Bairrada wine route

Bairrada is a natural sub-region located in Beira Litoral, in the Central Region of Portugal, 80 km south of Oporto.

Covering two districts (Aveiro and Coimbra) and several counties such as Mealhada, Anadia, Oliveira do Bairro, Cantanhede, Águeda, Vagos (Coimbra) and the parish of Nariz, already in the municipality of Aveiro.

Bairrada is compared to the region of Champagne in France. It is mainly characterized by the strong wine production, under the denomination "Bairrada" (DOC - Denomination of Controlled Origin), being also considered Demarcated Region (in the case of sparkling wines).

It is also famous for the Roasted Piglet from Bairrada and the Trunks of Buçaco (sweets).

Places to visit

Luso - Luso is a Portuguese village in the county of Mealhada, parish council with 18.87 km ² and 2593 inhabitants (2011). Its population density is 137.4 / km².

It was created in 1837 by dismemberment of the parish of Vacariça.

Vila do Luso is one of the most well-known places in the municipality of Mealhada.It is a touristic village, wooded in the southern part of the Lower Vouga, Aveiro district.

It includes in its territory a great part of the mountain of Buçaco, known for its exuberant landscape.

It was close to where, in 1810, the Battle of Buçaco was fought between the Napoleonic and the Anglo-Portuguese forces, within the framework of the Peninsular War.

Luso is also known for the purity of its hot springs, used in the treatment of kidney problems and skin diseases.

Serra do Buçaco

Buçaco´s National Forest is an invaluable heritage, unique in Portugal and in the World. It is a secular inheritance, incomparable for gathering historical, religious, military, botanical, faunistic, architectural, cultural and even national identity relevance, as well as the luxuriant landscapes.

Caves Aliança

The Aliança Underground Museum is an exhibition space that develops along the traditional Aliança Vinhos de Portugal cellars.

Contemplating eight different collections, this museological equipment covers areas such as archeology, ethnography, mineralogy, paleontology, tiles, ceramics and stamping, covering an impressive time span with millions of years.

Inserted in the great universe of the Berardo Collection, these collections result of the constant care of the collector Joe Berardo, in immunizing pieces and works of art of multiple origins and species, with both historical and sentimental meaning.

Gastronomy / Sweets

Roasted piglet “à Bairrada” is one of the most popular regional dishes of the Bairrada region in Portugal, being named one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal's Gastronomy.

Although it is known that the Romans already appreciated piglets, not many books of gastronomy refers to it as roasted. Fact is that, since the seventeenth century, pig farming has become surplus in the lands of Bairrada and this gave a major impetus to its commercialization.

The earliest document referring to this delicacy is a convent recipe of 1743, probably from the Monastery of Lorvão or the Monastery of Vacariça, compiled in a notebook of recipes from 1900, by António de Macedo Mengo, in which a recipe is described as very similar to the current recipe.

Due to this lack of more accurate documentation, all municipalities of the Bairrada region claim their origin from the municipality of Mealhada, in the south, to the municipality of Águeda, in the north, not being consensual and generating several disputes on this matter.

In addition to this, you can taste the “cabidela of suckling pig”, the “chanfana”, “rojões”, “sarrabulho and negalhos”. It is also rich in cod dishes, such as the most typical of the region: “Cod of the Lord Prior of Tamengos”.

In sweets, one can taste the sweet rice, “aletria”, nun's bellies and the curia loves.