Colares Wines owes its name to the parish of Colares, where our Refúgio da Roca restaurant is also located. This is a unique and very special wine region!

A little of history

The connection of Colares to wine, has come from far, since the Roman occupation. Later, in 1230, King D. Afonso III handed over land to the nobles, in exchange for implementing the cultivation of the vineyard.

From the last quarter of the nineteenth century, one of the greatest threats that remains today, the phylloxera, caused world viticulture to fall. This is a tiny insect, whose word is used interchangeably to refer to the living being itself and to a fatal disease of the vines caused by its infestation. And that is where the uniqueness of Colares wines is revealed. When the phylloxera, from the Americas, arrived in Europe, it reached all the vineyards except Colares.

Adega Viúva Gomes (Viúva Gomes Cellar), founded in 1808 and located in Almoçageme, about 2.1 miles from our restaurant, was present in this period of history. And as it is said, the vineyards in the region were the only ones that fully resisted this plague. The depth of the roots, sometimes 8 meters, did not allow the phylloxera to spread as it did in other types of soil.

Unique wines

Currently throughout Europe, it is necessary to use grafts of American plants (resistant to the insect), except in the sands of Colares.

Colares wines have a vibrant character due to the specificity of their terroir. The Atlantic storms and the influence of the Sintra Mountain, gave rise to fresh and saline wines, of light structure and marked acidity. The sandy soils, present from Cabo da Roca to Magoito, provided unique and really fantastic wines to taste at Refúgio da Roca: Ramisco (red grape varieties) to accompany red meats and Malvasia (white grape varieties) for fish and seafood.

Adega Viúva Gomes conducts wine tasting frequently, with prior reservation by e-mail: info@adegaviuvagomes.com. Know a little of its history and complement your experience with a visit to our Refúgio da Roca!