About Quinta do Avelar

Quinta do Avelar holds what may be the oldest vineyards in Bucelas. The primary vineyard, 7 hectares of Arinto planted over 50 years ago, is set amid a 243-hectare forest preserve encompassing the historic João Camillo Alves country home in Freixial. The family also tends 10 hectares of Arinto, Rabo de Ovelha and Esgana Cão, planted around the same time as the Arinto, at the valley entrance to Bucelas village. Farming is by organic practices (not yet certified). Restored over a half century ago by Sérgio Geraldes Barba, the property is now maintained by his son and grandson, both named Nuno. The family adamantly adheres to traditional production methods. The resulting wine profile has been stewarded for two decades by winemaker Mario Andrade. Full details

About Bucelas DOC

The Bucelas region is located about 25 kilometers north of Lisbon, surrounded by mountains in the valley of the Trancão River. It benefits from a specific micro-climate: damp and cold in winter but temperate in summer, with hot and dry days and cooler nights. The oldest vineyards are found in the traditional ‘caeiras’, basins and rolling hills in the lower valleys. Here the soil is calcareous loam and crystalline limestone, where one finds fossils from the nearby Atlantic ocean. The white grape Arinto has grown in the region for centuries. Referenced by Shakespeare in Henry VI as ‘Charneco’, the wine was renowned in the English court, where it was also known as ‘Lisbon Hock’ and later as ‘Bucellas’. The region was fiercely contested during the Napoleonic invasions (1810s), and fortifications, the Lines of the Torres Vedras, still dot the landscape with stations and lookouts today. In the late 19th century, production and exports blossomed when João Camillo Alves brought renewed attention to Bucelas wines and its scenic vineyards. The demarcated region of Bucelas was created in 1911, encompassing specific localities: Bucelas, Charneca, Vila de Rei, Bemposta, Santo Aleixo, Vila Nova, Chamboeira and Freixial. Rules then and now require the wine to be principally of Arinto grapes, although a small portion of Esgana-Cão (Sercial) and Rabo de Ovelha is permitted. Recognized as the ‘Capital of Arinto’, Bucelas is the only demarcated region in Portugal that is strictly white wine. As red wine came to dominate the domestic market in Portugal, production of Bucelas wine declined. Today eight grower/producers remain. In recognition of its heritage, the region is included on the Wine Route of Bucelas, Carcavelos and Colares – the three historic wines from Lisbon.