Alentejo wine
The Alentejo covers most of southern Portugal, a hot, dry plain south and east of Lisbon. It makes ripe, generous reds from Aragonez, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet, fresher whites, and wine still made in clay pots called talhas. Here are our Alentejo bottles, plus a few things to eat.
Cooking tonight? Tell us what is on the table and we will pick the red for you.
The big reds, and the lighter ones
The classic Alentejo red is soft and warm, with dark fruit. The usual grapes are Aragonez (Spain's Tempranillo), Trincadeira, Castelão and Alicante Bouschet, a grape with red flesh that gives deep colour. Fitapreta Red blends most of them. Miguel Louro Apelido Red 2021 adds Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.
Some growers now make fresher, lighter wines. Rocim Nat Cool Fresh From Amphora Red 1 L is a litre of red you can put in the fridge. The whites are worth a look too. If you want to see what a decade does to Arinto, open Herdade do Cebolal Caios Arinto White 2013.
Talha wine and palhete
Clay talhas came to the Alentejo with the Romans, and some villages never stopped using them. The wine ferments in the clay with the skins, then runs out through a tap near the bottom. Start with Argilla Talha White. White grapes left on their skins often turn amber, so if you like that, see our orange wine page.
Palhete is the old local light red, made from red and white grapes together. Herdade do Cebolal Palhete is a good one. Serve it cool.
How to serve it
Reds at 16 to 17°C, which in a Lisbon August means 20 minutes in the fridge. Once open, a red keeps two or three days with the cork back in. Eat it with porco preto, lamb or a hard sheep's cheese. To finish the Alentejo way, have a few Elvas plums: Confibor Elvas Dried Candied Plums 200 g are on the shelf next to the wine.
Questions we get asked
What grapes are used in Alentejo wine?
For reds, mostly Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Castelão, often with Touriga Nacional or Syrah. For whites, Antão Vaz, Roupeiro and Arinto.
What is vinho de talha?
It is wine fermented in large clay pots called talhas, a method used in the Alentejo since Roman times. It has its own name on the label within DOC Alentejo: "Vinho de Talha".
What is the difference between DOC Alentejo and Vinho Regional Alentejano?
DOC Alentejo comes from eight sub-regions and has stricter rules on grapes and winemaking. Vinho Regional Alentejano covers the whole region with more freedom, so many modern producers prefer it.
Is Alentejo wine heavy?
The classic reds are ripe and often around 14% alcohol. Palhete, talha wines and the new fresher reds are much lighter, and those are the ones we drink most in summer.
