Our Origins

Our Origins

The Richness of a country…

At the table.

Portugal was blessed. The diversity of its territory, of its wines, of its cuisine, of its people and traditions, is an endless richness. In each of our projects we look for the roots of this territory. We work with local people. We protect an heritage that, otherwise, would be lost in a globalized world. We search for the authentic and genuine, in order to develop wine and food experiences with a true sense of place. Understanding our products demands the understanding of their origins. Beautiful in their diversity and particular characteristics.

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Alentejo

Gastronomy

Alentejo Gastronomy

Iberian Black Pig Ham

 The cuisine from Alentejo is rich. The difficulty is to determine where to start. However, there are ingredients that are a must in the Alentejo cuisine, like bread, the black iberian pig meat, asparagus, olive oil, wine, meat sausages, cheese… When picturing the Alentejo cuisine our imagery goes easily to the “açorda” (bread based dish), pork meat at Alentejo way, “carne de alguidar com migas” (marinated meat with bread mash on the side), dogfish soap, “plumas de porco preto com migas” (iberian black pig with bread and asparagus mash), and so many other dishes.

Wines

The amphora wine winemaking technic has more than 1000 years. It was brought to Portugal by the romans, developed and preserved by the people from Alentejo. It is an unique technic that creates highly distinctive wines. The world is currently (re)discovering these wines and looking to Alentejo wine region with greater interest.

Traditional Wines from Alentejo

“Talha” (amphora) Wines

Architectural Heritage

Church

Monsaraz

 It is unthinkable to talk about architectural heritage in Alentejo without mentioning the cities of Évora and Elvas, both Unesco World Heritage sites. But there are so much more to discover, like the many medieval castles and fortifications with their small towns and villages, where Monsaraz, Mourão, Estremoz or Évoramonte are some worth to mention.

Culture

The “Cante Alentejano” (Alentejo singing) is part of the artistic culture and traditions of Alentejo. It is a choral singing that blends solo performance with male choir voices. Despite being associated to a male choir, in the old days it was both performed by both genders while working in the fields. Since 2014, “Cante Alentejano” is recognized has Unesco Humanity Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The “Cante Alentejano”

“Cante Alentejano” Choir

Landscape

Alentejo Landscape

 

 Golden plains covered of cork oaks are the iconic images of Alentejo. This irrespective of the fact that Alentejo has many different landscapes, that vary deeply between the coast and inland, between north and south and between seasons

Dão

Landscape

Dão Landscape

Moutain Range Landscape

 A unique region, in the heart of Portugal. It is surrounded by the Caramulo, Buçaco, Nave and Estrela mountain ranges. These mountains protect the region from the cold winds, from the rainy clouds coming from the Atlantic ocean in the summer and even from the inland storms coming from Spain. It is surrounded by mountains, covered with waving hills, deep valleys and forests – a breathtaking scenery.

Wines

The vines are planted traditionally in the top of the mountains, in schist and granitic soils, at 400 to 500 meters high. Vines are carefully displayed to receive the best solar exposure. The Portuguese native grapes Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Rufete, Jaen and Aragonez, for the reds, and Encruzado, Bical, Cercial Branco and Malvasia Fina, for the whites, reign in the region. There are those that call the region the Portuguese Burgundy given the balanced and elegant fine wines of the region.

Dão Wines

Elegance and Charisma

Gastronomy

Dão Gastronomy

Viseu Style Stew

 GastronomiaMeat has a central place in the region cuisine. Here we may find “rojões” (fried pork belly), “rancho à moda de Viseu” (Viseu style stew), meat sausages like “morcela”, but also the famous “queijo da serra” (a DOP semi soft sheep cheese from milk of a special local breed of sheep from the mountain range Estrela).

Douro

Landscape

Douro Wine Landscape

Vinyard in terraces

 The vinyard landscape in Douro, a world heritage site by Unesco, is a unique wine scenery. River Douro, runs smoothly, waving thorough deep sloped valleys, full of vines in terraces, planted in schist soils, warmed by a bright sun, that burns during the day.

Wines

If Port wine brought the fame to the most renowned and internationally acclaimed Portuguese wine region, today still wines are the most dynamic, adding a new layer in the complex and refined offer of Douro. This has strengthened the position of Douro region in the international wine scene.

Douro

Port Wine

Gastronomy

Douro Cuisine

Bísaro Pork

 GastronomiaThe meat dishes are central in the gastronomy of the region -“Bisaro” pork (local breed), lamb, veal, ham and meat sausages are some examples. But there are seafood dishes as well, like the dry and salted codfish and the salted octopus. To complement, the fruits of the region, in its different formats: mountain olive oil, chestnuts, almonds and figs.

