THE WINERY – REGION/TRADITIONS
Alentejo is the largest and most peaceful province of Portugal. Its unique features, with plains and mountains, where you can meet people of great hospitality, often attracts the city population, who comes here to escape the daily hustle and bustle and to enjoy the peacefulness the region has to offer to regain energies.
The shadows of its trees are an invitation to rest, while tasting some of the most delicious dishes of the rich Alentejo gastronomy, such as migas (bread stew), açorda (Alentejo bread soup), ensopado de borrego (lamb stew), sopa de tomate (tomato soup), gazpacho, sopa de cação (dogfish soup), rechina (pork blood soup), sweets, sausages and cheeses, accompanied by one of its famous wines.
Alentejo, whose name literally means “beyond the Tagus”, is located south of the river in southern Portugal. It currently has 234 parishes comprising 47 municipalities, distributed by the districts of Portalegre, Évora, Beja and part of the Setúbal district, this province has an average of 23.7 inhabitants per km2, the lowest population density of Portugal and one of the lowest of Europe.
It’s a poor land, where, throughout history, its inhabitants got used to making a great effort to survive. People from the Alentejo are honest, open, generous and hospitable people. The popular figures of the Alentejo workers were the ganhão (rural worker), abegão (farm manager), shepherd, cork cutter, grape picker, pruner, potter, and muleteer, among others, some of which still exist today.
The Alentejo climate is temperate, with Mediterranean and continental features. But sometimes it becomes extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius. Since the rainfall rate is very low, this region often suffers from drought. Its soils are usually of granitic origin, with medium to low fertility levels.
It’s an undeniably a viticultural region with a long history linked to viticulture dating back to Roman times The oldest historical documents prove that viticulture in Alentejo was practiced in the early moments of national independence. Even before the export of Douro wines and the famous Port wine, the Portuguese exported wines from the south of the country, appreciated for its qualities, with its intense color and its high alcoholic strength.
It is in this context that in 1956 Adega Cooperativa do Redondo is founded.
The subsequent demarcation of the eight wine regions authorized to produce VQPRD wines (or QWPSR – quality wines produced in specified regions) (Portalegre, Borba, Redondo, Reguengos, Vidigueira, Évora, Granja-Amareleja and Moura) gave a new momentum and further prestige to the Alentejo region, that can rejoice for the excellent quality of its many wines.
AcR Traditions
Adega Cooperativa de Redondo is located in one of the most peaceful and beautiful regions in Portugal. Alentejo is located in the south of Portugal and its warm climate favors the culture of wine and vine, whose quality is recognized nationally and internationally.