Burjacas Colares Tinto

Description

The link between Colares and wine stretches back through time, but records show that wine was already being produced in the area during the Roman occupation. Later, in 1230, King D. Afonso III granted lands to nobles on the condition that they cultivate vines. Colares came into prominence in the late nineteenth century, specifically in 1865, when the world viticulture was hit by one of its greatest threats to this day: phylloxera. This tiny American insect began arriving alive in Europe when travel times shortened thanks to the introduction of steam-powered ships. Interestingly, the vines in the region were the only ones to survive the plague intact, thanks to their deep roots—sometimes up to eight metres—which prevented the pest’s spread, unlike other soil types. Today, across Europe except for the sands of Colares, the use of American rootstocks (resistant to the insect) grafted onto European varieties is necessary. (Illustrative image)