Portugal boasts its centennial "chardonnay" at the Beira Interior fair

The famous sparkling wine "chardonnay" presumes these days to be one of the centuries-old indigenous wines of Portugal in the Fair "Vinhos e Sabores" of Pinhel, thanks to the vineyards that they conserve in the region of the Interior Beira, border with Spain.

Pinhel (Portugal), Nov 19 (EFE) .- The famous sparkling wine "chardonnay" presumes these days to be one of the centuries-old local wines of Portugal at the "Vinhos e Sabores" Fair of Pinhel, thanks to the vineyards that are conserved in the region of the Interior Beira, bordering Spain.

Manuel Garret, Portuguese agronomist and one of the heirs of the Portuguese winery Almeida Garret, founded more than a century ago, explained today to EFE that each year they make "around 6,000 bottles of chardonnay", which are sold all over the world, since it is a very select wine due to its maturation process.

According to Garret, this "sparkling wine" can not be compared to the traditional cava because "it is made with only one variety, the chardonnay, while the Cavas are produced with three grape varieties. "

Another of the" secrets "of this coveted sparkling wine is its fermentation process, since" first a base wine is created using the white grape chardonnay and then, already in the bottle, in which it remains for three years, it ferments a second time ", thus giving rise to the foam, due to the release of carbon dioxide.

The pairing of Sparkling wine is also a protagonist at Pinhel's "Vinhos e Sabores" Fair thanks to the creation launched this weekend by Portuguese entrepreneur Pedro Pinheiro, based on a compote seasoned with sparkling wine.

This is the compote called "geleia", which has marmalade washed down with sparkling wine and served in a tube-shaped container similar to of the toothpaste, which has been designed by a company from the Spanish region of Galicia.

"We have specially developed it to launch it in this fair with the intention of checking if it has good acceptance, since we want to sell it all over the world, "explained Pinheiro.

This businessman has also made possible the pairing of the compote of arándonos with the famous Port wine, which gives it a sweet taste.

In the contest, which ends today, Rodolfo Baldaia de Queirós, technical director of the Regulatory Board of the Denomination of Origin Wines of the Beira Interior explained to EFE that "one of the main markets that they want to conquer in the next few years is Spanish."

The Beira Interior Designation of Origin is made up of more than fifty winemakers that generate an annual turnover of one hundred million euros.

According to Baldaia, one of the bets of this wine demarcation of 16,000 hectares of vineyards, goes through to produce softer wines.

"The public demands more and more wines that are not so strong, they prefer more elegant and fresh wines", assured the director. technical.

Therefore, they want to promote the original variety of this area known as the "rufete", a type of grape that also exists in the Spanish region of the Sierra de la Sierra Natural Park from France (province of Salamanca).

With this variety, "we are achieving very elegant wines that do not tire the tasters".

The mayor of Pinhel, Rui Ventura, recalled that region, where the largest production of wines of this denomination is, is "betting" on internationalization, so this year the fair will host the awards ceremony of the hispanic entity "Vinduero-Vindouro", which each year evaluates more than half a thousand wines from the Iberian Peninsula.

As the president of the Denomination of Origin Beira advanced Interior, João Carvalho, a quarter of all the certified wines produced in this area are exported, due to the growing acceptance they are having worldwide.