Exploring Algarve Vineyards: Visit These Sun-Soaked Wineries in Southern Portugal
The Algarve isn't just about stunning beaches and historic towns; it's also home to some of Portugal’s amazing wineries. Gary Crallé is back to share incredible Algarve vineyards to visit under the Portuguese sun. From hidden gems to rising stars, wine lovers can find vineyards filled with passion and innovation on a trip to this burgeoning wine region.
Hikers walking past Falésia Wines Vineyard. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
Here at travelingmitch, we’ve covered several wine experiences around the world, from historic and emerging. Between the likes of the Finger Lakes in New York State, to winery chateaus in the South of France, or winery lunches in Mendoza, Argentina, wine travel is a very real way to embrace the grape on the road. Read on to learn more about the Algarve wine region:
The Algarve isn’t generally known for its wines, but that’s changing with the introduction of money, technology, new players, and big plans. Consider this an introduction, rather than a complete listing of wineries in Portugal's Algarve wine region. Details of each winery’s offerings are posted on their websites, including expert tasting notes, so I won’t repeat that here.
OK, let’s jump into the wines. Full disclosure: I’ve enjoyed wines since grapes were born, taken courses, joined wine tours, been a member of wine clubs and learned a great deal from absorption, but I don’t consider myself any sort of certified expert — just an enthusiast with a whiff and a sip of knowledge.
Please note that this article contains affiliate links. Simply put, this means we may receive a small commission for some of our recommendations at no additional cost to you.
A Little Bit About Wine in the Algarve, Where to Stay and Getting Around
We were forced to limit our daytime R&R at the luxurious PortoBay Falésia, one of the most beautiful hotels in the Algarve region. It was our HQ for a 3-night stay, because my partner, Lis, and I were on a mission to investigate the regional wine scene. The hotel is well known for its stunning beaches, but we were there for the wine tourism.
We opted to rent a car for our trip, which is a good way to get around. When you’re planning on visiting wineries in the algarve on a self-drive visit, don’t even think about trying to get to the wineries or anywhere else without a GPS or a SIM card for Portugal. Google Maps and WhatsApp alone are not enough.
The beach at PortoBay. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
You’ll see patches of vines sprouting from rocks, hills and yards everywhere in Portugal, mainly producing grapes for homemade wine — grandpa’s wine. But changes are happening in this country’s 2,000-year-old wine-making tradition, and Portugal is enhancing its already solid profile on the world stage.
As a broad generalization, traditional hearty red wines still prevail in Portugal. White wines expressively exhibit fruit and crisp minerality from the calcareous soil, while rosés are the newer experimental kids on the block...er, slopes…aimed at casually sophisticated lifestyles.
With that in mind, we set out to drop into 8 of the 50 wineries dotted around the Algarve. Aside from a shared passion for excellence, they are as different as the personalities of their owners. The Algarve Wine Commission has a list of its members, including those we managed to visit.
Wineries Worth Visiting in The Algarve
As I mentioned, there are at least 50 wineries you can visit around the Algarve, but Lis and I did our best to visit 8 of them during our visit, after some careful research. Without further ado, here are 8 wineries worth visiting on your next trip to this region.
Vinha da Falésia: Unveiling a Coastal Vineyard Treasure
Falésia Wines tasting area. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
Google Maps said we’d arrived at our destination. We were outside the decorative gates of Quinta dos Costanhos in an affluent residential subdivision. But where was Vinha da Falésia? All was revealed as we inquired through the intercom, and the gates swung open to reveal a lovely home and garden facing a vineyard.
From a vineyard in Australia, Viene and her husband, Iain Brown, chose Portugal as a place having all the attributes to begin another winery. They bought the land in 2012, and had it developed and planted by seasoned vintner Nuno Maghalaes. Their 4,500 vines are still young, having only produced the first vintage in 2019. They stretch to the Lagos walking trail along cliffs that kiss the Atlantic Ocean between Porta do Mos and Praia da Luz. “Vinha da Falésia” translates to “Vineyard of the Cliffs.”
Cyclists and hikers travel into and out of view behind low-lying bushes typical of the semi-desert geography. Sun and ocean breezes ripen and lightly salinate the grapes. Viene smiles while describing their boutique winery as “more of a hobby, because I feel we lose money every year.” But they are reaching high. Their target market is 5-star Michelin restaurants.
