The Alentejo is the breadbasket of Portugal, makes half its wine and is the largest producer of cork in the world. We round up the region's best restaurants, vineyards and places to stay
'Food is important here in Alentejo," says Gertrudes Alfacinha. "But only good food!" My host is one of the city of Évora's official guides, a passionate diminutive historian who likes to take guests to lunch at one of the many small restaurants tucked down the travessas of this labyrinthine city. Our table is strewn with saucers of olives, cheese, tiny squid, black pork and garlic butter. This, a meal in itself, comes standard with the table.
"Anything you touch you pay for," Gertrudes warns, but we pretty much touch it all as we discuss the Alentejo's capital, a Unesco world heritage site. History and food are what Évora has in abundance. Plus wonderful wine – and shops selling cork products.
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