Bairrada (DOC)

Bairrada derives its name from the word, "barro" - Portuguese for clay. The region's soil is almost exclusively clay, usually mixed with either lime or sand.

Lying midway between Porto and Lisbon, Bairrada stretches 28 miles from the Agueda River in the north to Coimbra in the south. Records of viticulture in this region date back to at least 1000 years, and it is renowned for elegant but austere reds. Made from the Baga grape, these wines develop wonderful complexity and finesse as they age.

About 40,000 acres of this region are under vine. An administrative organization called the Comissao Vitivinicola da Bairrada was formed in 1986 to control and guarantee the authenticity of the wines.