An indispensable Companion

As a designated winegrowing region, Algarve’s wines and liqueurs lend themselves well to its traditional gastronomy. Its traditional grape varieties and the warm sun of a typically Mediterranean climate produce fruity wines of low acidity and high quality.

The importance of wine to the region goes back to the time of the Moors, an era when this ‘fruit of the vine’ was exported widely. Today, wines of great quality continue to be produced, benefiting from a location sheltered from the cold winds of the north by the mountains of Monchique and open to the full and uninterrupted gaze of the sun.

The winegrowing region of the Algarve is now divided into the sub-regions of Lagos, Portimão, Lagoa, Albufeira and Tavira. There are a great variety of wines, but as a companion to delicious Algarvian meals, the Vida Nova of Albufeira, the  Balsa from Tavira, the Alvor Vinho Regional Algarve or the Tapada da Torre of Portimão are recommended.

Monchique is the land of aguardente de medronho (arbutus berry brandy), distilled in copper stills using traditional methods. The liqueurs are a result of old recipes, in which there is plenty of the famous arbutus berry as well as aromatic herbs, such as mint, fennel or star-anise, or fruit such as oranges, strawberries or almonds.