Portuguese Wine Regions
Portuguese Wine Regions
Vinho Verde is the biggest DOC of Portugal, up in the cool, rainy, verdant north west. The vines grow in fertile, granite soils along rivers that flow from the mountains of the east to burst out into the ocean between golden surfing beaches.
Porto e Douro famous as the source of port wine, the Douro is now also renowned for its fine, rich unfortified wines, both red and white.
Bairrada in the western part of the Beiras, between the mountainous Dão region and the surf-washed Atlantic beaches, Bairrada has a mild, maritime climate with abundant rainfall.
Dão and Lafões surrounded on all sides by mountains, the Dão region is protected both from the direct influence of the continental climate, and from the chill and rains from the ocean.
Beira Interior these high, granite uplands over by the Spanish border include some of Portugal's highest and most impressive mountains.
Lisboa west and north of the city of Lisbon, the Lisboa wine region was until recently known as Estremadura. A lot of wine is made here, much of it in co-operatives, in a very wide variety of styles and qualities. This region where the "vinho regional" Lisboa is predominant also has nine DOC.
Colares, in the sand dunes west of Lisbon and the palaces of Sintra. Vineyard land is shrinking, and no wonder. Colares is right next to the wonderful surfing beach of Guincho, just a short drive from Lisbon, and far more money is to be made from building villas than from growing vines. All the more so because growing vines in Colares is a difficult and exhausting business. The vines are planted ungrafted, on their own roots, deep into the sand (the phylloxera bug cannot survive in sand). Ramisco produces wines with hard tannins and high acidity, not much fun in their youth, but, if well made, capable of long ageing in bottle.
Tejo region is located in the very heart of Portugal, a short drive from the capital city of Lisbon. Pulsing with a rich heritage, Tejo claims a bounty of historical treasures scanning the pages of time, from Roman ruins and Gothic castles, to Manueline monasteries and medieval hilltop villages. To the Portuguese, Tejo is known as the land of vineyards, olive groves, cork forests, Mertolengo cattle, and the famous Lusitano horses.
Alentejo region covers about a third of Portugal, and winemakers in the remaining two-thirds can often be heard to complain about the popularity of Alentejo wines.
Madeira's fortified wines keep practically for ever - they have been known to survive for more than two centuries.