White verdelho grapes thrive in the rich soil and hot, dry microclimate beneath Mount Pico, Portugal’s highest peak. Until the mid-19th century, Pico wine was beloved by the English royal family and Russian czars, but today you’ll rarely find it outside the Azores. Pick up a bottle of Lajido, a fortified verdelho wine, often compared to white port, at Adega “A Buraca” near the town of Madalena.

Estrada Regional 35, 9940-232 Santo António, São Roque do Pico, 351/292-642-119, adegaaburaca.com. Photo by Artur Wojteczek/Veer. This appeared in the March/April 2011 issue.