Morgado do Quintao - Historic Algarve Estate

A historic family estate founded in 1810 by the Count of Silves, featuring some of the Algarve's oldest vineyards. The property champions organic, low-intervention winemaking on terroir that may have supported viticulture since antiquity. Premium tours include wine paired with local artisan cheese and charcuterie.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Taste the Grape That Grows Nowhere Else on Earth Wine · Price: moderate

   Negra Mole is the ONLY grape 100 percent indigenous to the Algarve. A single cluster shows berries of every colour simultaneously - dark blue, red, pink, near-white. It makes red, rose, AND white wine from the same vine. Nobody else on the planet can replicate this.

   Book the 90-minute guided tour and tasting at Morgado do Quintao (42.50 euros per person, Mon-Sat at 4pm). Taste the Negra Mole single-varietal wines. Ask specifically for the White Negra Mole - a blanc de noirs that should not exist: a white wine from a red grape with such pale pigment it produces a saline mineral white.

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2. 2 Drink a Family Secret Under a 2,000-Year-Old Olive Tree History · Price: high

   The estate has an olive tree planted around the same era Phoenicians were trading in the Algarve. The farmers' table is set under this tree. The wine is a Palhete - co-fermented from the TWO OLDEST native grape varieties in Portugal - that was originally reserved only for family and close friends.

   Book the Farmers' Table experience (approximately 65 euros per person, Mon-Sat at 4pm). You eat a 3-course seasonal Alentejo meal under the 2,000-year-old olive tree while drinking the Palhete - a co-ferment of Negra Mole and Crato Branco that was never sold to the public until recently. This is 4th-generation family wine paired with Monchique pork.

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3. 3 Walk the Vines the Count of Silves Planted in 1810 History · Free

   Founded by the 1st Count of Silves in 1810, still in the same family four generations later. The estate name Morgado means entailed estate passed to the eldest son - a status symbol of Algarve nobility.

   After the tasting, take the vineyard walk included in most experiences. Walk past the 2,000-year-old olive tree toward the old Negra Mole vines. The estate is 60 hectares of ancient olive groves, fruit trees, and vineyards. All of this is 15 minutes from the beach resorts of Lagoa and Portimao.

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4. 4 Visit the Best-Preserved Moorish Fortress in Portugal History · Price: low

   Silves Castle is a 5-minute drive from the estate. The Count of Silves who founded Morgado do Quintao was named after this ancient city that once held 30,000 inhabitants and rivalled Granada in splendour.

   Drive 5 minutes to Silves Castle (3.50 euros entrance). Walk the red sandstone ramparts of the best-preserved Moorish fortification in Portugal. Under Moorish rule this was the capital of the Algarve with 30,000 inhabitants from across North Africa. At sunset the sandstone turns deep amber.

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5. 5 Sleep in a Cottage on the Estate With Your Own Pool Adventure · Price: very high · Optional

   The estate has 4 independent holiday homes, each with a private pool, surrounded by 60 hectares of vineyards and olive groves. The sunset over the Monchique mountains from the terrace is a genuine reveal moment.

   Book a cottage on morgadodoquintao.pt/en/stay or Booking.com. The Bougainvillea cottage has a private terrace for sunset watching with wine. The Amendoa cottage has wildflowers at the edge of the pool with orange sunsets over the Monchique mountains. Wake up and walk to breakfast through the vineyard.

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Insider tips

• Premium Vineyards Tour: 90 min with tasting, 35-42.50 EUR

• Farmstay accommodation available for immersive experience

• Between Silves (ancient Phoenician contact zone) and Lagoa