Alentejo Wine

Alentejo is a well-known and highly respected wine region and DOC (Denominacao de Origem Controlada) in eastern Portugal.

The hot, dry area is best known for its red wines: typical examples are made from Aragonez (also known as Tempranillo), Castelao (Periquita), Trincadeira or a rich, ripe, jammy blend of the three. Although famously diverse in its portfolio of wine-grape varieties (navigating the many names and their synonyms is a challenge), Alentejo has not been sluggish to adopt such globally popular reds as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the most remarkable things about modern Alentejo winemaking is its ability to create a uniquely Alentejano wine style from quintessentially French grape varieties.

This area of the country is very sparsely populated, in stark contrast to the northern coastal areas around Oporto. Land here is used (somewhat intensively) for the production of various cereal crops, and the cork for which Portugal is so famous. While the cork plantations of the north are quite small, in Alentejo there is sufficient free space for the thick-barked Quercus suber trees to spread around the countryside.

Alentejo has been a key center of Portugal's wine renaissance in the past few decades. Although wine production here was once dominated by a handful of government-supported cooperatives, the quantity of premium wine now generated by the region's independent smallholdings is impressive. The European Union, which has been involved in various wine-improvement schemes around Europe (most obviously, the vine-pull schemes in France and Italy), has been quick to provide assistance here.

Few in the wine world can be unaware of the impact Portuguese wine now has in the market: this is largely down to aid, and the new focus the country's wine industry has adopted. Although temporarily suffering from the 'value for money' tag which dogged Chile and its wines for so long, Alentejano wines have already shown their ability to take on the crus of France, the big-name reds of Spain and even the most highly respected DOCG wines of Italy. Alentejo blends accessibility and quality to offer some of the best-value Old World wines available.