Baga Wine
Baga a dark-skinned grape variety used to make red wines in the central coast of Portugal. It is particularly prevalent in the Bairrada region there, where Baga vines far outnumber those of any other red wine variety – Portugal's key reds Touriga Nacional, Castelao and Tempranillo (known as Tinta Roriz and Aragonez here in Portugal) take a back seat here. The neighboring Dao and Ribatejo regions also make use of Baga, traditionally in blends but increasingly in varietal wines.
Baga is notable for the thickness of its grape skin in proportion to the size of the small berries. Its name means 'berry' or, perhaps more evocatively, 'droplet', although neither of these communicates the tannic, astringent nature of so many wines made from Baga grapes. A reliably dry, warm growing season is required to get late-ripening Baga berries to full phenolic ripeness – a prerequisite to those wishing to make them into anything like an approachable wine. Fortunately the variety also has a naturally high level of acidity, which allows the grapes to be harvested very late in the season without the resulting wine seeming flat and baked.
From a viticultural perspective, Baga is far from the easiest of varieties to cultivate for the production of high quality wines. The vines are high-yielding, which makes them an attractive prospect for bulk, or lower-quality wine production, but to make distinctive wines with structure and balance requires great care and attention in the vineyard. Thanks to its robust physique, Baga is highly resistant to powdery mildew – a fungus also known as oidium and brought to Europe from the Americas in the 19th century. Less fortunately, it remains susceptible to other forms of rot, which take hold particularly in the damp autumn conditions so common along Portugal's Atlantic coast. The humidity of the maritime climate here presents the vine's growers with an important decision when it comes to harvest time: to pick earlier, avoiding rot but risking overly tannic, acidic wines or later, allowing the grapes to ripen fully, while facing the daily threat of rot-inducing rains.
A staggering proportion of the Portugal's Baga crop is used in Mateus Rose, arguably the nation's second most famous after Port. Its continued popularity depends largely on that all-important factor in the modern wine world: consumer preference. Portugal's star is rising steadily over the wine markets of the early 20th century, and the nation has earned a reputation as a source of interesting, well-made wines which remain nonetheless affordable (for now). To continue this trend, Portugal's wine authorities will need to take stock of their vineyards and decide which grape varieties, Baga included, can work in their favor.
Baga is also known by the names Tinta Bairrada, Tinta Fina and Tinta Poeirinha.
