If there’s one thing I like doing in the Algarve, it’s watching the water flow to and fro with the tide.

One of my favourite places to do so is the Ilha da Armona, near Olhão, where I enjoy walking, watching the boats entering the Ria Formosa and leaving for the open sea, and catching cockles at low tide.

One of the great advantages of a more intense life on the beach is that it works up an appetite. And in the Algarve there’s plenty of seafood to satisfy it. Just think of the oysters from the Rias Formosa or Alvor opened au naturel, in the company of an Algarve white wine made from the Malvasia Fina or Síria grape varieties from closer to the sea, which also goes well with freshly cooked barnacles or the cataplana made, in Olhão, only with products “caught” in the market place and the clams brought, that day, from the Ria in front.

But there are many more dishes and wines to enjoy at the table in a region where you can always smell the aroma of grilled sardines or grilled chicken in the air. I can’t resist. What’s the point? Holidays are holidays! In the company of a good boiled potato and a mountain salad, sometimes a “xarém” (cornmeal dish) with or without shellfish, plus some roasted peppers on the side, the first one is a great company for a rosé wine with some personality, at least for me. For the second dish, I like a pink tomato salad with salt and olive oil together with a fine red wine, with body and freshness, like those produced in the Algarve, based on early harvested grapes of the Negra Mole variety. At the end, the queijinho de amêndoa (almond and egg yolk delicacy) is, for me, inevitable. If it’s good, of course. To accompany it, I suggest a white liqueur from the region, which characteristics go well with desserts that include nuts.

After a desert crossing, the Algarve wine sector is being reborn with the appearance of new producers and more appetising wines. So, when you go there, don’t forget to try some, preferably served at the right temperature and in the right glass.