Lagos has served grilled sardines to fishermen since the 15th century, when the town's shipyards built caravels for African exploration and its salt pans preserved catch for transatlantic voyages. Today, the Algarve's culinary heritage draws from Moorish spice routes, Atlantic fishing traditions, and volcanic soils that yield wines unavailable anywhere beyond Portugal's southern coast. A Lagos food and wine tour connects these threads through guided tastings at family-run tascas, century-old bakeries, and vineyards planted on limestone slopes above the Arade River. The Algarve produces 12 million litres of wine annually under the Vinho Regional Algarve designation, most from indigenous grapes — Negra Mole, Crato Branco, Arinto — that thrive in the region's hot, dry microclimate. Lagos itself sits at the western edge of this appellation, where Atlantic breezes moderate summer heat and fishing villages have perfected cataplana, a copper-domed seafood stew cooked over charcoal. The town's morning market, operating since 1924 in a Moorish Revival pavilion, supplies local chefs with octopus caught off Ponta da Piedade, almonds from the Barrocal interior, and honey infused with rosemary and sea lavender. Portuguese tapas — petiscos — differ from Spanish tradition in their reliance on preserved fish, sharp cheeses, and olive oils pressed from Galega and Cobrançosa cultivars. A typical Lagos tasting includes presunto from acorn-fed Alentejo pigs, sheep's milk queijo from Serra da Estrela, and conservas: tinned sardines, mackerel, and tuna prepared by fourth-generation canneries in nearby Olhão. Pastéis de nata, the custard tarts that became a national symbol, arrived in Lagos through monastic networks; local versions use Algarve almonds and cinnamon from former trading posts in Ceylon. Food and wine tour experiences in the region range from three-hour walking tastings through Lagos's old town to full-day excursions pairing Silves village visits with vineyard lunches. Guides prioritize small producers: bakeries that still bake bread in wood-fired ovens, wine estates experimenting with amphora fermentation, and tascas serving dishes unchanged since the Carnation Revolution. The Algarve's gastronomy remains distinct from Lisbon's — less refined, more reliant on preservation and char, shaped by centuries of maritime labour and North African influence.