Explore the Land of Portugal and Its Wines
When the Romans invaded the Iberian Peninsula millennia ago, they named the area we now know as Portugal "Lusitania," after Lusus, the son of Bacchus, the god of wine.
In addition to providing an appropriate name, the Romans spread winemaking from southern Portugal north, and they added significant infrastructures including extensive aqueducts which are still around today with excellent views of a massive one in the central Portuguese city of Evora in Alentejo.
Visitors can explore these antiquities as well as castles. Peeking through where arrows used to fly, climbing the steps of grand stone castles to take in the views of the surrounding landscape all the way into Spain, with hillsides dotted with green oak trees and white sheep. Along the coast north of Lisbon at Sintra, visitors can scale the heights to gaze at the white capped ocean from high above the shore bringing the past into the present.
Vines and field flowers in the vineyards of Alentejo, Portugal winery Herdade dos Gros.
Sipping wine during lunch in the ancient prison of a castle in the Alentejo also brings visitors back to a previous time - with all the comforts of today- or sleeping in a converted convent in Evora with views of the Roman aqueduct from the large soaking tub.
Lusitania- what an ideal name for a country which is blessed with hundreds of native grapes made into delicious wines in clay amphora since 2000 BC. With such a wealth of indigenous varietals, no wonder the Portuguese haven’t bothered to make more wines more familiar to Americans (although they do make Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah too).
With the fall of Rome, local authorities and the church maintained the vineyards and kept up production. Wine from the northern areas made from grapes in the Douro Valley were fortified for stabilization and exported to England. This developed the famous Port industry, creating a wine which was so popular in England as well as in the United States that, over time, it eclipsed unfortified wines, both white and red.
Like others around the world, grapevines in Portugal were decimated by the Phylloxera epidemic, and combined with political forces, much of the land that had once been vineyards, especially in the Alentejo region, was planted over with other crops, mostly grains.
However, also during this period, extensive oak forests were also developed for the harvest of cork, and these forests are home to a diverse number of indigenous animals in a healthy, sustainable ecosystem supported by the wine industry. About every seven years great sheaths of cork are removed from the cork oak trees with out any damage to the cork tree. The cork oak forests are so successful that Portugal is the largest producer of cork in the world, and many of the corks in the wines you drink are made from corks that originally came from Portuguese oak forests.
So why are Portuguese wines so unknown outside of Portugal?
Unfortunately, for many years, much of the wine that was produced in Portugal was poor quality, because of political decisions and as the wines improved, the Portuguese drank most of the wine they produced before the next vintage because it was so delicious and affordable. The Portuguese are also very proud of their wine and they prefer to drink only Portuguese wine made from indigenous Portuguese grapes. While in the past limited productions meant there was little overstock to ship internationally, now they have enough to export into the US and other countries– and Americans should take advantage by experimenting with these very food friendly and affordable wines.
The quality of the wine made in Portugal changed in the past 20 years as Portugal has sought to increase production of better, more distinct wines that reflect the terroir of the various wine growing regions from the Douro in the North to the Alentejo in the middle south eastern part of the country to the Algarve in the south.
The small winery, Quinta de Valbom overlooks the Duoro River Valley, leading to spectacular views from their hillside vineyards.
What hasn't changed in Portugal is a commitment to sustainability in all aspects of life, a love of the land as well as to literature. Always in Portugal there is a goal to express the importance of taking care of the land and expressing a love of life and the land, through literature as well as wine. Just as enjoying wine with meals is a way of life in Portugal, so literature lives in the hearts of the Portuguese people; literature is not just a class they have to get through, literature and writers truly are revered by the Portuguese.
For example, at the Jeronimos Monastery, tourists and locals alike flock to pay homage at the tomb of the famed Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes (1525-1580) who led quite an adventurous life, traveled to India and China by ship, and more which enriches his epic poem The Lusiads about Vasco de Gama on the voyage that ultimately connected Europe to India. He is such an important figure to the Portuguese that his birthday is Portugal Day and quotes from his work are commonly and prominently placed on decorative edifices in Portugal. His poetry even lines the bike paths in Lisbon.
Likewise, living “green” and practicing sustainability is a way of life in Portugal. People who live and thrive in one place for so many generations learn this in order to survive there and not run out of natural resources.
While the Douro has always been famous for fortified wines made from a blend of red grapes leading with Touriga Nacional, about 20 years ago a group of young winemakers believed in the potential of their grapes as unfortified red wines-- and they made the wines to prove it.
The Alentejo has long been well known for dry, driven, red wines, but about 10 years ago, dry rosé became very popular, and the region offers white wines as well.
In an upcoming series of articles, we will be delving more deeply into the wines and the cork oak forests of Portugal with a focus on the well known Douro and the up and coming Alentejo. Learn more about the regions, the indigenous grapes and the grapes with Portuguese names that you may even already know!
Red, white, or port– great values
For the adventurous wine drinker or for folks looking for wines that are affordable and food friendly, Portuguese wines offer quite an advantage. And just because you haven’t heard of these grapes doesn’t mean there’s anything new about them: remember people have been making wine in Portugal since 2000 BC! Wineries such as Herdade dos Gros and Quinta de Valbom are carrying on the wine making tradition with indigenous grape blends and sustainable practices. Try their red and white wines in our Portugal Explorer Set to try what Portugal has to offer, shipping included! Go the extra mile too, and take advantage of the shipping included to add on a LBV Port for the full Portuguese experience.
