The Pico IPR is a
Portuguese wine
Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfami ...
region located on the island of
Pico
Pico may refer to:
Places The Moon
* Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin
Portugal
* Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde
* Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...
in the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
archipelago of the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
. The region is designated a second-tier ''
Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada'' (IPR) classification, and potentially may be reclassified as a product of
Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC).
The region is primarily known for
fortified wine
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...
s and historically for the UNESCO designation associated with the
Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture
The Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture is a Unesco World Heritage Site on Pico Island, part of the archipelago of the Azores, Portugal. The landscape, with 987 ha, and the surrounding buffer zone with 1,924 ha, extend through most of the ...
.
History
It is assumed that Franciscan friars brought the first grapes into the lands of Pico during the period of settlement and discovery.
This clerics originally constructed churches and imported wine, essential in the celebration of masses through the archipelago. After verifying that the climatic conditions were comparable to Sicilly, they began to import various plants and wine castes, in particular, Verdelho.
[ The vine began to proliferate easily throughout the island. Quickly, the wine produced turned famous and began to be exported into northern Europe and Russia.][
With a climate characterized by weak temperature oscillation and elevated precipitation, and distributed throughout the year, allowed the production of white liqueur wines.][ This wine resulted from the grapes produced predominantly in the ''Lajido'' soils of the parishes.][ The basalt rocks are gathered together to form walls of loose volcanic rock, that protect the vines, that grow as high as above sea level.][ This tradition, which first began on Pico and that continues today was behind the designation of Pico's Vineyard Culture as a ]UNESCO Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.[
]
Geography
The geographic area of the IPR covers the municipalities of Madalena (specifically the civil parishes
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...
of Madalena Madalena is a feminine given name. It is a Portuguese form of Magdalene. It may refer to:
People
*Madalena Alberto, Portuguese actress, singer and composer
* Madalena Boavida, East Timorese politician
*Maddalena Casulana, (c. 1544–c. 1590), I ...
, Candelária, Criação Velha
Criação Velha is a civil parish in the municipality of Madalena on the island of Pico in the Azores. The population in 2011 was 768, in an area of 18.36 km². It contains the localities Alto da Cêrca, Canada de Beatriz, Canada de Pedro Nune ...
and Bandeiras
The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 149 ...
), São Roque do Pico
São Roque do Pico () is a municipality in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, occupying most of the northern side of the island of Pico. As of 2021, it has 3,221 inhabitants spread through five freguesias (civil parishes) in an area of 142. ...
(parishes of Santa Luzia, Prainha and the locality of Baía de Canas), and Lajes do Pico
Lajes do Pico () is a town and municipality in the central Azores. It is one of three municipalities of the island of Pico. It has 4,342 inhabitants as of 2021, in an area of 155.31 km2. It is bordered by Madalena to the west and by São Roqu ...
(specifically in the parishes of Piedade, and the localities of Engrade and Manhenha), as well as areas throughout the island above sea level.[
]
Grapes
The Pico IPR wine is commonly a white liqueur wine produced from grapes grown on rocky soils, located near the western coast of the island of Pico.[Maria João Fernão-Pires, ed., (2011), p.259] The area of vine is quite reduced; vines are divided in tiny plots, called ''currais'', edged by walls made of loose pebbles, with the purpose of protecting the plants from the wind.[
The principle grapes of the Pico region include ]Arinto
Arinto or Arinto de Bucelas is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Bucelas, Tejo and Vinho Verde regions. It can produce high acid wines with lemon notes.
Synonyms
Arinto is also known by the synonyms Arintho, Arintho du Dao, ...
, Terrantez
Terrantez (also known as ''Cascal''Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Terrantez'' Accessed: August 16th, 2012) is a white Portuguese wine grape variety that was once widely used on the island of Madeira to make the sweet fortified wi ...
and Verdelho.[
]
See also
* List of Portuguese wine regions
Portuguese wine regions are grouped into three levels of classification. At the top are the '' Denominação de Origem Controlada'' (or DOCs) which are Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions (QWpsr) under the European Union wine regulations ...
References
;Notes
;Sources
*
{{coord missing, Portugal
Wine_regions_of_Portugal