João ordered us some too. I’m not usually big on pork but that mix of spices and soft bread soaked in sauce… honestly, I kept reaching for more even though I told myself I wouldn’t.

Somewhere between the wine stops we tried poncha—a punchy drink made with honey and lemon that kind of hits your nose before your tongue. I coughed (quietly) but João just laughed and poured another round for anyone brave enough. We wandered through side streets after that, nibbling on chocolates from an artisan shop and then these little baked sweets dusted with sugar. By then my head was fuzzy in a good way, like after swimming in warm sun.

I didn’t expect to enjoy the seasonal fruit tasting as much as I did—there’s something about eating mango while watching people haggle over fish two stalls away. It felt less like a tour and more like tagging along with someone who knows every shortcut in Funchal. Even now, sometimes when I smell citrus or hear Portuguese on the radio back home, it takes me right back there.

What’s included

Your day includes all guided tastings: Madeira fortified wines (Sercial and Malmsey), marinated pork sandwiches with bread and beer, artisan chocolates, baked sweets, Barbusano white wine with crostinis, poncha drinks plus fresh fruit sampling—and everything is led by a friendly local guide so you won’t miss any flavor or story along the way.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Wine Tours Madeira