Lisboa

Landscape

Lisbon Wine Region Landscape

Atlantic Coast

 With a multitude of sceneries, microclimates and terroirs, the Lisbon wine region is the most diverse in the country. But there is a principal and structuring element in the region – the Atlantic Ocean influence.

Wines

With 9 DOPs, this is the most diverse wine region in the country. Here we may find the small scale famous wines of Colares and Carcavelos, the extraordinary brandy from Lourinhã, the fresh Bucelas wines based on the Arinto varietal, the “Vinho Leve” light in alcohol, amongst many others. This is an experimentalist wine region. Native grapes are planted along with foreign varietals in a carefully balanced game.

Lisbon Wines

Vinyard

Gastronomy

Lisbon Cuisine

Grilled Sardines

 The Atlantic ocean influence is present at the table as well. The fish and seafood dishes are a landmark in the Lisboa cuisine, where the sardine is queen…But if the sardine is queen, the custard tart is certainly king.

Tejo

Landscape

Tejo Landscape

Agricultural Plain

 Despite the sceneries diversity, the classic imagery of the region are the swamped plains along river Tejo covered with willow and the greeny plains of fertile agricultural lands. Further away from the river we find drier and higher lands, where the olive groves, orchards and vinyards rule.

Traditions

TradiçõesThe locally called “festa brava” (wild feast) is intimatelly linked to the traditions of the region. The bull, the horse and the “campino” (bull keeper boy) are emblematic images of the region.

Local Tradition

Horse Breed

Wines

Tejo Wine Region (Bairro)

Quinta Vale de Fornos

 VinhosThis is one of the oldest wine regions in the country. It is divided in 3 areas: “Campo” (fertile plains along the river Tejo), “Charneca” (hotter area bordering Alentejo) and Bairro (hilly area bordering the Lisbon wine region). The Charneca and Bairro, particularly the more mountain like areas, give wines with greater quality and complexity.

Gastronomy

GastronomiaThe products produced in the region end up to be the main ingredients in local dishes. Consequently, rice is widely present, as much as tomatoes, beef and baby goat meat. The melons from Almeirim are famous. But, from all the dishes, probably the “Sopa da Pedra” (Stone Soup) is the most famous. This is a simple and rustic soup, that most probably became famous because of its tale, that is as funny as reveling of the deep human nature. The tale tells a story of a monk that was starving and had no money and could find no help. So, he decided to knock at a door asking for a pan and some water, since he would like to do a stone soup. People were so surprised that they could not believe that someone would be eating a soup made of stone and were eager to watch it. They were so intrigued that they have supplied the pan and the water. But as the water was heating with a big stone in the middle, the monk started asking for ingredients to complement the dish. First, asked for salt and some olive oil, then asked for more ingredients to complement, like potatoes, sausage, cabbage, and many others. By the end, the monk made a soup full of ingredients and flavors. He eats up the soup with enormous pleasure, leaving the stone in the bottom of the pan, for the surprise of all those that were laughing during the process with the expectation of seeing the monk eating the stone.

Tejo Gastronomy

 

Vinhos Verdes

Landscape

Minho Landscape

Ponte da Barca

 A vast green region, whose colour gives the name to the wine region – Vinhos Verdes (green wines). The region suffers from a strong Atlantic influence, with plenty rain, in a diverse landscape with fertile soils.

Wines

From the greenest region of Portugal comes a white, light, fresh, young and aromatic wine that created (informally) a all new category of wines – the Vinho Verde. Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto and Trajadura are emblematic white varietals in the region, as the astonishing Vinhão is for the reds.

Vinhos Verdes

Alvarinho

Gastronomy

Minho Cuisine

Lampreia

 GastronomiaIn the crossover between the Atlantic ocean, the Douro and Galiza in Spain, the Vinhos Verdes wine region is rich in fish and meat dishes. The emblematic “sarrabulho” (meat stew with seasoned blood sauce), roasted kid in wood oven and “lampreia” (season river fish baked in a blood sauce).

Algarve

Landscape

Algarve Landscape
 Algarve is world famous and reputed as the best beach destination in Europe. Its golden beaches, full of rocky cliffs, crystal blue and fresh waters in the west, and endless golden plain beaches with warm waters in the East, make the day of local and foreign tourists in the summer months. The reputed golf courses, hotels and restaurants along with the mild weather in the winter contribute for a well-known winter sun holidays destination. Alongside with the outstanding beaches, almond trees in blossom are typical landscape images of Algarve.

