📍 Óbidos

Óbidos is a wine zone on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, about 80 kilometres north of Lisbon. The name comes from the medieval walled town of Óbidos. The district belongs to the Lisbon wine region, which includes other coastal zones such as Colares.

It is a cool zone by the ocean: sea air softens the heat, and the wine comes out fresh. The DOC appeared in 2006, when the district was moved up from IPR status to the higher category. IPR is an intermediate step between regional wines and DOC.

Growers plant Arinto, Fernão Pires, Vital, Castelão (called Periquita here), Tinta Miúda, Rabo de Ovelha, Bastardo and Camarate. The whites come out fresh with good acidity, and the reds soft and fruity. Sparkling wines are made too.

Fernão Pires and Arinto are the district's main white grapes, and Castelão, also called Periquita, is one of Portugal's most widespread red grapes. Portugal has three steps of wine origin: regional VR wines, the intermediate IPR and the top DOC. Bastardo, which grows in Óbidos, is the same red grape that France calls Trousseau.