The Lisbon Wine Region

The Portuguese province known as Estremadura is the most complex of all our provinces, no matter what character we have to consider, and here we find the Lisbon Wine Region.

When observing and approaching the Lisbon Wine Region in terms of its terroir, we immediately have to consider, in a climatic appraisal, that the region lies in the transition between lands visited by humid, permanent westerly winds and a somewhat dry climate.

 

As for the type of vegetation in the northern part, it is close to a Central European type, while at the southern end it already has Mediterranean characteristics.

The alluvial soils contrast with the slopes where secondary limestone abounds and the floodplains oppose the mountainous massifs of the eastern border.

It is therefore a land of dispersion and plurality, and is sometimes referred to as a land where paradoxes abound.

This region is part of what the great metropolis of Lisbon represents, and although it is located at one end of the Extremadura region, it indelibly and increasingly marks the region's social habits.

The rural character that for a long time generally characterized the population living in the province of Extremadura was only altered in perfectly defined poles with the industrialization introduced from the 19th century onwards, greatly affected by the development of the road system, especially the backbone that more recently connected the cities of Lisbon and Leiria.

The notion of Estremadura as a borderland takes on its meaning again here, when the differentiation is evoked between the people of the lands south of the mountain barrier that is evident in Montejunto towards the sea and the people of the more northerly lands, in the floodplains of the Lis (Leiria).

However, when referring to settlement in Extremadura, albeit in a very superficial way, we can't help but mention couples or farms

This situation contributed to the interspersed dispersal formations known as casais or quintas.

The quinta is a designation that was initially taken as a sub-unit within a rustic villa and therefore refers to a Roman origin where villa was a designation for a rural settlement structure.

This is the most significant structure in terms of its obvious dignity, and even today throughout Extremadura there is a great deal of heritage, almost all of which is linked to wine production and is often referred to when it is marketed.

This is the most significant structure, a clearly dignified component that still has a great heritage throughout Extremadura, almost all of which is linked to wine production and is often referred to when it is marketed.

In the Lisbon region we have the following designations of origin: Alenquer, Arruda, Bucelas, Carcavelos, Colares, Encostas d'Aire (Alcobaça and Medieval Ourém), Lourinhã, Óbidos and Torres Vedras, as well as the homonymous geographical indication (“Vinho Regional Lisboa”).

And you can buy and taste wines from this region by clicking here.

Source: CVR Lisboa and www.clubevinhosportugueses.pt

[05/11/2020]