A modest, open-air tasting room surveys the property. “It helped us a lot to get the word out. Pedro Mendes is our winemaker.” Despite their youth, the vines are producing robust reds of good Portuguese character, contributed in large measure by the sturdy ever-popular Touriga Nacional grape. The premium 1st XV Tinto is boldly fermented in stainless steel tanks to arrive at a smooth finish, while both of Falésia’s white wine, Infante da Falesia Branco displays the fruit and mineral tones you’d expect from all the sand and limestone holding those cliffs together.
A Mosaic of Flavors: The Unique Wines of Villa Alvor
Villa Alvora Winery wine tasting. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
On the way to Villa Alvor Winery we had a short stork stop to watch a flock impossibly perched everywhere in a field. This reminded me of a question I‘ve long had: if storks deliver babies, who delivers storks? But I digress…just asking.
Alvor is 1 of 4 wineries under the Avaleda label. With its distinctive labels of attractive mosaic designs and colours, Villa Alvor acknowledges the cultural history of the region front and center. The colour symbolism nicely brings together the geophysical aspects of soil, sea and vines, including the relationship between wine and food. All told, it is an homage to the terroir. And finally, the mosaic motif also blends the history of Arab and Roman influence. The small arches are Roman, larger ones Arabic. Both the concept and design pay tribute to the winery’s origins.
We sat outside on a terrace overlooking the vineyard, and a small tray of cheeses, meats, olive oil, and cinnamon pumpkin jam was provided to accompany the 7 wines we were to sample. A detailed tasting conducted by Bruno Oliveira confirmed the subtle but myriad changes as we progressed from lighter, younger whites through rosés and into reds.
Stork Stop. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
We began with a New Zealand-style sauvignon blanc, passing through complex orange-scented rosés to reds made with Algarve-specific Negra Mole grapes. A surprise to us was Bruno’s recommendation to pair this wine—which is similar to pinot noir—with sardines. This grape variety fell out of favour due to its association with sardines as food for the poor (the same way lobster was originally perceived in North America) but it’s come back. The rest, as they say, is marketing.
While Bruno was taking care to describe the characteristics of each bottle, the winery’s canine mascot, Pippa (Portuguese for “Barrel”), joined us underfoot at the table. Villa Alvor is still under expansion and construction. The winery is a work in progress, but the wines are already a class act.
Cabrita Vineyard: Where Tradition Meets Innovation in Winemaking
Carbrita Vineyard. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
I’d like a return trip to Cabrita at the end of the harvest, when everyone who participated in the vendange, including stomping the grapes, attends a celebratory dinner in the vineyards. Last year, a flash mob of singers emerged from the crowd to great applause.
Cabrita is a rapidly expanding, family-owned winery. In the Portuguese-Christian tradition of family names derived from animals or plants, ‘Cabrita’ references the goats raised on the fledgling farm winery named Quinta da Vinha.
Founder José André Cabrita grew fruit trees and produced home-grown wines for friends and family. His son, José Manuel, inherited a passion for wine and went commercial, first in the local cooperative, then proudly on his own to display the quality of his grapes. He was busy directing a semi-trailer unloading bottles when we arrived.
Duarte Rito was our affable guide who quit a job in banking and accidentally became immersed in the world of wine. How does that happen?
To kick off Cabrita’s wine club, Duarte had a chef with a 3-table / 6-person restaurant (and a 3-month waiting list!), give a demonstration of his zero-waste philosophy. It was a hit, and more events are being planned throughout the year, with food and music as integral partners. Fermentation tanks range from 10,000 litres to 100 litres, which are used for experiments. As part of the sustainable philosophy, everything in the field is done by hand. Recycling is standard practice. For example, skins and seeds are dried in the fields to be used as fertilizer.
Cabrita wines doesn’t label themselves as organic, but tries to minimize adverse techniques like adding sulphur as a preservative. As Duarte said, “We sleep well with our good work as a pillow.” From humble beginnings, Cabrita embellishes a traditional community spirit of sharing “with the door always open and a place at the kitchen table for everyone.” It’s nice to see this philosophy continue even in the midst of our frenetic multi-tasking drink-and-go society.
If you’re planning a visit, wine tastings are scheduled at 11:30 and 4:00, no reservations required.
