Lisboa

The IVV says vine growing in the region grew considerably from the twelfth century through the religious orders. It singles out the Cistercians of the Alcobaça monastery, who made wine for the Mass. The wines of what was then called Estremadura gained a high reputation. The Bucelas specification records that Wellington knew and liked the wine of Bucelas. It says the wine was popular at the English court after the Peninsular War and that he made it known to the Prince Regent. The Colares rules say its vines, in deep clay under sand by the sea, escaped the phylloxera that destroyed vineyards in the late nineteenth century. The Carcavelos rules call it an old designation, regulated as a small region for more than a hundred years. Today Lisboa holds the designations of origin Alenquer, Arruda, Bucelas, Carcavelos, Colares, Encostas d'Aire, Óbidos and Torres Vedras, and Lourinhã for grape spirit.

The region follows the Atlantic coast north of the Tagus estuary. The IVV describes a temperate climate without great temperature swings, with 600-700 mm of rain a year. It says the sea and the relief, such as the Serra de Montejunto, give wines of marked acidity and low alcohol. Soils are mainly clay-limestone and clay-sand.

The three historic designations near Lisbon differ sharply. Bucelas lies mainly on the slopes of the Trancão valley in the municipality of Loures, in tight valleys under high hills. Its microclimate is quite cold in winter and mild in summer, on poor soils of marl and hard limestone called "caeiras". Colares, between the Serra de Sintra and the Atlantic, is strongly marked by the sea. Its vines grow on "chão de areia", sand over deep clay, or on "chão rijo", brown calcareous soils on marl. Carcavelos, near the mouth of the Tagus in Cascais and Oeiras, has a mild Mediterranean climate with small temperature swings. Its vines stand on red Mediterranean and calcareous soils, some stony, facing south-west.

The Bucelas specification attributes a "strong personality" to the high share of Arinto. Young wines are very light and tart, and older ones fuller and more complex. It credits the match between the narrow range of grapes, the climate and the soils. Colares red from Ramisco is ruby and astringent; it softens with age, turns brownish and develops a strong aroma. The rules credit the grapes, the soils and a mild, humid summer climate. Carcavelos is delicate and velvety, with a certain almond aroma that grows stronger with age. Its rules credit the south-west exposure of dry, stony ground. Across the region the IVV notes marked acidity, from the sea and the relief.

Bucelas covers white and sparkling wine from at least 75% Arinto, with Sercial and Rabo de Ovelha also listed. It needs at least 10.5% alcohol and 4 g/l of fixed acidity, and the sparkling wine is made by the classic method. Colares covers red and white wine from Ramisco, Malvasia and a short list of other grapes. Vines must be trained low. On sand, the traditional practice is to root the ungrafted cane in the layer below the sand. Reds may be sold after 18 months in vessel and 6 in bottle, whites after 6 and 3. Carcavelos is a fortified wine of 15-22% alcohol with at most 150 g/l of sugar, from grapes such as Arinto, Boal Branco, Galego Dourado and Ratinho. It must age at least two years in wood and six months in bottle. The other designations make red, white and rosé wines. The regional wine Lisboa includes Vinho Leve at 9-10% alcohol.