Although the Azores do produce their own wine, it’s only in relatively small quantities, and familiar Portuguese wines make up most of the wine list. Of all the local wines, the most famous ‘are Vinho Verdelho do Pico, from Pico island’s black soil and wines from the districts of Biscoitos and Porto Martins in Terceira.
The Azores have a variety of fruit liqueurs including licor de maracuja (passionfruit) and lico de ananaz (pineapple), and fiery white rum (aguardente branca) best drunk at a gulp like medicine. In fact, the locals maintain that ‘it’s good for the digestion, on the kill-or-cure principle perhaps. Aguardente da Graciosa (from the island of Graciosa) is reputedly the top quality.
Spirits are available in most hotels, including familiar brands of gin, vodka and whisky. Beer made locally (cerveja) is like lager, light and refreshing and relatively cheap. In the soft drinks range, there is the ubiquitous Coca-Cola and Pepsi, of course, plus a variety of fizzy sumos made from the juices of pineapple, passion fruit, oranges and freshly squeezed fruit juices too. Once you’ve tasted the real thing, you’ll never want to go back to canned pineapple juice.
