🍷 Talha wine
A Portuguese wine from Alentejo fermented in large clay jars.
Talha wine is a Portuguese wine from the Alentejo region in the south of the country. It is made by a very old method: grapes ferment together with their skins in large clay jars called talhas. This is similar to Georgian qvevri and to amphora wine in other countries.
The method came to Portugal long ago, in Roman times, and was kept alive in Alentejo villages. Today the wine has its own designation, Vinho de Talha. The jars stand in cellars, and their inner surface is often coated with resin. Grapes are usually crushed and then left to ferment with the skins and sometimes the stems. When fermentation ends, the wine is separated from the sediment.
The wine has a distinctive taste: red is full and soft, white is amber in colour with a light grip. Such wines show how wine was made before steel tanks and oak barrels.
Each talha matures a small batch, so there are not many bottles. It is a type of wine defined by method of production, not by grape.
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Types of wine
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Qvevri wine, 🍷 Amphora wine
Frequently asked questions
What is talha wine?
A Portuguese wine from Alentejo fermented in large clay jars called talhas.
How is a talha like a qvevri?
Both are clay vessels for fermenting wine; the talha is Portuguese, the qvevri Georgian.
Where is talha wine made?
In the Alentejo region of southern Portugal.
Similar
🍷 Field blend · 🍷 Orange wine · 🍷 Amphora wine · 🍷 Wine cooler · 🍷 Varietal wine · 🍷 Sacramental wine
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.