Gastronomy

Fish and shellfish are kings in Algarve, as proved by the famous “cataplana” (a fish and clams stew, cooked in a tomato, onion and peppers sauce, in a special copper looking shell pan). If the sweet oranges from Algarve are consumed plain, almonds, figs and carob (“alfarroba”) are used to create multiple dessert dishes, as the almond and eggs pie, the carob pie, or the well known “dom rodrigo” (a dessert made based on eggs, sugar and almonds, rapped in colorful metal looking paper) and the “maçapão” cakes (almonds and sugar hard dough on the outside painted in colorful colors, with soft eggs and almonds dough inside).

Alfarroba

 

Wines

Lagoa Reserva

 

 The wines from Algarve are difficult to find outside the region, even in Portugal. The productions are typically small and the consumption most made within Algarve by the residents and tourists. The native Portuguese red grapes Castelão and Negra Mole and the white grapes Arinto and Siria are commonly used in the wines from Algarve.

Heritage

The houses painted in white with details in bright colours (blues and yellows), with terraces used to dry fruit and fish, topped with the traditional local chimneys are typical in Algarve. The old chimneys pictured the individuality of its owner, as much as their wealth, in a way that there were not two chimneys alike. Castles and fortresses are a landmark of the architectonic heritage of Algarve, as shown by the good examples of the Sagres Fortress, Silves Castle, Lagos Walls or the Old Castle of Castro Marim, among many others.

Chimmeys in Algarve

 

Culture

 

 The “corridinho”, is an ex-libris of the national folklore, by the energy put in the dance and the distinctive character of its execution.

Beira Interior

Landscape

Goat in a granite mountain

 

 Beira Interior is a harsh region, populated by mountains of high altitude, big temperature differences between seasons and during the day, in a climate with strong European continental influence. The summers are dry and hot while the winters are cold and long, often with snow. The soils are predominantly of granite, frequently covered with big stone blocs of this rock.

Gastronomy

Deeply rooted in the mountains, distant from the sea, the region brings to the table all the sensations of the mountain range. From the meat, heavily seasoned, cooked slowly in wood ovens, to the local smoked sausages, the artisanal bread, the goat and sheep cheeses, and, of course, the traditional eggs, flour, sugar and milk-based desserts, particularly the conventual sweets.

Codfish cake filled with the traditional “Queijo da Serra” (sheep cheese from Serra da Estrela mountain range)

Wines

Convento de Marialva Red Wine

 

 The wines from Beira Interior are known by its freshness and elegance, particularly those from high altitude. The red varietals Tinta Roriz, Bastardo, Marufo, Rufete and Touriga Nacional, and the White varietals Síria, Malvasia Fina, Arinto and Rabo de Ovelha are typical in the region. It is yet a region to be discovered, despite not having yet achieved the awareness and reputation of other regions, its wines may easily rival with most of the great wines in the country.

Açores

Landscape

Pico Island, one of the 9 Azores Islands
 Thousands of years ago, nature painted an abstract picture in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From the height of its wisdom dared to confront fire, air and water in apparent chaos that generated life. Where the incandescent lava danced with the sea, in an infinite white mist, was born the archipelago of Azores. Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, between the coasts of Europe and North America. Its geography provides a maritime climate that translates into mild temperatures, low thermal amplitude, hard rainfall and high relative humidity. The landscape is made in heaven; lush green, full of dramatic volcanic craters, mountains, lagoons, waterfalls and smoky lands… always overlooking the sea. The roads are painted with thousands of hydrangeas, sided with lush grasslands, where (plenty) of cows find themselves truly happy.

Gastronomy

Fish and shellfish are abundant in Azores. The “lapas”, “cracas” and “cavaco” (different kinds of shellfish) are famous, as it is the local tuna fish. The tuna is very appreciated abroad, being exported as far as Japan. But meat is also big in the islands, appreciate in the regional beef dish, but also in the “cozido das furnas” – a stew made buried in the ground and naturally cooked with the warmth of the volcanic lands. At the table we commonly find the “bolo lêvedo”, a kind of sweet bread, originated from the village of Furnas in the island of São Miguel, that may be consumed plain, with butter or jam. The pineapple of Azores is very sweet, being the primary ingredient of the traditional pineapple cake of São Miguel.

Cozido das Furnas

 

Wines

Eruptio Wines

 

 Pico is one of the nine islands of volcanic origin that make up the Azores Archipelago. It is from Pico that the most famous wines from Azores are made. Despite being millenary, Pico is considered a young island and its soils have not yet been eroded. The vine is planted directly in the crevices of the bedrock at the base of the volcano and next to the sea, receiving a fusion of rain and sea water. They are heroic vines, exposed to the moods of the climate and the tides. To protect them, man uses the island’s own basalt to build stone corrals, creating a labyrinthine landscape that stretches across an almost surreal landscape. This 500-year-old human craft was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004.

Despite the reputation of the traditional Azores fortified wines, the still volcanic wines are the ones that currently delight the most decerning wine lovers worldwide.

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