Grape Varieties

Baga simply means "berry" in Portuguese, and the variety is the soul of Bairrada: roughly three-quarters of the red vineyard area belongs to it. It has small berries with thick skins, ripens late, and brings high natural acidity. As a red wine it's austere and demanding, but as a sparkling wine base, it's a stroke of luck.

What makes the red wine hard works in sparkling wine's favor. The taut acidity stays fresh even after the second fermentation, and the low sugar content of early-picked grapes keeps alcohol in check. The second fermentation in the bottle raises it by about one percentage point more.

Alongside Baga stand three white varieties named for Bairrada Espumante: Bical, Maria Gomes, and Arinto. Bical and Arinto bring freshness and acidity, while Maria Gomes, known elsewhere in Portugal as Fernão Pires, contributes a softer, more floral side. Many cuvées blend Baga with one or more of these varieties.

Something special happens when red Baga is treated like a white grape. If the berries are pressed immediately without skin contact, the juice stays pale, producing a white sparkling wine from red grapes, a Blanc de Noirs. Several houses in the region bottle such pure Baga sparkling wines, including Aliança.

Internationally known varieties also appear here and there. Aliança, for instance, offers a Grande Reserva sparkling wine made entirely from Pinot Noir. That's the exception. Anyone wanting to understand how this region tastes should start with Baga, Bical, Maria Gomes, and Arinto, varieties barely known outside Portugal.