📍 Setúbal Peninsula

The Setúbal Peninsula is a sandy plain and hills south of Lisbon, across the Tagus river, in Portugal. Ocean, bay and the Serra da Arrábida ridge meet here, and soils are usually sandy or limestone. The climate is Mediterranean, with warm dry summers. It is a separate wine region, known under its regional name Península de Setúbal.

The two main zones of the peninsula are Setúbal and Palmela. Setúbal is famous for the sweet fortified wine Moscatel de Setúbal: it is made from Muscat grapes (Muscat of Alexandria and Moscatel Roxo), left to steep on the skins and aged in barrels, taking on notes of orange, honey and nuts. Palmela is known for reds from Castelão, the most widely planted red grape on the peninsula.

Besides fortified wines, modern red, white and rosé wines are made. Limestone hills of Arrábida rise above the vineyards with a view of the ocean, and a cool breeze from the Atlantic balances the daytime heat.

For comparison with its neighbours: to the north across the Tagus lies Lisbon, and to the east and south Alentejo with a hotter climate and larger estates, where the wine is also red and powerful.