Arrival at the manor house in the afternoon. There'll be welcome drinks on the terrace or at the beautifully renovated ’adega’ of the hotel followed by a traditional Alentejo dinner specially prepared for you. The Alentejo is deservedly famous for its excellent wines, so our first outing into the surrounding hills is to visit an excellent winery. We tour the beautifully situated winery and taste the wines, accompanied by various local delicacies, as a light lunch. We return to our hotel early afternoon, with time to relax and have a swim before the first cooking class at 6.30 pm. Today's lesson concentrates on preparing Alentejo finger food or "petiscos". The Portuguese take their petiscos seriously, like the Spanish do their tapas. The class will be taught by renowned chef Rui Almeida in the large kitchen of our albergaria. Dinner is in the atmospheric restaurant with the dishes you've made paired with wines. Today we're off to explore some of the historic fortified hilltop towns of the area - the royal town of Estremoz and the enchanting medieval village Marvao, one of the highest places Alentejo. We lunch at a local ”tasca” in Marvao . The late afternoon cooking class may focus on modern Portuguese cooking, with an emphasis on fish. Lightness, freshness and colour will predominate. Dinner with matching wines to follow. The morning is free to explore on your own or just laze by the pool. Just after midday, we take a short drive to an excellent small scale wine producer. We will tour the beautiful quinta and the winery's modern art gallery. The visit concludes with a tasting of their signature wines, accompanied by various local delicacies, including chorizos, cheese, pastries as a light lunch. Our third cooking class beginning around 6.30pm will concentrate on Portuguese desserts. A leisurely morning as we set off around 11.00 to visit the farm of a cheese maker, in the midst of beautiful rolling hills. Quality ewe’s milk cheeses are made here, not dissimilar to the pecorino’s from Southern Tuscany. We have a tour of the farm and see how the cheese is made. Next a tasting of cheeses at various stages of maturation. Following the cheese tasting we will drive to nearby Vila Vicosa, for lunch at a typical Alentejano eatery. After lunch we will visit the splendid palace of the former Portuguese royal family, the Braganza’s. Then it's back to the hotel to unwind. There is no cooking class tonight so you can just back and enjoy dinner at the hotel restaurant. Around noon we depart from the albergaria for a private tour of the last winery we will visit in Estremoz. It is a lovely historic place; some think is the most beautiful manor house of the Alentejo region. The 17th and 18th century buildings, while preserving the original baroque features of its architecture, also contain an excellent modern wine making operation. Our tour of the quinta will be followed by a wine tasting of their signature wines, accompanied by some local delicious food, serving as a light lunch. After the tasting we will drive back to our hotel, where you can relax. The late afternoon cooking class will begin around 18.00 at the hotel and may focus on traditional Alentejo cooking, with an emphasis on meat dishes. A leisurely breakfast. You'll be picked-up at 11am for a trip to the Saturday Estremoz market. This is one of the largest markets in the region, in the heart of a beautiful historical town. Your chef will be there to pick out some of the best delicacies. Your week ends with a farewell dinner at the restaurant. A fado combo may accompany your dinner on request. Breakfast at leisure. Depart during the morning or early afternoon. This course is available year-round on a request basis and runs from Sunday to Sunday.