Dream of an Island

With the island of Madeira recently chosen as the World’s Leading Island Destination, Portugal can be proud of this spectacular insular beauty.

Portuguese Grape Pedigree: Did you know that Touriga Nacional, Portugal’s iconic grape variety, was chosen by the renowned publication Wine Enthusiast as the country’s “Pedigreed Grape”?
In a four-page article, editor Roger Voss praises this aromatic variety, known for its structure, fruitiness and floral character and increasingly famous worldwide, from the United States to New Zealand and even France.
Best in a blend, Touriga Nacional, a variety that lends an aristocratic character to wines, almost disappeared in the 1970’s but is back in full-force, throughout the country and especially in the Douro and Dão regions.

Casa do Rio, Where Architecture Meets Wine:Great architecture and excellent wines are two very good reasons to visit Portugal, and at Casa do Rio, a new six-room hotel located in the heart of Douro, in the wine estate of Quinta do Vallado, you can literally have the best of both worlds. Designed by architect Francisco Ferreira de Campos of Porto’s studio Menos é Mais, the Casa do Rio is a wooden building suspended between two supporting pillars on the hillside. Whether you choose to relax in the infinity pool overlooking the river or indulge in a superb wine tasting moment, this is as close to heaven as you can get. Find out more here.

Parques de Sintra Top Conservation:
For the third consecutive year Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua won the World Travel Award for “Best Conservation Company in the World” in 2015. Known as the “Oscars of tourism”, these awards are a huge recognition for the quality of the work carried out by Parques de Sintra in recovering and restoring the parks and monuments under its management, all set in the beautiful region of Sintra, and which include the National Palace of Sintra, the Palace of Pena and its Park and the Park and Palace of Monserrate, among other landscape and architecture treasures.