📍 Azores

The Azores are a volcanic archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic, about 1,600 kilometres from mainland Portugal. Of the nine islands, grapes for wine are grown mainly on three: Pico, Terceira and Graciosa. The archipelago is part of Portuguese wine. The soils are young and shallow, made of basalt, trachyte and andesite.

Colonisation of the islands began in the mid-fifteenth century. Franciscan monks brought the Verdelho grape, which became the basis of local wine. The best known is Pico: there vineyard plots (currais) the size of small courtyards are surrounded by low walls of black volcanic stone that protect the vines from wind and sea spray. The landscape of the Pico Island vineyards was added to the UNESCO list in 2004.

Growers plant Verdelho, Terrantez and Arinto. The wines are white and fresh, with a clear mineral note and a salty hint, closer to the ocean than to the mainland. There are reds too, from Verdelho Tinto. There are three appellations: Pico, Graciosa and Biscoitos on Terceira. The archipelago lies at the junction of the American, European and African tectonic plates. The wines of Pico, Graciosa and Biscoitos first received IPR status and later became appellations.