Vinho da Talha

A talha is a large clay amphora, up to two thousand litres, and making wine in one is what the Romans did here - Vidigueira sits on a Roman wine region and the method never stopped. Grapes go into the talha with skins and stems, ferment on the skins, and the mass of solids sinks; the wine stays on it, protected by a layer of olive oil floated on the surface, and is drawn off through a tap low in the side, the batoque. It is traditionally opened on São Martinho, 11 November, and drunk young, cloudy and unfiltered, and it tastes unlike conventional wine - textural, slightly oxidative, savoury. It was a village and household practice that nearly disappeared; since the 2010s it has been formalised with a Vinho de Talha designation, and commercial producers have taken it up, with the adegas of Vila de Frades the best-known place to drink it.

What to look for

• The talhas - clay amphorae up to two thousand litres, standing in the adega.
• The oil seal - olive oil floated on the surface to protect the wine.
• The batoque - the low tap the wine is drawn from, opened on 11 November.
• The Roman continuity - a method practised here since antiquity without interruption.

When to go

From 11 November, when the talhas are tapped, through the following months. Adegas in Vila de Frades serve it with food; commercial producers take visitors year-round.

Good to know

It tastes nothing like conventional wine - cloudy, savoury and oxidative, and not everyone likes it. Village adegas keep informal hours and may be closed. The wine does not travel or keep well once tapped. The Alentejo villages need a car.

Nearby

Vidigueira and Cuba are close; Beja is south-west.