Beira InteriorThe mountain region of Portugal

BY: KETIL SAUER

A Trio Of Subregions

Beira Interior is located south of the Douro Valley and north of Alentejo, in the north- eastern part of Portugal.

The land holds 13.100 hectares of vines, producing a total of 20 million liters annually. It has 1 DOC, Beira Interior and 3 sub regions that can appear on the label: Pinhel and Castel Rodrigo in the north and Cova da Beira in the south. An area in the middle of the DOC is without Sub as well as some areas in the southern part.

The whole region is 300-750m above sea level, impacting the temperature. The north where Pinhel and Castel Rodrigo are located have a higher altitude and thereby also a lower temperature with approximately 12-14 degrees celcius on an yearly average and it's quite dry with 400-800mm of rain per year. Castel Rodrigo has the highest altitude and lowest amout of rain, bordering

Spain on one side and Pinhel on the other. In the southern part you will find Cova da Beira, the largest of the 3 sub-regions, with the lowest altitude and warmest part of Beira Interior with an average of 14-16 degrees celcius.

The grapes which are present are both indigneous as well as international grapes. Examples of indigenous would be: Siria, Fonte Cal and Ruferte. Siria the most planted grape in Beira Interior, it's a highly aromatic green grape, that gives fresh whites wit green apples, underripe honey melon, apricot and chalky minerality. Fonte-Cal, anther white wine varietal, you rarely, if ever, find planted other places than Beira Interior, the wines made are often texture-driven and with a marked minerality. Ruferte is a blue grape that gives light and velvet wines with herbal, red fruit and great juiciness –really easygoing wines. When looking at the vine - yards and the vines, the old traditions are still there. The care for the old vines is as it should be: A lot of love and attention. The low yields and gnarly old goblet plantings are an amazing sight. Waking around an old vineyard where the vines are 10 times as thick as when newly planted but without any trellihing, gives me a feeling, that the wines from these vines will be complex and with a great terroir taste.

Traditionbound

The area has a long-standing history that dates back to when the romans were still in power. The old winemaking of the area used to be done outside in large stone vats called ”Lagar”, where the grapes would be crushed by treading and then ferment in these then, followed by a racking by gravity to another lagar and then bottled.

Similar to the port wines, but without the fortification. Some wineries still practice this winemaking with an open lagar for extraction and fermentation, but it is a rare sight.

The wines from the area are interesting in their own way with the old vines, the new production equipment, the new generation of winemakers, the terroir, and the grapes. This gives wines with a lot of dark fruit and power in the red wines. Whites with minerality, exotic fruit and light body. The style of Portugal is to have deep colored wines with an elevated intensity and powerful tast,e and that's also what you will be able to find in this region, at an affordable price.

CHAMPAGNE JACQUES SELOSSE GUILLAUME SELOSSE

DE SOUSA LAUNOIS PHILIPPE LANCELOT MARGUET

FLEURY CHANOINE FRERES RUINART

KRUG DOM PERIGNON CLICQUOT PONSARDIN

EGON MÜLLER SCHARZHOF MAXIMIN GRÜNHAUS

SOFIA THANISCH SCHLOSS JOHANNISBERG

PETER JAKOB KÜHN EYMANN KAI SCHÄTZEL

NICOLAS JOLY LEROY DOMAINE LEROY

DOMAINE D’AUVENAY GUILLAUME VRIGNAUD

DOMAINE PIERRE MOREY DOMAINE J.C. RATEAU

DOMAINE CHANDON DE BRIAILLES LAURENT ROUMIER

DOMAINE DU COUVENT DOMAINE DES VAROILLES

DOMAINE DU TRAGINER MAS PAILLET NENU

CHATEAU CRU PEYRAGUEY CHATEAU GRILLON

CHATEAU MOULIN SANT VINCENT GRAND FERRAND

CHATEAU TOURNEFEUILLE CHATEAU ROCHEYRON

DOMINIO DE PINGUS PETER SISSECK QUINTA SARDONIA

GALIA TERRAS GAUDA CASA LOS FRAILES