Biscoitos
Styles
Principal grape varieties
The Portuguese regulator (IVV) does not distinguish principal vs accessory varieties — every authorised casta is listed together in the caderno de especificações.
Terroir
Natural factors
- The soils are non-humic litholic soils and lithosols of volcanic origin, resting on a consolidated substrate of basalts or related rocks, andesites and trachytes, generally recent lavas.
- The climate on Terceira island is temperate maritime, with mild temperatures ranging from 16 °C to 26 °C in summer.
- Rainfall is regular throughout the year, being more persistent and intense in winter, with average monthly precipitation exceeding 100 mm between October and March.
- An average of approximately 3 to 4 hours of sunshine per day is recorded in winter and approximately 6 to 8 hours in summer, with a mean annual relative humidity of around 79%.
- Wind, the result of colliding Atlantic air masses, is a significant climatic factor owing to the humidity and salinity it carries across the geographical area.
Human factors
- The curraletas contain on average between 6 and 10 planting pits, also known as covachos or caldeiras, with an average diameter of approximately 70 cm, dug into the stony material to protect against salty winds in spring.
- With a winemaking tradition dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, protection of the vineyards against Atlantic winds is ensured by the construction of dividing walls known as travessas, built from stone extracted from the basaltic lava terrain.
Product characteristics
- The wines, fortified wines, sparkling wines and wines from overripe grapes display minerality and salinity as relevant and distinctive attributes, and are fresh with fruity aromas.
- Wines from overripe grapes produced in areas with greater rocky outcrops are distinguished by fruity aromas, with a predominance of ripe fruit and stone fruit.
Terroir / wine link
- The volcanic soils, combined with the strong Atlantic influence arising from the island setting, lend the wines their characteristic minerality and salinity.
Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (caderno de especificações).
About this boundary · approximate area
Approximate area — the union of the administrative units named in the document (Eurostat GISCO or national cadastre boundaries).
Administrative unit(s) the document includes only in part, drawn whole: Biscoitos (Praia da Vitória).
Sources
- eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-PT-A1444
- Official trade body site — Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho dos Açores
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