Exploring Bairrada, befriending Baga

If I am asked to choose a selection of wines to demonstrate the quality, distinctiveness and sheer deliciousness of Portugal’s grape varieties and wines, I always include as many as possible from Bairrada (there were five in my 2012 top 50). Yet the region has known tough times, especially when it was dominated during a large part of the 20th century by négociants and co-ops, so that small-scale growers and producers made their living, often with great difficulty, selling grapes or bulk wines. (See the Oxford Companion to Wine entry on Bairrada for a concise summary of the region’s...