メドローニョ体験！

A real culture tour, we visited a working distillery in an old farm in the heart of the mountain, got to taste this local fire water , and some honey one too! Great winter fun!

Three generations of our family recently enjoyed the Medronho experience in Monchique. The two hour trip provided us with some spectacular views of the Algarve from the Picota range and a facinating insight into the Medronho cottage industry. The demonstration of how the local firewater is distilled was given by a lovely local couple and in English. Although no liquid was currently in production, as many of the Strawberry trees were lost in the big fire in 2018, we still spent a good hour in a building over 100 years old where we saw all the equipment used and heard how the spirit is produced. We were able to sample a few delicious glasses from two different vintages of Medronho, as well as local food specialities. The tasting was generous and so it was a good job that we had a driver to take us back home. Great experience of rural life in the Algarve.

We were taken to the back of Monchique in a remote valley where the producer welcome us and explained what the process of making the medronho involved, from the picking of the berries to the fermentation of the fruit and then the distillation in the old copper still. Then of course we sampled the final product! The end of the tour was the visit of a specialised shop in Monchique from the association of producers which offers a large variety of firewater and associated produced (like the "melosa", a mixture of honey, herbs and medronho!). A fantastic day and a very instructive and fun tour. Highly recommanded on a winter's day!