Bairrada is a

Portuguese wine Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfam ...

region located in the Beira Litoral Province. The region has

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

's highest

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

classification as a '' Denominação de Origem Controlada'' (DOC), and its popularity has surged over the last years. It is small and quite narrow coastal region, part of the broader region of

Beira Atlântico Beira can refer to: *Beira (mythology), the mother to all the gods and goddesses in the Celtic mythology of Scotland *Beira, Azores, a small village on São Jorge Island *Beira (Portugal), the name of a region (and former province) in north-centra ...

, and it is bordered to the northeast by the

Lafões IPR Lafões is a Portuguese wine region, near Viseu, overlapping into the Dão and Vinho Verde DOCs. The region has the second tier '' Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada'' (IPR) classification and may some day be promoted to '' Denominação de ...

and to the east by the Dão DOC. It is located close to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

and the currents have a moderating effect on the climate, resulting in a mild,

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

with abundant rainfall. The region is hilly, but the majority of the vineyards are placed on flatter land. About 2/3 of the national

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

production takes place in this region, and in recent years the city of Anadia received the nickname of "Capital do Espumante", which translates to "Sparkling Wine Capital". The region is also known for its deep colored

tannic Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanne ...

red wines, that often have

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orang ...

and

black currant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia ...

flavors, as well its emerging

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact metho ...

production.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 330 Dorling Kindersley 2005 The boundaries of the Bairrada DOC includes the municipalities of Anadia, Cantanhede,

Mealhada Mealhada () is a city and a municipality located in Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,428, in an area of 110.66 km2. It had 17,043 eligible voters (2006). The city of Mealhada itself has a population of 4,522.

and

Oliveira do Bairro Oliveira do Bairro () is a town and a municipality in the district of Aveiro in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 47,729, in an area of 335.27 km2. It had 16,994 eligible voters in 2006. The town itself had a population of 3,077 in 2001. ...

, and some parishes in the municipalities of Vagos and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

and also the parish of Nariz, in the municipality of Aveiro.

History

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

in the Bairrada has existed since at least the 10th century, when the region gained independence from the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct o ...

. Located just south of the major

Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, sem ...

producing center of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, the fortunes of Bairrada were on the upswing during the 17th century when Port producers, eager to supply the growing British market, would blend Bairrada wines with the product coming from the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 29 Oxford University Press 2006

Grapes

The spotlight of the Bairrada region falls on Baga. The unique soil and climate combination from Bairrada helps taking the most of out this highly acidic and highly tannic grape, which is used in both red and sparkling wines. Other Portuguese red grapes varieties also have a prominent place there: Alfrocheiro-Preto,

Tinta Pinheira Rufete is a red Spanish/ Portuguese wine grape variety that is grown primarily used in port wine production in the Douro region of Portugal. It is also grown up along the Duero basin across the border in the Spanish province of Castile and León ...

and Touriga Nacional. International red grapes varieties include

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to t ...

and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeus ...

. Regarding white grapes, the main highlights are the Portuguese varieties of Arinto, Bical, Cercial and Maria Gomes, but also the well internationally known

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

References

{{coord, 40.4818609, -8.4519891, display=title, type:landmark_region:PT-01 Wine regions of Portugal Portuguese products with protected designation of origin

History

Grapes

See also

References