Hikes and downtime in the heart of the Algarve

Vast tracts of land adjacent to Portugal’s most popular tourist destination are given over to an industry that sees Portugal responsible for 50% of the world’s supply. Isabel Conway hikes through its landscape and pops a cork or two on the way

A clifftop beach view on the Rota Vincentina.

Joao may not yet know he is preaching to the converted. “Please drink lots of wine, he urges, “do it for our cork industry in Portugal; the more wine you’ll drink over the coming days the better it is for our economy.”

Rising to the challenge, we go on to enjoy a procession of Algarve wines, alone or with delicious regional dishes, like wild boar with beans and root vegetables, and other specialities at Luar da Foia restaurant near the hillside ancient town of Monchique, and Cataplana, the signature seafood stew at Restaurant Tertulia, dining under the stars in Faro’s historic centre.