Alentejo wine Alentejo wine Alentejo ("Vinho do Alentejo", Alentejo wines) is a Portuguese wine region located in the Alentejo region of the country. The entire region is entitled to use the "Vinho Regional" designation Alentejano VR, while some areas are also classified at the higher "Denominação de Origem Controlada" (DOC) level under the designation Alentejo DOC. VR is similar to the French "vin de pays" and DOC to the French AOP. Located in the southern half of Portugal, the Alentejo region covers about a third of the country and is sparsely populated. In 2005, South Oregon University scientist Gregory V. Jones identified
Vinho Verde from Espadeiro and Padeiro grapes. The Romans Seneca the Younger and Pliny the Elder both made reference to vines in the area between the rivers Douro and Minho. A record exists of a winery being donated to the Alpendurada convent in Marco de Canaveses in 870 AD, and the vineyards seem to have expanded over the following centuries, planted by religious orders and encouraged by tax breaks. Wines were mostly produced for domestic consumption, although Vinho Verde may have been exported in the 12th century, to England, Germany, and Flanders. The first definite exports to England are recorded by John