The Pico Wine Museum in the Azores, specifically in the town of Madalena, it is one of the museums that make up the Pico Museums, which also include the Whalers’ Museum and the Whaling Industry Museum.
The existence of this museum dedicated to wine on Pico Island makes perfect sense when, upon arriving in Madalena, you pass through the 'Criação Velha' Vineyard Landscape or the Pico Island Vineyard Culture Landscape, depending on which road you choose. This landscape helps visitors understand the importance of wine production on Pico and how it differs from that on the mainland.
That said, we recommend setting aside a little time during your stay on the island to visit the Pico Wine Museum. The museum is closed on Mondays and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (April through September) or from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (October through March), but you can always check the current opening hours on the museum's website.
To visit this museum, we paid €2 (in 2022) and explored the place practically on our own. The reception is at the Distillery Building and when purchasing the tickets, visitors are given a brief explanation of the recommended route for exploring the site and some interesting facts. Throughout the visit, a staff member stayed nearby and answered our questions and comments with information about the museum and the island, which made the entire visit much more interesting.
Visiting the Pico Wine Museum
The tour begins at what was once the Carmelite Convent, a 17th- and 18th-century building that once housed a winery.
On the ground floor of the building, you’ll learn about the culture of Verdelho wine on Pico and its history, from modern techniques to disease control. On the floor above, you’ll find information about the wine and its characteristics.
We continued on to the Distillery Building, at the door next to the reception area, where you can learn about the old distillation systems.
We continue our tour toward the The Wine Press Building which, as the name suggests, is characterized by being an area comprising several wine presses with different features. The wine presses also house wooden wine-making equipment.
It is in this room that the three-gabled stone manor house is located, which belonged to the Street family of Arriaga (where Manuel de Arriaga, the first President of the Republic, is said to have been born).
The tour continues to the most impressive part: the exterior.
Here you’ll find the vineyards, where people are usually working, and where you can learn about the unique characteristics of Pico Island’s wine: it’s grown on low-lying vines planted in lava fields.
Next to the vineyards stands the famous lookout point, a walkway that ends at a red building. In the background, the neighboring island of Faial stands out.
It is at the Pico Wine Museum that you will find another unique feature: the Dragon Tree Grove, where you’ll find century-old trees in what is the largest forest of this species in Macaronesia (the name given to the islands in the Atlantic near Portugal and Africa—comprising Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde).
For many years, these trees were used as a dye because of their blood-red resin. Today, their leaves are used in handicrafts.
The Pico Wine Museum is therefore a must-see for anyone visiting the island. That said, be sure to set aside a little time during your trip to learn about the activity that defines the island’s landscape.
