Top 10 Traditional Portuguese Drinks

Portugal's most famous wine and a national icon. Made in the steep terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley and fortified with grape spirit, port comes in many styles — from young, fruity ruby to nutty, aged tawny and rare vintage bottlings. Traditionally a sweet after-dinner wine, it's also wonderful as an aperitif (try a chilled white port). Rich, warming and unmistakably Portuguese.

From the green, rainy Minho region in the north, vinho verde — "green wine" — is named for its youth, not its colour. Most often a crisp, light white with a slight natural fizz and low alcohol, it's bright, zesty and made for hot days and fresh seafood. The perfect easy-drinking Portuguese white.

One of the world's great fortified wines, from the Atlantic island of Madeira. It's made by a unique process of gentle heating and oxidation that gives it remarkable longevity and a distinctive tangy, caramelised character. Styles run from dry (Sercial) to lusciously sweet (Malmsey), and a good Madeira can last for decades. A connoisseur's wine with real history.

The Algarve has been making wine since Roman and Moorish times, and the region's wines are well worth seeking out. The warm climate produces generous reds and increasingly fresh, characterful whites, with Lagoa a historic centre of production. Many small adegas welcome visitors for tastings — a lovely way to drink the very region you're standing in.

The Algarve's own firewater, distilled in the hills around Monchique from the berries of the arbutus, or strawberry tree. Clear, potent and fiercely traditional, the best medronho is a small-batch labour of love, sipped slowly as a digestivo after a meal. Strong stuff — but a true taste of the Algarve mountains.

A sweet liqueur made from bitter almonds, Amarguinha is a distinctly Algarve drink, born of the region's almond groves. Smooth, nutty and not too strong, it's served chilled as a digestif — often over ice with a squeeze of lemon. A gentle, almondy sip that pairs perfectly with the region's famous almond sweets.

A beloved cherry liqueur made by steeping sour ginja cherries in spirit with sugar. Sweet, deep red and warming, it's a Lisbon and Óbidos institution, traditionally knocked back in a single shot — sometimes served in a little cup made of chocolate. Ask for it "com elas" to get a boozy cherry in the bottom of the glass.

Portugal's favourite homegrown liqueur, made to a secret recipe of aromatic plants and seeds. Sweet and herbal, with hints of citrus and spice, Licor Beirão is drunk neat over ice, in cocktails, or as the famous "caipirinha à portuguesa." Friendly, festive and found behind the bar of every Portuguese café.

A golden, fragrant fortified wine from the Setúbal peninsula south of Lisbon, made from Muscat grapes. Sweet and intensely aromatic, with notes of orange peel, honey and raisins, it's a classic dessert wine — lovely with cheese, almonds, or simply on its own. Portugal's answer to a fine sweet sipping wine.

A sweet, rustic country drink with deep roots: fresh grape must "stopped" with grape spirit before it fully ferments, leaving it sweet and only lightly alcoholic. Jeropiga is the taste of autumn in Portugal, traditionally drunk around São Martinho in November alongside roasted chestnuts. Homemade and heartfelt, it's a sip of rural tradition you won't find on supermarket shelves.