São Miguel island, Azores

Cooking lunch in the volcanic vapours

Gourmet Azores

Our fabulous new gourmet tour visits the spectacular archipelago of the Azores. The nine islands of the Azores have a mild climate, dramatic mountain ranges of volcanic origin and were uninhabited until 1427. Situated in the middle of the Atlantic, this outlying post of Portugal has superb scenery, friendly people, tropical fruit, tea and cheese production and wine. We are based on two of the islands - Faial and São Miguel. We also visit a third island, Pico.

On Faial, known as the Blue Island because of the many hydrangeas, we stay in the picturesque town of Horta with its lively marina. As this is one of the best places in the world to whale watch we spend the morning doing this - the species most spotted are pilot, sperm and beaked. We are also likely to see bottlenose and other dolphins.

Pico, the main wine island is a short ferry trip from Faial. We explore the island seeing the picturesque small villages, set in the terraced vineyards which are classified by UNESCO as a ‘World Heritage Site’. The vineyards date back to the 16th century and although a saying about Pico wine is that “it is so good it should be drunk in the middle of prayer”, it was until recently, frankly not up to much. The wines are increasingly attractive and are mostly made from Verdelho, Arinto and Terrantez. The main variety is Verdelho as found in Madeira, mainland Portugal and cool climate Australia. We have a tasting at a wine estate and visit the wine museum, a cheese producer and enjoy lunch.

Our next base São Miguel, known as the Ilha Verde (Green Island), is the largest Island in the Archipelago. On arrival we call in on the pineapple plantation, which are grown in glasshouses.

We spend a day in Furnas. Here by the lake in the steaming volcanic soil we see how a stew is cooked by underground vapours - this deliciously takes care of lunch! You’ll see the geysers, botanical gardens and mineral water springs. We also call in for a tasting at a tea plantation. Tea has been produced here since 1750.

We stay in a converted college in Ponta Delgada, the capital town of the Azores. Our hotel has a good wine list - not only from the Islands but also from mainland Portugal, we will enjoy a tasting dinner to discover the diversity of Portuguese wines.