From Vacant Land to Vineyard: Quinta dos Sentidos
Quinta dos Sentidos Winery in the town of Silvas. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
In 2008 Beat Buchman and Charlotte Toubro decided to build a small estate winery that was different. At Quinta dos Sentidos, they’ve succeeded in a tradition of excellence to make “a small, beautiful niche.” It’s all about balancing the senses and the environment in the best possible ways.
“After corporate careers which were fine in themselves, we had a real need for seeing something growing; something physical you could touch. We probably went a bit overboard as well, I think. We said from the start, we want to play in the top league with all of our produce”. Or, as Sentidos’ winemaker André Palma said, “They came for the sun and found work.”
“We are focussed on small batch quality, with an annual production of no more than 12-14,000 bottles.” A Sentidos red was one of the wines served at the February 2024 Michelin event, announcing its first Portuguese restaurant guide.
The property had been vacant for at least 70 years prior to their acquisition of it. It has undergone a remarkable transformation to bring out hidden potential while retaining a natural beauty. Just about every subtropical fruit tree species and 650 olive trees have been planted. There’s also a patch of land reserved for nature’s little creatures.
It’s a source of pride that Sentidos’ exotic fruit is sought after by Michelin-star restaurants. There will also likely be demand for future white wine from some 400 Swiss Petite Arvine vines when they mature. As Beat told us, “It's very poor soil, perfect for wine. Perfect once the vines are grown, sheer hell to plant them. As long as you've got water in this climate, almost anything grows.”
A white wine at Quinta dos Sentidos. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
To minimize oxidation, André adds dry ice to the grapes during the maceration process. This extends to rosé production in curiously egg-shaped barrels that maintain a micro-movement synchronous with the moon and earth during and after fermentation. It’s almost sci-fi!
To finesse the property, Charlotte created a botanical garden around their house with over 200 different species of bushes and flowers — “a lot of stuff,” joked Beat.
Not surprisingly, Sentido olive oils are top quality, too — extra virgin as measured by acidity and certification. We learned the proper way to taste olive oil with bread by dipping the bread in the oil, then sucking it out, filling your mouth and throat to absorb the nuanced flavours. Added to the list of estate attributes are honey from a half million bees and verjus, a condiment from unriped grapes.
André studied food engineering before gaining experience with wine throughout Portugal, parts of Europe and California. Fate and good fortune brought him back to his roots in the Algarve at Sentido.
From Holiday Home to Winery: The Transformation of Quinta Vales
Erhard Braun gave us a walking tour and backgrounder on the winery. Originally from the Moselle Valley in Germany, Erhard might legitimately claim he was born into wine. He knows his stuff. The winery’s founder, a Mr. Branco, was merely looking for a holiday home in the Algarve, but ended up buying an agricultural business that morphed into Quinta Vales.
The current owner, Karl Heinz Stock, is an avid sculptor who loves art and wine, so it’s no surprise the entire property is now a sculpture garden. Individual pieces are for decoration and for sale. There’s an unmistakable visual hint that the work of Colombian-born artist Botero provided inspiration for populating the grounds and indoor facilities with such delightfully oversized figures. International artists were commissioned to paint 20 large globes covering the theme of humans and animals on 5 continents. You can catch a grouping of these arranged like the Atomium (in Brussels) decorating a roundabout on the road to Albufeira where the N125 meets M1154.
A real estate development named The Vines provides 32 holiday homes for rent or purchase. Occupants wake up to art each day and go to sleep with music from weddings and special events booked for the terrace. For owners, it’s a lifestyle that fits both everyday and vacation activities. For enthusiast oenophiles (wine lovers) living at Quinta Vales or nearby, there’s an opportunity to prune the vines and attend the harvest. Among the more serious private clients are 31, who produce from 300 to 1,200 bottles per year.
Globes at Quinta Vales. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
Quinta Vales offers wine enthusiasts the opportunity to grow grapes plus produce and store their own wines. They can choose from 7 white and 8 red grape varieties. It’s popular with retirees, including foreigners. We began our tasting with a rosé instead of white, simply due to its easygoing character. Interestingly, Quinta Vales is the only winery in Portugal using touriga franca, a lush and fruity grape for its rosés.
