Quinta dos Remoinhos

Quinta dos Remoinhos is an olive farm in Sume, a hamlet in the parish of Monte da Pedra, municipality of Crato, in the Portalegre district. Its 20 hectares of olive trees are farmed organically and the first oil was produced at the end of 2017. The owners chose three varieties from Trás-os-Montes, Cobrançosa, Madural and Verdeal, bought from a nursery in Mirandela, to recover the flavours of the oil that one branch of the family made for generations in Vila Flor.

The olives and the oil are inspected and certified organic by Kiwa Sativa, and the farm has technical support from Agrobio, the Portuguese organic farming association. No synthetic pesticides or fertilisers are used. The soil is not tilled; it stays covered with grasses, clovers and wild plants. The grove is surrounded mostly by montado oak woodland and forest, which the owners say keeps contamination from pollutants and plant protection products low.

The extra virgin oil is made only from the farm's own olives, by mechanical means and cold extraction at under 27 degrees. The producers describe it as fruity and peppery yet smooth. Before it is sold, the oil goes through chemical analysis and an accredited tasting panel.

Monte da Pedra is in the northern Alentejo, west of the town of Crato. This is a working farm with no published opening hours, so write or phone ahead if you would like to buy oil or see the grove.