“This is a Cork tree…. Any questions?” Two minutes into our tour with David of cork producer Cortiçarte, was all we needed to get a sense on how the rest is gonna go. One of the many personalities worth seeking out in the beautiful Alentejo countryside. The large city folk look at the people of Alentejo like mainland Italians look at Sicilians. It’s where time is time, and taking it slow and living in the moment is misinterpreted as backward and lazy. You see some evidence of that from former professional soccer players now driving Ubers to hospitality workers
David then proceeded to give us a fascinating and entertaining tour of the small family owned factory. The dude turns out is a natural. Portugal produces 60% of the worlds cork and much of it is done in this region. I mean how often do you think about where this stuff comes from. You usually begin by focusing entirely on the wine, and end with seeing unicorns. And like in a museum, at Cortiçarte you end up eventually in the gift shop. Except that its a good one this time. A shop selling all sorts of items made of, you guessed it, aluminum. J/k, its more cork.
Much of the cork doesnt have to travel far. While the Douro Valley got the pizzazz and fame, Alentejo is actually Portugal’s largest wine country. It’s wineries cover a third of the country in fact. Most of the reds are robust blends, while the whites are well balanced and quite aromatic. “Fruity or no fruity” became the question of the day by restaurant owners in the region. Even when we opted for “no fruity”, they were plenty fruity, and surprisingly delicious. I say surprisingly since living in the states you dont hear much about this region. It’s the Virginia of Europe wine regions, at least as far as my knowledge goes.
Herdade do Esperao is not quite as striking as some of the wineries we’ve visited in Europe, but it is one of the more important, and boasts one heck of a restaurant. You can book a tour and tasting as we did, followed by lunch. Its quite the production, and it was interesting to see the process, and cellars (not pictured). The tasting especially was a revelation as some of the reds in particular were quite potent.
I dont believe you can go wrong choosing between the Michelin or the Tapas Bar here. Since it was a Sunday, our only option was the Tapas Bar and that was a nice treat. I rarely say it but… vegetables! Yay! Normally veggies in Portugal are just boring sides, but here they shine. Asparagus, beet root (the star of show), and the cabbage salad that came with the pork were particularly noteworthy. A superb lamb came with scalloped potatoes with a surprise inside… more lamb. Perhaps even more memorable was the enthusiastic young waiter that talked about every ingredient like a couple talking about their first newborn.
Alentejo’s boasts some pretty impressive hilltop villages. Marvao, Castelo de Vide, Elvas and Monsaraz just to name a few, with Monsaraz perhaps the most dramatic of the bunch. I can see Marvao fans shaking their heads profusely. No argument there as they all offer something for everyone. Perhaps it was the little cemetery in Monsaraz that did it for me. Or the super friendly volunteer at the tourist office. Or the views of the lakes and Spain from its walls. With very few tourists going this far, not many residents have much reason to stay. Still, empty or not, Monsaraz might be Portugal’s best hidden secret
Eating With Ziggy 