In the last 14 years or so, rosés have become a fashionable summer drink. But as Erhard pointed out, everything depends on the mood, the food, and the weather. We continued with a more complex viognier, aged for 3 months in French oak, and went on from there. New to us was Antão Vaz, a staple white wine grape variety from Alentejo that self-balances alcohol and sugars, making it a continued sustainable choice as the climate warms.
Top quality is the goal at Quinta Vales. To underscore this, their Dialog Red 2018 earned the CVA title of Algarve's Best Wine of 2024.
Arvad's Journey: From Hand-ColoUred Labels to Award-Winning Wines
Arvad Winery table set for a wine tasting. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
The Arabs called the Algarve “Gharb Al-Andalus”: Gharb means "the west", while al-Andalus is the Arabic name for the Iberian Peninsula. Arvad takes its name from the Arabic word meaning “a place of refuge,” with the vineyard facing and being warmed by the Arad River.
The earth-coloured buildings and large Phoenician-style amphora at the entrance are a testament to the winery’s heritage. We joined a group of women from Colorado for a tour. French oak barrels come from a chateau in Bordeaux. These are second-use to impart a lighter oakiness. Our guide and Arvad sommelier, Ricardo dos Santos, pointed out the inevitable loss of liquid in the barrels due to absorption and evaporation. This accepted contribution by every spirits and winemaker is amiably referred to as “the angel’s share.”
Ricardo dos Santos among Arvad’s Barrels. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
When 2,000 bottles were the annual production run, Ricardo and fellow staffers thought it would be nice to hand colour the labels with a mixture of ground roof tiles and glue. A nice touch. At the recent production of 17,000 bottles this wasn’t fun anymore. Arvad is a slumbering giant with expansive plans. The winery is young but is conducting several experiments to help propel its growth. A hotel and spa are also in the works.
Things are paying off. Winemaker Bernardo Cabral has brought home a number of awards, including 2016 Winemaker of the Year by Revista de Vinhos. The winery is fast becoming one of the biggest producers in the region. The latest vineyard purchase of 25,000 barrels per annum puts total production between 80 to 90 000 barrels. By 2026 the goal is 405,000 barrels. Portugal is the current market, with the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in view. Looking even further ahead, the Americas are on the horizon with plans to tap the former colonial connection of Brazil.
Vinhas de Nexe: A New Winery Rooted in Family History
Vinhas Nexe Winery, red and white wine bottles. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
Nexe was the smallest and youngest property we visited. Vinhas de Nexe co-owner Mónica Pires led us into the fields where grape vines recently replaced boulders. It’s arduous work, but it shows the pluck she and her husband, Norberto Herdeiro, have to transform uncultivated farmland into a winery. The Santa Bárbara de Nexe area 9 km north of Faro displays the typical sand and limestone characteristics of the region that translate into dark jammy reds and for this winery a special white.
Dedicated to D. Bárbara Lavadeira, Norberto’s great-great-grandmother, a reserve white wine recalls how this simple washerwoman received a loan from a wealthy client in Faro to purchase the land that’s now the winery. Vinhas de Nexe began simply enough with a personal challenge. inspired by the beauty of the internationally renowned Douro Valley. The initial purpose was to sell grapes to other vintners, but the couple was encouraged to produce their own wine instead. They opened in 2022 with tastings and vineyard visits. Mónica and Norbert also offer holiday homes for rent near the vineyards.
Until the winery reaches a sustainable size, its wines will be made by AAC (Alcantarilha Agrícola e Comercial, Lda), a company based in Portimão in the Algarve. Mónica and Norbert have decided to use only their own grapes—an audacious choice to build their brand.
They currently have 3 hectares under cultivation and expect to add one more by 2025. The red and whites from the first vintage in 2022 are already showing sturdy regional character. Mónica and Norbert’s vision should carry them far.
Reflections on Sipping Our Way Through the Algarve
An Algarve Wine Flight. Photo Credit: Gary Crallé
The final winery we’d planned to visit on our tour of Algarve vineyards was Herdad Barranco do Vale. Unfortunately, they had to cancel our tour at the last minute, but do check it out when you’re in the neighbourhood.
My premiere lesson from each of these wineries? Make excellence your goal; it’s more satisfying.
To all the Algarve wineries we visited, Tudo de bom! (All the best!)