It isn’t the views but rather the aromas that capture you as you drive through the Dão wine region: pine, eucalyptus, the fresh forest pours through the crevices of even a closed car door window. The aromas are overwhelming. The view, however, is surprisingly not. While road trips through most wine regions involve going past rows and rows of vines, this is certainly not the case in the Dão. So where is the Dão wine region keeping all its vines?
The Dão’s big terroir surprise
If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise… Far from a Teddy Bears’ Picnic, the woods hold the Dão’s best-kept terroir secret: the vineyards are planted in pockets between the forests. A patchwork of small vineyard holdings is planted on the hillsides, plateaux and plots of land between the pine forests. Why? Because the pine forests have done all the hard work for the vines, breaking up the soil structure of tough granite to allow the vine roots to explore more easily.
The Dão: known for its granite
Dynamite has also been employed in the Dão wine region to help make way for vineyards, but pine forests offer a less explosive measure. While the Dão’s granite soils add some extra work when it comes to first planting, it is a soil worth the extra toil because these granite soils (with a mixture of well-draining sand) are what wine producers claim give their wines extra finesse.
The forests also have a second benefit for the vineyards of the Dão: protecting them from wind or extreme weather fronts from the nearby Atlantic Coast. Extreme weather fronts are limited in the Dão because of the surrounding mountain range (the Serra da Estrela range), which buffer the hot continental climate of the east, and the wet maritime climate of the west. The Dão sits happily in the middle with sufficient winter rainfall and warm, dry summers.
Combine the granitic soils (which help produce fresher wines with lower pH levels) with the protected climate of the Dão, and you have a recipe for great – and more elegant – wine. This is the region they refer to as ‘the Burgundy of Portugal’.
The home of Touriga Nacional & Encruzado
Although the finesse of Dão wines vs. those of the Douro is perhaps comparable to the finesse you’ll find in Burgundy vs. wines from Bordeaux, the varieties used to make them are a world apart. The Dão, like most regions in Portugal, has an incredible wealth of native grape varieties that are still the focus of producers today.
Red wines take up the lion’s share in the Dão (over 80% of plantings) and the most important variety is the Dão’s native variety, which has made its way to most vineyards across Portugal and is considered one of the country’s finest varieties – Touriga Nacional. The Dão wine region lays claim to be the home of Touriga Nacional – as does the Douro – but wherever it came from, Touriga Nacional is at the heart of most red blends in the Dão, along with other native red varieties, including Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Jaen and Alfrocheiro Preto.
Typically vineyards in the Dão wine region are all field blends, with several varieties planted together, thereby adding more complexity and different dimensions to the wine. Different exposures and altitudes (vineyards range from 200m to 900m above sea level) also give winemakers plenty of different profiles to play with when blending.
These blends are enjoyable in their early days – with a freshness, linear style and attractive floral and herbal aromas (helped by all the neighbouring pine and eucalyptus) – but can also be laid down for several years.
White wines in the Dão also have a tremendous potential for ageing and are dominated by the native Encruzado grape, which has a chameleon-like character. It is able to make fresh and floral wines to enjoy young, or more textured and voluptuous, full-bodied white wines that cellar very well.
A hilltop view from Quinta do Ribeiro Santo
A region still unexplored
Only 5% of the Dão wine region is actually planted with vines, leaving lots of unexplored terrains. This is a wine region that has really caught the attention of Portuguese winemakers and wine drinkers, and it feels as though it is still being discovered – not only by drinkers but very much by the producers themselves.
The challenging 20th century history of Portugal (bogged down by dictatorships, coups, revolutions and political instability) has hampered the development of its modern wine industry, which was dominated by co-operatives until very recently. As more independent winemakers step into the arena, or at least are given a more even playing field, we are undoubtedly going to see Portugal’s quality wine production on the rise – and the Dão is at the front of the line.
Learn more about the Dão wine region with our interview with top Dão winemaker Carlos Lucas.
Photos from Quinta do Ribeiro Santo.
The Dão wine region Fast Facts
Where is the Dão wine region?
Just below the Douro wine region and above Bairrada, the Dão wine region is inland and protected by the Atlantic coastal (maritime) influence and also the dry desertification (extreme continental climate) further inland.
The Dão is within the larger Beira region, which runs from the coastal region of Bairrada inland to the mountainous region of Dão and to the Baira Interior. Terras do Dão IGP covers the Dão DOP and Lafões DOP.
There are seven sub-regions within the Dão wine region:
- Alva
- Besteiros
- Castendo
- Serra da Estrela
- Silgueiros
- Terras de Azurara
- Terras de Senhorim
Climate in the Dão wine region
A mild Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summers and wetter, cold winters.
Average rainfall in the Dão wine region
990mm per year (mainly in the winter)
Average summer temperature in the Dão wine region
27°C (with a 10-15°C diurnal range at night)
Average winter temperature in the Dão wine region
8°C (with a 3-8°C diurnal range at night)
Longitude
40.4° N
Latitude
7.9° W
Size of the Dão wine region
There are 20,000 hectares of vines planted in the Dão, spread between over 50,000 grape growers. Vineyard holdings are very small and are widely spread (vines take up just 5% of the Dão region).
Annual production in the Dão
40 million litres of wine per year (just over 5% of national production)
Soils in the Dão wine region
Granite with a sandy topsoil. Well draining.
Altitude of vineyards in the Dão wine region
200-900m above sea level (vineyards mainly planted at 400-500m)
Grape Varieties in the Dão wine region
Approximately 80% of wine production is red, using mainly native varieties including:
- Touriga Nacional (must be a minimum of 20% of the blend)
- Jaen
- Touriga Franca
- Alfrocheiro Preto
- Alvarelhão
- Aragonez (Tinta Roriz)
- Bastardo
- Rufete
- Trincadeira
- Tinta Cão
White wine grapes include:
- Encruzado
- Bical
- Cercial
Interesting facts about the Dão wine region
The Dão is Portugal’s first demarcated wine region for still (unfortified) wines, listed in 1908.
