Portugal

Espumante · Bairrada and Távora-Varosa

Portuguese sparkling wine is called espumante; this site covers the DOs of Bairrada and Távora-Varosa, which both require fermentation in the bottle.1,2 In both, the wine must spend at least 9 months in bottle before release or before the expedition liqueur.1,2

Espumante under DO rules

In Portugal sparkling wine is produced under several DOs. This site covers two of them, Bairrada in central Portugal and Távora-Varosa in the inland north.1,2 Both require the second fermentation to take place in the bottle, as in the traditional method.1,2

  • Bairrada was first recognised in 1979; sparkling wine was added to its rules in 1991.5,3 The current regime is Portaria 212/2014 as amended by Portaria 335/2015.1,6
  • Távora-Varosa was created in 1999 by merging two earlier regions, Encostas da Nave and Varosa.4 Its technical rules are in Portaria 151/2012.2

Two Portuguese sparkling DOs compared

RuleBairradaTávora-Varosa
MethodBottle fermentation1Traditional, second fermentation in bottle2
Minimum time9 months at the producer from bottling, before sale19 months in bottle before the expedition liqueur2
Grapes28 listed varieties6About 48 listed varieties2
Maximum yield120 hl/ha (base wine)180 hl/ha red, 90 hl/ha white and rosé2

What is not covered

No official national production figure for Portuguese sparkling wine was verified for this page, and none is given. Bairrada ageing terms such as Reserva were not verified from the legal texts, and neither were sugar categories for Távora-Varosa. See the individual pages for what the texts do say. For other Iberian sparkling wine, see Spain.

Timeline of the rules

YearEvent
1979Bairrada first recognised (Portaria 709-A/79)5
1989Encostas da Nave and Varosa created as IPR regions (DL 404/89)4
1991Sparkling wine added to the Bairrada rules (DL 70/91)3
1999The two regions merged into DOC Távora-Varosa (DL 443/99)4
2012Technical rules for Távora-Varosa (Portaria 151/2012)2
2014Current Bairrada regime (Portaria 212/2014)1
2015First amendment to the Bairrada regime (Portaria 335/2015)6

See also

BairradaRegionsTávora-VarosaRegionsBairradaRegionsTávora-VarosaRegionsTraditional methodMethodsSpainRegionsItalyRegionsWorldRegions

Sources

  1. Diário da República (via informador.pt). Portaria n.º 212/2014, de 14 de outubro - DO Bairrada (2014-10-14)
  2. Diário da República (FAOLEX copy). Portaria n.º 151/2012, de 18 de maio - DO Távora-Varosa and IG Terras de Cister (2012-05-18)
  3. Diário da República (FAOLEX copy). Decreto-Lei n.º 70/91, de 8 de Fevereiro - Regulamento da DOC Bairrada (1991-02-08)
  4. Diário da República (FAOLEX copy). Decreto-Lei n.º 443/99, de 2 de Novembro - Estatuto da Região Vitivinícola de Távora-Varosa (1999-11-02)
  5. Diário da República (FAOLEX copy). Decreto-Lei n.º 72/98, de 26 de Março - Estatuto da DOC Bairrada (1998-03-26)
  6. Diário da República (via informador.pt). Portaria n.º 335/2015, de 6 de outubro - 1st amendment to Portaria 212/2014 (2015-10-06)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19