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The wines of the Algarve won a number of medals at the tenth staging of the prestigious international competition Wine Masters Challenge 2007, which took place in Estoril from 23rd to 25th March. According to the Algarve’s Wine and Gastronomy Association the “Confraria dos Enófilos e Gastronómica do Algarve” the result contributes a lot to the recognition of the quality of the region’s wine production.

Carlos Silva e Sousa told the Algarve Observer that the conditions here were exceptional and difficult to match, where the production of grapes results from a very good balance between sugars and acidity.

With only about ten organised producers, the Algarve has been catching up in the production of quality wines, after two decades of being practically abandoned.

The president of the association, who has about five hectares of vines at Quinta dos Correias, close to the Ria Formosa, said that there had always been a great tradition, but that the abandonment of agriculture in the 1970s and 80s had almost killed off production.

That was where one of the winners of the Wine Masters Challenge 2007 came from, the red “Fuzeta 2004”, bronze medal winner from among the ‘Regional Algarve’ wines in the competition. The red “Alvor Colheita Seleccionada 2005” took silver, while the rosé “Alvor Rosé Syrah 2006” also won bronze.

The Portimão and Tavira regions were also awarded prizes, with a silver medal for the white D.O.C. Portimão “Tapada da Torre 2005” and a bronze medal for the red D.O.C. Tavira “Terras da Luz 2004”.

The competition awarded prizes to a number of wine-producing regions in Portugal and from all over the world.

source: algarve observer