Lagos & Silves: Algarve Wine Tasting Tour with Tapas & Pickup

4.88

(146 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d barely left Lagos before the landscape started changing — orange groves everywhere, and these ancient cork trees that our guide Rui pointed out. He said some of them were older than the castle in Silves, which I thought was just one of those things guides say, but looking at the thick bark I kind of believed him. The van was quiet except for Rui’s stories and the soft clinking of glass bottles in the back. I kept catching this faint citrus smell through the open window. Maybe it was just my imagination or maybe those oranges are really that strong.

The winery itself felt more like someone’s home than a business. We wandered through a cool production room where everything echoed — footsteps, Rui’s voice explaining how they press the grapes, even my friend’s laugh when she tried to pronounce “Arinto” (she did not nail it). The best part for me was sitting outside with the wine tasting: three local wines, each poured with this little flourish, and a plate of cheese and sausage that tasted so much better than what I’d expected from a “tapas” plate. I’m still thinking about that white wine — crisp but not sharp, if that makes sense.

Afterwards we had time to explore Silves on our own. The castle loomed over everything; you could hear kids playing soccer somewhere behind its walls. I wandered up cobbled streets past old men playing cards under an awning and ducked into a tiny bakery for something sweet (can’t remember what it was called — Rui would know). The sun was starting to dip by then, making the red stone glow weirdly warm. Didn’t expect to feel so attached to such a small place after just an afternoon.