The archipelago of the Azores (Portuguese: Ilhas dos Açores), which belongs to Portugal, is located in the mid-Atlantic 1,369 km west of the European mainland (Cabo da Roca) and 1,930 km from North America (Newfoundland). It consists of nine larger and several smaller volcanic islands totalling 2,351 km². The main island is São Miguel with the capital Ponta Delgada, the others are Corvo, Faial, Flores, Graciosa, Pico, Santa Maria, São Jorge and Terceira. To the south-east is the archipelago of Madeira, which also belongs to Portugal, and to the south are the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain.
History
Khartagic and Cyrenian coins from the 4th century BC, which were found on the island of Corvo in 1749, indicate that the islands were already visited by the Phoenicians in ancient times. They were rediscovered by the Portuguese in 1432. They brought their native vines with them, mainly to produce mass wine. As early as the 17th century, viticulture was practised on all the islands and wines were even supplied to the Russian Tsar's court. In the 19th century, many vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera and mildew.
Viticulture
The climate on the Azores is oceanic-subtropical, with a humidity of 75 to 90%. A special feature of Pico are the vineyards surrounded by volcanic rock walls, which protect them from the strong sea winds. The picture above also shows a winegrower's hut (adega) built with these walls. There are DOC areas on three islands: Biscoitos (belongs to Terceira), Graciosa and Pico. They mainly produce acidic, partly fortified white wines from Arinto, Fernão Pires, Terrantez da Terceira, Terrantez do Pico, Verdelho and Viosinho. The Vinho do Cheiro (smelling wine, because of foxy) from Isabella is produced on all the islands. Graciosa is known for its aguardente (a brandy made from wine, grain, fruit or seeds).
Large map: from Varp~commonswiki, public domain, link
Small map: by ArnoldPlaton, MacedonianBoy, DK2EO - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Pico vineyards: by BBCLCD - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
