(Sobral de) Canas de Santa Maria
The first time I was asked to write a blog, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to say. But after realizing that this would be an opportunity to share my enthusiasm for wine with the world, I started thinking about which region of Portugal could best express my love. Luckily, my research immediately presented me with Sobral de Canas de Santa Maria, a tiny and picturesque district located in the northern tip of Portugal along the Atlantic Ocean and inland from the Bay of Biscay.
This is the place where the most famous grapes are grown: Touriga Nacional (the red wine grape), Tinta Roriz (the purple grape) and Alvarinho (the white wine grape). This is also home to many other varieties like Aragonez, Mazuelo, Mocudo, Trincadeira, Verdelho and Portalegre.
Sobral de Canas is known for its dry whites like Albariño and Douro-based wines like Vinho Verde da Serra da Estrela (green wine) or Goseweinhose. The local white blend named Quinta d’Almedina has won numerous awards over time.
I’ve spent years exploring this region’s many wineries looking for new ways to share these delicious wines with others around the world. Any chance you get to visit Portugal will be worth your while if you’re a lover of good food and drink; it’s filled with dishes inspired by local ingredients combined with simple cooking techniques – all at fair prices!
Castelo Rodrigo
“I actually don’t know a lot about wine, but I was looking for a wine region anyway,” said Doug, who is from upstate New York. “It sounds like it’s going to be really beautiful.”
Now that we’re in Portugal, we’re going to look at the Castelo Rodrigo region (about 45 minutes north of Porto). This is one of the most traditional and oldest regions in Portugal. The area has been producing wines since Roman times and it’s still very rural. It produces both red and white wines.
We’ve had only one winery tour so far, but we’re hoping there will be more as we move around the country over the next several days.
Seia – Sabugal
Wine regions of Portugal: Beira Interior
Location:
Portugal
Sugar-rich, east-west oriented peninsula with two mountain ranges (Serra da Estrela in the north, Serra do Caramulo and Serra da Estrela in the south). The wine regions are located in between these two mountain ranges. The Beira Interior is more inland and has more land in the mountains. It’s a combination of several different microclimates, therefore there are many different grape varieties that grow here. These range from aromatic whites like Arinto and Pardão to fragrant reds including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz. There’s also a dry white called Vinho Verde which is made from lesser known grapes that have been left to hang on the vine to ripen slowly over time. It tastes a bit like Sauvignon Blanc with a hint of lemon. Wine region Sabugal has a similar climate as Beira Interior but farther inland at lower elevations. Although it’s quite a small region there are six distinctive subzones that produce its famous wines – Trofa, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Santa Maria da Feira, Penela de Bacalhau e Santo Amaro de Coimbra (the largest), Vale das Voupinhas and Vale do Merelo.[END OF BRIEF]
Sertã
This zone is located north of Castelo Branco and east of the A23 motorway. Its appellations are Sertã, Bairrada, Dão, Vinho Regional Beiras, and its main grape varieties are red (Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro Preto), white (Bical, Sercialinho), rosé (Maria Gomes).
Oleiros
Portugal’s Beira Interior is a region known for its sunny, Mediterranean climate. It’s also where you’ll find the country’s most popular white wine, the Oleiros.
Oleiros is produced in two different varieties: Arinto and Branco. Arinto is made from Vitis vinifera (grape) varieties such as Malvasia Nera, Malvasia Fina, and Touriga Nacional that provide fruity aromas and tastes of licorice and spice. The Arinto classification denotes that the grapes must be harvested by hand (arinto) or machine (technically called beringela).
Branco is produced from grape varieties like Verdelho, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz. It is made from the natural fermentation of the grapes without any addition of sugar (no winemaking techniques are used to create a sweet wine).
Guarda – Seia, Alvaiázere, Torres Novas – Ourém, Vila Nova da Barquinha
As soon as you reach the Beira Interior DOC, it’s time to stop and drink. The reason is that the most important wine area of the region is located in the southeast. More than 50% of all grapes grown here are red varieties. Among them are Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro and Aragonez but this does not mean that there is no white wine here – such wines are also produced from a number of grapes including Arinto or Rabigato.
But it’s not just about red wine: It’s also about getting to know great people who have been making their wines for centuries as an expression of their life.
Idanha-a-Nova – Vila Velha de Rodão
Portugal’s Beira Interior is a unique wine growing region that lies in the country’s north-eastern corner. The area’s climate is generally cool, with temperatures ranging from 22 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows wine producers to grow a wide variety of grape varieties and produce excellent wines using traditional techniques while preserving the very special features of this region.
The main wine villages in the Beira Interior are Idanha-a-Nova and Vila Velha de Rodão (no relation to São Filipe). Both of these villages are famous for their own wines and many visitors come here just to sample them. The region produces red, white and rosé wines made from grapes such as Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Arinto and Verdelho, among others.
You might be surprised by some of the good wines being made in Portugal!
We went looking for the best wines in Portugal, and came across Beira Interior. While some outsiders may have a negative perception of this region due to its rural nature and lack of infrastructure, they shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the region’s wines. Indeed, Beira Interior is one of Europe’s most underrated wine regions, largely overshadowed by its northern neighbors such as Spain and France. However, there are many beautiful vineyards that produce delicious wines that will make you think twice about what you might have thought Portugal’s best wine regions were like.
Portugal has a long history of winemaking going back almost two millennia thanks to the Romans. The Portuguese winemaking tradition is influenced by both continental Europe and southern Spain in how grapes are grown (most often blended), whereas French influences come from how vines are cultivated (often single-vineyard). There are over 250 varieties of grapes grown in Portugal, which makes it one of the world’s largest wine producers.
Portugal produces reds with their own unique characteristics; The first thing is their fruity character. For example – Port collaborates with Pinot Noir , while Jeram also blends them with Merlot . At Porto , they have access to quite a lot of different grape varieties besides Pinot Noir – it blends Cabernet Sauvignon , Syrah , Tinta Roriz , Touriga Nacional , Malbec and even Viognier . Their red wines are wonderfully complex and interesting – rich but not sweet and with plenty more character than other Portuguese wines tend to have