Viticultural landscape of the island of Pico

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Vineyard on Pico Island with protective walls and winegrower's house ( Adega )

Wine-growing areas on the island of Pico with a total area of ​​987 ha were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Terroir

The island of Pico belongs to the Azores archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic, whose islands are all of volcanic origin. Vineyards have been planted at the foot of the Pico volcano, Portugal's highest mountain, since the 15th century. For viticulture, terroirs made of basalt lava were chosen, on which other cultures do not thrive, because no soil has yet formed on this lava rock. Crevices in the rock allow the long roots of vines to absorb water and nutrients. Thanks to the occasionally intense sunlight and the resulting warm, dark lava rock as a heat store, as well as the mineral-rich ground and sufficient moisture, grapes with a high sugar content and special minerality can be obtained.

Lava walls as small rectangles to protect against winds.
Vines with deep roots in cracks in the lava rock

Landscaping

The areas covered by UNESCO are mainly located near the town of Madalena (Azores) , where the Museu do Vinho explains the history and methods of viticulture, on the west side of the island of Pico. The wine-growing area originally extended over a length of 40 km along the sea and up to 3 km inland. Close to the sea, the vines are protected from salty winds coming from the sea by many rectangular or semicircular protective walls made of dark lava rock. Small winegrowers' houses, also made of lava stones and called Adegas , are part of the typical landscape and are part of this world cultural heritage.

Grape varieties and products

Selection of white wines DOC Pico .

Wines from the Verdelho grape in particular made the wines from Pico internationally known at an early stage. Pico wines were found in the cellars of Tsar Nicholas II . In the last quarter of the 19th century, however, phylloxera also destroyed most of the vines in the Azores. After that, so-called American vines (hybrids with North American wild vines) resistant to phylloxera were mainly planted, which only produce inferior wines. Only since the 1980s have noble vines been planted again , thanks to the Azores Wine Conversation Plan with government support, to replace the previous hybrids. The three traditional grape varieties Verdelho, Arinto dos Açores and Terrantez are now used for origin-protected white fortified wines enriched with additional brandy . These liqueurs have had the quality and location designation VLQPRD Pico since 1994 . As with Spanish sherry wines, there are drier and sweeter liqueurs depending on the residual sugar content. Later the name Denominaçao de Origem Controlado DOC followed for selected wines from this limited area. Fruity, acidic, dry white wines are also made from the same types of white wine. Several grape varieties are also planted for red wines, such as Merlot , Saborinho, Cabernet Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon , Syrah and Touriga Nacional . Wines such as the Terras de Lava with the name Azores PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and the table wine Basalto are made from this. In addition, different types of brandy are distilled .

See also

Commons : Pico Island Viticulture Cultural Landscape  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of World Heritage Sites in Portugal
  2. ^ Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture. UNESCO description
  3. ↑ Azores Wines (Eng.)
  4. ^ Susanne Lipps: Azores. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern, 3rd edition 2016, p. 56
  5. ↑ António Machado Pires: Roteiro cultural dos açores , p. 96. Ponta Delgada n.d. ISBN 978-972-647-277-3 .
  6. ↑ a b c Guia dos Vinhos. Cooperativa Vitivinicola da Ilha do Pico, 2014