The attraction

The turn of the century and the millennium is a symbolic turning point for RG Rovisco Garcia. We reintroduced the roe deer into our estates, when this native species was considered extinct. Included in a coherent set of measures to protect the environment, enrich biodiversity and natural regeneration, the reintroduction of roe deer is the living image of a strategy based on the diversification of activities and on reducing the dependence on products from the cork oak grove.

Next came the certification of the cork oak and stone pine forest area of the Monte Novo and Conqueiro estates, for the sustainability of its management. They got the Wildlife Estates label, WE being a European network developed to promote the best management and conservation practices, recognizing and accrediting theses estates as managing their wildlife resources sustainably, in full consideration for the natural environment.

Promotion and marketing of RG Rovisco Garcia products, namely of olive oils and wines, piqued interest for its origins and for the possibility of visiting the estates.
Presence in an international wine fair in 2009 enabled us to make a contact that would eventually evolve to be our main partner in the area of Nature Tourism, the American travel writer, author and activist, Rick Steves.

The Programs

Visits to the estates are the embodiment of a will to share our natural and cultural heritage, as well as the values and methods of sustainable production, by means of a gratifying, unique and genuine experience of being in touch with Nature.

Awareness, learning and tasting are the basic ingredients of all programs, mainly designed for groups and which can be adapted to each Client, in advance.

A safari-like ride through the cork oak grove in a comfortable trailer puts the visitor in close touch with this unique ecosystem and the responsible management of its environmental impact. We share our part of a story of generations linked to the cork industry. Along the way we get to underline the role of complementary activities like the stone pine, the vineyard, the olive grove, cattle, and game.

At the end of this tour it becomes all too clear that all the activities and business of RG Rovisco Garcia are based on a solid interaction of two sets of values, working together the way one’s right and left hands do. On the one hand there are the economic and social funtions of the montado, on the other hand there is its irreplaceable environmental value.

Tasting the produce and products of the estates, namely olive oils and wines, comes as a logic and natural conclusion to a tour of the estates. The tasting may be enriched with a variety of home-cooked delicacies, allowing our guests to make the most of some unforgettable moments of sharing the sheer pleasure of Nature’s best.