Cova da Beira wine Cova da Beira wine Cova da Beira is a Portuguese wine region centered on the Cova da Beira region between the Dão and Vinho Verde DOCs in the wider Beiras VR wine region. Cova da Beira was initially a separate "Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada" (IPR) region (and was the largest IPR in Portugal in terms of land planted with vines), but in 2005, it became one of three subregions of the Beira Interior DOC, which has the higher "Denominação de Origem Controlada" (DOC) status. Its name may still be indicated together with that of Beira Interior, as Beira Interior-Cova da
Vinho Verde they are usually consumed soon after bottling. A Vinho Verde can also be a sparkling, a Late Harvest or even Brandy. In its early years of production, the slight effervesce of the wine came from malolactic fermentation taking place in the bottle. In winemaking this is usually considered a wine fault but Vinho Verde producers found that consumers liked the slightly fizzy nature. However, the wines had to be packaged in opaque bottles in order to hide the unseemly turbidity and sediment that the "in-bottle MLF" produced. Today, most Vinho Verde producers no longer follow this practice with the slight