Wine region

Lisboa

formerly Estremadura

A long coastal strip north of the capital and one of Portugal’s largest regions by volume. Most of its wine is good-value blends, but it also holds three historic micro-appellations close to Lisbon: Colares, Carcavelos and Bucelas.

Did you knowIn Colares, vines are planted in deep sand that the phylloxera louse could not cross, so many of them are still ungrafted.

Red grapes

Touriga Nacional Tinta Roriz Castelão Ramisco

White grapes

Alvarinho Arinto Fernão Pires Sercial Malvasia de Colares

Wines from Lisboa

Carcavelos

Fortified

A historic, off-dry fortified wine from the seaside town of Carcavelos just west of Lisbon. Urban sprawl nearly wiped it out; it survives thanks to a handful of vineyards, notably the one run by the municipality of Oeiras.

Colares

Red

Colares DOC

One of the world’s most unusual vineyards: ungrafted Ramisco vines planted in deep sand dunes by the Atlantic, crawling low behind cane windbreaks. The reds are austere and tannic, needing years to open; the whites from Malvasia de Colares are salty and long-lived.

Bucelas

White

Bucelas DOC

Crisp, lemony, long-lived whites from Arinto grown just north of Lisbon. Popular in Victorian England, where it was sold as a Portuguese answer to German hock.

Bottles to try

Producers

Adega Regional de Colares

Est. 1931

Colares, Sintra · Lisboa

The historic cooperative that has kept Colares alive, aging Ramisco and Malvasia in large old wooden vats.

Quinta de Chocapalha

Alenquer · Lisboa

A family estate in the Alenquer hills. Winemaker Sandra Tavares da Silva also co-founded Wine & Soul in the Douro.

Quinta do Monte d’Oiro

Alenquer · Lisboa

Known for elegant Syrah planted from Rhône cuttings, as well as Viognier and Touriga Nacional.

Quinta da Romeira

Bucelas · Lisboa

The leading estate of Bucelas, focused on crisp, age-worthy Arinto.

Villa Oeiras

Oeiras · Lisboa

The Oeiras municipality’s project that rescued Carcavelos fortified wine from near extinction.

Casa Santos Lima

Quinta da Boavista, Alenquer · Lisboa

A family company based at Quinta da Boavista in Alenquer, north of Lisbon, and the largest producer of Vinho Regional Lisboa. Most of its wines are exported.

Viúva Gomes

Est. 1808

Almoçageme, Colares · Lisboa

A historic Colares house founded in 1808 and run today by the Baeta family. It makes Ramisco reds and Malvasia de Colares whites from ungrafted vines in the coastal sand, and holds back old vintages for decades before release.

AdegaMãe

Torres Vedras · Lisboa

A winery near Torres Vedras built by the Alves family, owners of the salt-cod company Riberalves. The name means “mother’s winery”, a tribute to the family matriarch.