Untapped Gourmet Region

Alentejo is a region of desires. The landscape is shaped by endless horizons, softly rolling plains, and broad, blue heavens. Wine, olive oil, cork, and pork—those are the key products from Alentejo, and it's easy to see why: the landscape is dotted with olive trees, many hundreds of years old, and majestic cork trees, in whose shadows the famous procos pretos (Black Iberian pigs) idle happily. Rows of vines line the hillsides. The cuisine of Alentejo is vivid and powerful, mixing together mussels and pork, beans and cilantro, fish and onions. And it is not at all unusual for a mid-day meal among friends to stretch until shortly before midnight.