Wine tastings take place under a 2,000-year-old olive tree, when the weather is good – which is almost always, or we weren’t in the Algarve. If the three thousand hours of sunshine a year are famous, the same cannot be said of the wines of the region, a reality that Morgado do Quintão has been trying to modify since 2017. From the 13 hectares of vineyards, the production of the farm, which was founded by the Count of Silves and was once the largest in the Algarve, already has several references of different wines, all made with local varieties, in partnership with the winemaker Joana Maçanita.
The labels are graphic and modern – some designed by artists, after a residency – but everything else is old in a good way. Recovered with local materials, there are four cottages on the 60-hectare farm and all can be booked exclusively and feature a tank or swimming pool. Three of them accomodate up to eight people – including the old house of the home-keepers, named “buganvilla” because of the tree and ivys that took over the façade – and the largest can accommodate 12.
With the right to a guided tour of the vineyards, wine tastings can also include a lunch with Algarvian dishes and snacks. In the rare event – very rare – of bad weather, they happen in another setting worth visiting: the old olive oil mill, with centuries-old presses untouched.