COLARES WINE CELLAR
 The Cellar |  Colares Cellar |
|---|---|
 Colares Wine Tasting |  The colors are not intense and the flavor may initially remember blackberries and some resin. |
 The Colares wine has great quality and aging potential, one of the most remarkable red wine varieties of Portugal. |  Trenches are dug, often with more than 3mts deep, to find clay. Then the vines are planted and are being covered up as they grow. |
 The vines must be conducted in low forms, and protections that prevent the adverse effect of the salty sea winds. |  |
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DESCRIPTION:
Colares is a wine producing region since 1908.
Located right on the coast, the vineyards are perched on cliffs 200 meters high, overlooking the sea. These gnarly vines are planted in sand dunes using the unusual method, trenches are dug, often with more than 3mts deep, until it's reach the clay soil, then is planted with the calcareous clay underneath. Over the next 2 years the sand is slowly put back into the hole as the vine grows. The vines must be conducted in low forms, when the clusters begin to form, supports are placed so that the grapes do not come into contact with the sand and protections are built to prevent the adverse effect of the salty sea winds. All this is done with the utmost respect and according to ancient traditions. However, the fame and value of Colares wine grown from 1863, when the European vineyards began to be devastated by phylloxera, a terrible plague that just do not hit Colares due to the sandy conditions of the land on which the insect did not find a way to penetrate. Something unprecedented, as other wine regions with sandy soils suffered the ravages of this pest. This is explained by the fact that the vineyards in Colares are implanted deep, often more than ten meters, which allowed them to escape the disease.
It was so Colares prevailed, becoming at the time the main national wine table, the red variety of Ramisco always stood out more than the white, Colares Malvasia. The Ramisco has great quality and aging potential, one of the most remarkable red wine varieties of Portugal, with a low alcohol content (between ten and a half to twelve percent of volume), high acidity and strong tannins, which requires a long period in the bottle. The colors are not intense and the flavor may initially remember blackberries and some resin. The palate is fresh and strong astringency and age so well that can last decades.
But his plantation still require a huge effort of workers, depending, as explained, the depth at which the cuttings are planted.
Currently, there are 12-14 acres left, making Colares the smallest D.O.C. in Portugal. The resultant wines are impeccably balanced with a sandy texture and vivid, fresh flavors that could only come from the influence of the Atlantic.
Visit in the Tours:
SCHEDULE:
Monday to Friday:
9.30 to 12.00 am.
and 2.30 to 5.00 pm.
