Cork, Wine and Olive Oil
Inside a Cork Oak Forest
Évora countryside
Walk through the montado, the cork oak landscape that defines the Alentejo.
Half day
Cork, Wine and Olive Oil
The Free-Range Herds of the Montado
Walk the open oak plains with a farming family, among sheep, cattle and black pigs that roam free between the trees.
- Location
- Montado estates of the interior, near the great lake
- Duration
- Half a day
- Best seasons
- Spring, autumn and winter
- Pace
- Gentle
- Regions
- Alentejo Central, Baixo Alentejo
The story
The montado is a working landscape, and its animals are part of why. Flocks of sheep graze beneath the oaks and give the milk for the region's cheeses; herds of cattle wander the golden grass from morning to dusk; and the famous black pigs spend the autumn and winter in the fields, fattening on acorns that give their ham its depth of flavour. Guests join a farmer on his rounds: opening gates, moving the flock, checking the pigs under the trees, and stopping for breakfast of bread, cheese and olive oil in the shade. Nothing here is farmed intensively, and the animals have roamed this way for generations.
The day
What you do
- 1Walk the plains with a farming family as they check on sheep, cattle and black pigs
- 2Learn how acorns, grass and cork oaks feed one another, and why the pigs roam free
- 3Taste the results at a simple country breakfast: cheese from the flock, ham from the acorn-fed pigs, oil and wine from the estate
Gentle on the land
The montado survives because of this low-density, free-range husbandry; visits support families who keep it alive.
Where this is
Montado estates of the interior, near the great lake
Alentejo Central · Baixo Alentejo
Approximately 38.35° N, 7.55° W
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Good companions
Cork, Wine and Olive Oil
From Bark to Craft: A Cork Workshop
Alentejo cork country
See how raw cork becomes something beautiful, in a family-run workshop.
1.5 to 2 hours
Cork, Wine and Olive Oil
A Private Tasting in a Family Cellar
Borba, Reguengos and Évora
Taste wines from the estate with the family who makes them.
2 to 3 hours
Portugal Magik · Private journeys
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Curated by Portugal Magik