Alentejo

The region in Portugal lies between Lisbon in the north, the border with Spain in the east, the Algarve region in the south and the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The entire region is classified as IGP for country wines under Alentajano. The vineyards cover 20,000 hectares of vines. Within the DOC area are the eight sub-areas of Borba, Évora, Granja-Amareleja, Moura, Portalegre, Redondo, Reguengos and Vidigueira. These were previously declared as IPR areas (DOC preliminary stage), but are now listed as optional sub-areas alongside DOC Alentejo.

History

Viticulture was already established here by the Phoenicians. The Romans who came afterwards called the newly conquered province Lusitania and brought their knowledge of viticulture and vines with them. After Roman rule, however, viticulture led a shadowy existence for many centuries. Until the end of the 1970s, Alentejo was not known for its wine, but above all for its huge wheat fields (which is why it is also known as the "breadbasket of Portugal"), the numerous olive trees and the cork oak forests scattered among the wheat fields. More than half of the world's cork production comes from Portugal and by far the largest proportion of this comes from Alentejo.

Climate

The climate varies between Mediterranean and continental with large temperature fluctuations between day and night and summer and winter. Due to the hot, dry and almost rain-free climate with summer temperatures of up to 40 °Celsius, artificial irrigation is sometimes necessary.

Grape varieties

The grapes reach peak ripeness; the grapes are harvested as early as mid-August. Around two thirds of the red wines are produced from Aragonez (Tempranillo), Alfrocheiro, Alicante Henri Bouschet, Arinto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan Noir (Mazuelo), Castelão Francês, Grand Noir, Moreto do Alentejo and Trincadeira Preta. The white wines are made from Antão Vaz, Chardonnay, Diagalves, Roupeiro (Síria) and Perrum (Pedro Ximénez).

Producers

From the 1980s onwards, the focus was on quality viticulture, which was very successful. The region is now known as the "California of Portugal". There are some huge wineries here with several hundred hectares of vineyards. Well-known producers include Cartuxa, Cortes de Cima, Herdade de Mouchão, Herdade do Esporão, João Portugal Ramos (Marqués de Borba, Vila Santa), José da Sousa (Fonseca) and Quinta do Carmo (Domaines Barons de Rothschild).

Image: By Kent Wang - London, United Kingdom - Alentejo, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link