There are about 16 thousand hectares of vineyards, spread over 20 municipalities in the districts of Castelo Branco and Guarda, which complete the Beira Interior Wine Route . Shall we meet her?

For the president of Beira Interior’s Vitivinicultural Commission ( CVRBI ), Rodolfo Baldaia de Queirós, “it makes perfect sense to combine the wines of Beira Interior with our fantastic and diversified tourism” because wine is “exponent of the culture, roots and tradition of Beira Interior”. And that was how, on the 5th of December 2019, during the 9th Jornadas de Enoturismo (wine tourism event) in Guarda, the project to create a Route for Beira Interior wines was born.

The Vitivinicultural Commission believes that “we must all row to the same side” in order to “make these [low density] territories increasingly attractive from the tourist point of view” and the Beira Interior “experience” to promote ourselves, betting on the products of the region ”, Rodolfo de Queirós tells Ambitur.pt.

The creation of the Beira Interior Wine Route thus comes, according to the official, to fill the gap of “not having this product [wine tourism] structured so that it can be properly disclosed to wine lovers who want to visit us”, in addition to “complementing income of wine producers ”and“ generating new business opportunities and boosting job creation ”in the region.

In addition to this route, CVRBI managed to hold the 1st edition of the Beira Interior Gourmet contest - combining wines with gastronomy - with the participation of 33 restaurants in the region at the beginning of the year. Rodolfo de Queirós affirms that the feedback was “very good”, leaving a “word of gratitude for the adherent restaurants that showed that they did not conform and that, despite the current situation of the pandemic that we are experiencing, they wanted to join this project from the start”.

Native varieties of a “very own identity”

Regarding the wines of the region, Rodolfo de Queirós says that "we have been in Beira Interior for about 2,000 years" and that "the indigenous varieties of the region give us a very distinctive identity from the other regions" and they are : Rufete, Marufo, Fonte Cal, Síria and Trincadeira. CVRBI has an important role here in “encouraging the use of these grape varieties” as well as older ones - among them, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Jaen, Arinto, Alfrocheiro and Fernão Pires - who “have always been part of our thoughts ".

But Beira Interior is also “synonymous with modernity”, involving international grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Syrah that came to “complement the wide range of grape varieties” in the region. It is also one of the “regions with the most potential in terms of organic farming” with around 1,000 hectares and integrated production, also environmentally friendly, with more than 5,000 hectares.

Beira Interior, an “option” in times of pandemic

The president of the Vitivinicultural Commission also adds that, even in times of pandemic, Beira Interior has been “an option for many tourists because they know they are safer here”, due to the low population density. In addition, “we have an increasingly diverse and rich offer both in our cuisine and wines and in accommodation” and with a whole historical and natural heritage to be explored, dotted by Historic and Shale Villages, by the Geo Parks of Serra da Estrela and Tagus International and the Malcata Reserve.

* The Beira Interior Wine Route as of today has its own website - https://vinhosdabeirainterior.pt/ - and presence on the social networks Facebook and Instragram (@beirainteriorwines).