Azeitao: Cheese and Wine Day Trip from Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal is already world famous for its port and madeira, but when it comes to good old regular wine, it seems to often be overshadowed in the American imagination by France, Italy, or even neighboring Spain. That goes doubly for cheese. Most of the grape varietals used in making wine in Portugal are unknown to the typical American oenophile, which is a tragedy given how much excellent wine is made in the country. An opportunity to make up for that with a little gastronomic tourism lay just south of Lisbon, and and around a little village called Nogueira de Azeitao.

Azeitao has given its name to a kind of cheese, Queijo de Azeitao. This is a ewe's milk cheese that is left to curdle by an open fire, then scooped up into cylindrical molds. The end product is a sharp, pungent cheese that is so creamy on the inside that it is eaten by using a spoon to take it out and spread it on bread or crackers. Just outside the village, on the road to the neighboring fortress town of Palmela (where an excellent medieval castle is to be found), is a family owned and operated farm and artisanal cheese makers, and it includes a small museum devoted to the Azeitao cheese. They even offer the opportunity to get in and make your own cheese!

Driving from the cheese museum to town, one will pass the industrial winery of Jose Maria de Fonseca, one of Portugal's major wine producers. During the drive into the area, one should have already passed countless vine rows, and these service a handful of local wineries, including Fonseca. However, in the village is a visitor's center, shop, and cellar that comes complete with tours for a proper wine tourism experience.

It is possible to combine a day spent exploring the tasty delights of Nogueira de Azeitao with a beach stop. On the other side of Mount Arrabia, which looms over the Azeitao countryside, is Portinho da Arrabia. This town has a nice beach and clear (but cold) waters, making a great place to spend the late afternoon. However, arguably the best thing to do after spending a good chunk of the day making and nibbling on rich, creamy cheese, exploring vine rows in the sun, and sampling wine would be to hop in the car and return to Lisbon for a nap. Just be sure to bring back a nice bottle of wine or two, and a big cheese for later that night.

Sources: Personal Experience