Terras do Dão

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area is surrounded by mountain massifs that protect it from the continental winds of the east and the humid air masses of the coast.
• The landscape is marked by numerous deep valleys forming a dense hydrographic network, a defining feature of the relief of the geographical area.
• The climate is temperate, with mean annual rainfall of between 1,100 and 1,600 mm concentrated mainly in autumn and winter, and annual sunshine of between 2,200 and 2,700 hours, greatest between May and August.
• Winters are cold and summers are hot, with very significant temperature ranges.
• Soils are predominantly of granitic origin, with patches of Pre-Cambrian schist, and are generally low in organic matter and low in pH.

• Records documenting the economic importance of the vine and wine in this region date back to the twelfth century, attesting to a millennia-old winemaking tradition.
• Variety selection favours those that show the best viticultural adaptation to the conditions of the geographical area, preserving the region's age-old tradition.

• The red wines reveal a velvety texture with good harmony and display soft tannins, while the whites and rosés show good freshness and notable, well-balanced acidity.
• All these wines are marked by minerality, display good varietal expression, and show persistence with alcohol, structure, and acidity in balance.

• The essentially granitic origin of the soils, with low organic matter content and low pH, gives the wines and sparkling wines their mineral character and contributes to their notable fixed acidity.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (caderno de especificações).

All appellations in Portugal

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-PT-02352
• Official trade body site — Comissão Vitivinícola Regional do Dão