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Portuguese wine regions
There is no Portuguese region which does not have its own wine. From the North to the South, as well as in the Azores and Madeira islands, wine occupies an important place within the Portuguese agriculture context. Portuguese wine regions, have a long history. Since 1756, it was created the Douro wine region, the first demarcated wine region in the world. Here was where the Port wine, under British influence, had started already being produced. Port wine become probably the best known and appreciated fortified wine in the world. Today this wine region is a Unesco World Heritage site.
To have the Ruby, Tawny, Late Bottle Vintage and white Ports being appreciated worldwide it was necessary that through centuries hard work have been done growing vineyards in the slopes around the river Douro. Terraces were built in slopes from this hilly region having wine varietals which include Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão and Tinta Barroca. These vines can have a rooting system which can go up to 25 meters looking for water. The weather is tough, being quite cold in the winter and quite hot in the summer. The winemaking method used leads to the production of a fortified wine. Port wines are highly appreciated both before and after meals.
At the Madeira Island, also under British influence, the fortified wines equally become recognized worldwide. It was the D.Henrique who found the vocation of Madeira for wine production and introduced the malvasia wine varietal from Greece, which still predominates today in the slopes from the southern part of the Island.
The vinho verde from Minho, reds and sparkling wines from Bairrada, the increasingly more appreciated wines from the warm and dry Alentejo region are also part of the Portuguese wine culture and which recently have been modernized following the most modern winemaking methods. Without forgetting lajedos from Pico, a mosaic of stone walls which protect the verdelho wine which was highly regarded by the Czars and was honored by Tolstoi in “War and Peace”.