Adega Viúva Gomes Collares Branco

Description

The wine region was demarcated in 1908, making it the second oldest demarcated region in the country. It is located in a dune zone along the coast of the municipality of Sintra, between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, stretching from Cabo da Roca to Magoito. The link between Colares and wine has been lost to time, but it is known that wine was already being produced there during the Roman occupation; later, in 1230, King D. Afonso III granted lands to nobles on the condition that they cultivate vineyards. Colares became famous at the end of the 19th century, specifically in 1865, when the greatest threat to global viticulture, phylloxera, struck. This tiny insect, native to the Americas, began arriving alive in Europe when voyage times were shortened by the introduction of steam-powered ships. Interestingly, the vineyards in Colares were the only ones that survived phylloxera, thanks to the depth of their roots, sometimes reaching eight metres, which prevented the microbe from spreading as it did in other soils. Across Europe, except in this region, American rootstocks (resistant to the insect) were grafted onto European varieties.