Medronho – From Fruit to Bottle

The Algarve is famous for its coastline of beaches, tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants, but few people know that Portugal’s celebrated medronho brandy is largely distilled in the region of the Serra de Monchique. 

Marmelete is central to this industry, where a recreation of a distillery and a detailed explanation of the process can be seen. Not only that, but it also offers a glimpse into Portugal’s village life. Here the beautiful and fertile landscape, sustained over centuries, can be experienced.

Medronho production is a cottage industry with many distilleries (perhaps ten or more) operating in the region. An association of distillers makes sure that standards are kept to a high level, with attention to cleanliness and alcoholic content within specified guidelines.

The picking of the fruit, the medronho berry, begins in October. Each distiller’s smallholding/quinta has its own land (or sometimes leases land) where the medronho trees grow. In a good season, the branches of the trees are loaded with red/orange bunches of fruit. Several pickers from the village take part and care must be taken to pick only the ripe fruit with no twigs, leaves or green berries. This ensures a good fermentation. Three or four weeks later, the remaining green berries will turn into acceptable fiery orange/red and will be picked for the next fermentation. When the large sacks or buckets of berries are full, they are taken to the distillery room.

Eleutério Torrado, the president of the freguesia, and Clara Estevão were most helpful in showing us the mini-museum and the distillery, and willingly explained the pertinent details. “The medronho berries are transferred from the pickers’ containers to the fermentation tanks,” explained Sra Estevão. “This part of the process is critical, with berries added at various stages as the fermentation continues. The natural sugars in the fruit cause the fermenting mush to boil or bubble. The process takes from 45 to 60 days.” 

President Eleutério Torrado

When the fermentation is completed, the distillation begins. But a ceremonial act takes place first. The boiler has been sealed since the previous year, and an inspector must remove the seal for this year’s distillation, which is a moment of celebration. Once the seal has been removed from the boiler, it must be thoroughly cleaned. The head (the apparatus with the crooked neck), which is made of copper, goes through the same cleaning ritual. 

Now that everything is ready, the distiller can fill the boiler with the mash of fermented medronho. The fire is lit, the head is placed on the still and the resulting vapours are led into a tube that runs through a tank of cold water. The resulting condensed liquid becomes the famous medronho brandy. 

Finally, the medronho must be sent to the University of the Algarve for analysis. Once it is certified, the brandy or aguardente can be bottled, labelled and marketed.

The production of medronho is a part of Portugal’s cultural heritage; it goes back generations. As a cottage industry, it brings villagers together through cooperation and celebration. Tastings and discussions are part of the process, and the resulting camaraderie and fellowship are an important part of village life.

Throughout Portugal, a common custom in the morning is to have a shot of medronho with a cup of coffee, either added to the cup or on the side. Many bars and cafes offer medronho cocktails, and a popular medronho offshoot is the medronho melosa, which is a sweet medronho with the addition of honey and flavourings. It is often served as a digestif or liqueur after dinner.

A visit to the Serra de Monchique is highly recommended if you’re in the Algarve. Marmelete, in the Monchique district, is a village in the heart of the medronho region and embodies the atmosphere of Portuguese village life. 

Mood Drinks

Recently (2014), two ‘rural entrepreneurs’, Ludovic Gago and Andréa Revez from the University of the Algarve, won an award for enhancing the value of the region’s special fruit (the medronho berry) through the creation and marketing of attractive and smooth libations, with an alcoholic content of 5%.

There are four drink flavours in the Mood range: the natural medronho, the citrus fruits, orange and lemon, and the red fruits of raspberries and strawberries. With the indigenous medronho berries and the Iberian peninsula’s famous oranges and lemons, the combination couldn’t be more Portuguese. The drinks are carbonated to give a special zing to your mood and uniquely shaped bottles add extra appeal. The company assures us that no artificial dyes, chemicals or colourings are added.

www.medronhobottle.com

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