Portugal is a country of liqueur wines, be it the world-renowned Porto’s, the Madeira’s famous for the longevity, or the Setúbal Muscat, the wine of choice to pair with desserts.
All of them result from stopping the fermentation of the grapes and fortifying them with wine brandy, allowing the wines to reach alcohol levels of around 20ºC.
But there are many more styles of fortified wines that deserve your attention, whether you are a fan of this type of wine or simply curious about the history of wine.
A style with a long history in Portugal are the Licorosos from Carcavelos, where the white grape variety Galego Dourado must be present. These are wines that age for several years in wood to achieve the topaz color that is so characteristic, and all the tertiary flavors of wood, mixed with the sweetness and acidity that these wines usually have.
Also in the Azores there is a tradition in the production of fortified wines. The liqueurs from the island of Pico, which are based on the Verdelho grape variety, are rare wines, with very low production, which are practically all consumed on the islands but that you can still find some samples in our store.
On the more rustic side, Abafado is a type of fortified wine very typical in Bairrada, the base being the red grape variety Baga but also in the Tejo region, but with the white grape variety Fernão Pires. In the Abafados, the addition of wine brandy is made within the first 24 hours of grape fermentation and is usually a wine with little time in wood, so you can expect a lot of fruit in this type of liqueur.
Finally, we have the Licorosos from Alentejo, where the most used variety is Alicante Bouschet, a French variety that was brought to Portugal and planted for the first time in Alentejo by the Reynolds family, in the 19th century.
As the Reynolds family came down from the Douro to the Alentejo, they brought with them the Port wine fortification techniques and this was the basis for the production of a Liqueur in the Alentejo.
Over time, many more producers followed this trend and today we have several Liqueurs in the region, which may normally use native red grapes such as Aragonêz or Touriga Nacional, but most include the original liqueur variety, Alicante Bouschet. If you like Port wine you should try the Alentejano liqueurs, it’s not a Port by name, but it’s from the same family.
We selected some Portuguese liqueur wines that prove that Portugal is much more than a Porto or a Madeira.
