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However, it was from the almost ungovernable Pico volcanic lava, after an epic landscape transformation was achieved, and thanks to the hard work of picarotos, that the wine production capacity was revealed, marked by the achievement of excellence!
The multiplication of vines took place in non-arable soils, conquering the so-called biscoitos, that is areas formed by lava rock that present a slight decomposition but that are still very hard and intractable. As an effect, easier to plough lands became available for growing other crops, especially cereals and legumes.
Although production has always been limited, which contributes to a certain status of exclusivity with a price to match still today, Pico wine gained an international audience. During this period, these volcanic wines were a success particularly in the Americas, being one of the most consumed wines in New England and a staple in any wine cellar.
At the end of the 18th century, the Russian Czars had also developed a predilection for Pico wine and started importing the more concentrated and fortified version. It is said that when Czar Nicholas II of Russia was executed in 1917, bottles of Verdelho do Pico were found in his cellar!
During this period there was a substantial demographic increase in the Azores Central group. In fact, Pico became the third human agglomeration in the Azores, ahead of Faial and just behind Terceira and So Miguel!
But, what actually ended up happening was the development of an unbalanced power relation, mainly due to economic power, that will be transversal to the process by which Pico wine became internationally known and wanted.
The role these families played in the economic and administrative development of Madalena was crucial, for example by injecting money to build a municipal house and, as a consequence, many privileges were given to them, namely the free transport of their wines (from Pico to Faial).
Horta, the city facing Madela (Pico) had always been characterized by an excellent anchorage. Pico island, on the other hand, had a different coastline, which at the time was considered safe only for small boats.
These concepts and definitions, together with the events mentioned above, slowly but firmly installed a narrative and a relationship that had part of Pico island and its people subjugated, while their potentialities were clearly limited.
Exploring the history of an island like Pico through this perspective makes it difficult to connect the dots and imagine how, from this subjugated position, there was such a transformation that leads us to nowadays.
The lands, in which cracks were opened in the bedrock to receive the vines, became abandoned. Part of the population looked desperately for land to cultivate, which originated the maroios, that is large mounds of loose lava stones resulting from parcels of land that were cleared to plant vegetable gardens to feed families.
Gradually, most autochthonous grapes became nearly extinct, with the exception of a few ones that were recently recovered and classified as centenarian vineyards, and that we have the opportunity to taste during our Culinary & Wine Trip to Pico.
The so-called North American new grape, Isabella, was introduced by emigrants and proved to be more resistant to diseases. Isabella gave rise to vinho de cheiro, a new style of wine which became the most common across Pico island during the following decades.
Around 1870, following these catastrophic plant diseases, grape variety Isabella, native to the United States, was brought to Pico by Manuel Faria da Terra Brum, son of Morgado Terra, the biggest grape grower in the Azores archipelago.
Concurrently with the spread of Isabella grapes, the production of Verdelho wine fell from thousands of barrels to only a few hundreds, and it became confined to small areas around Madalena and So Roque.
Initially, this red wine which was considered by winemakers of poor quality, did not inspire any commercial interest. Regardless of this appraisal, vinho de cheiro was responsible for a new wine democracy! At this time, every family started having at least a small plot in their backyard.
This wine, which is characterized by a low-alcohol content (typically 6-10%), is still today associated with local consumption among families and friends, but also used in cultural and religious ceremonies like the Holy Spirit celebrations and traditional local Azorean recipes.
In 1995 the European Union banned sales of vinho de cheiro within the Community, because of the alleged toxic effects of the grape, which until now have not been confirmed. Locals say that this ban was, in fact, due almost solely to reasons of commercial protection for wines from European grape varieties and not because of the actual quality of vinho de cheiro wine. Meanwhile, the Government of the Azores, and the Azorean deputies elected to the European Parliament, keep applying pressure on community entities to lift the sales ban.
As it is not currently commercialized, this means that you can only discover this delicacy when visiting the Azores islands! So come join us in Pico to sip homemade vinho de cheiro while you taste a traditional meal prepared by a local family.
During exhaustive prospecting work carried out (Mestre, 2016), it was possible to conclude that currently the oldest vines in the region are practically made up of three white grape varieties: Verdelho, Arinto dos Aores and Terrantez do Pico. These are par excellence, considered the native varieties of Pico.
However, in previous records (So Romo, 1822) it is possible to identify other grape varieties on the islands of Pico and Faial, such as Alicante, Boal, Galego, Verdelho Valente and Terrantez do Monte, which are all white grapes, but also red varieties such as Bastardo and Tinta.
Historical references to the cultivation of vines in the Azores are generally scarce when it comes to the description of the varieties that were originally introduced to Pico island, as well as their origin.
Some authors indicate that the first varieties were brought from the island of Cyprus, while others came from the island of Madeira. It is known that the introduction to the cultivation of vines in Pico happened thanks to Frei Pedro Gigante who acquired the first vines.
Several factors have contributed to this, and the creation of Pico Island Wine Cooperative, founded in 1949, was the first one. The cooperative recovered the noble grape varieties and the culture of the vineyard through the efforts of its member producers.
In 2004, only 240 hectares of vineyards were left in what is now considered the Pico Wine Landscape. Today it comes to more than 1200 hectares. And there are still lots of areas to grow: Losmnio Goulard, the president of the Pico wine cooperative, recalls that around the 19th century, before phylloxera, there were 12000 hectares of vineyards planted in Pico.
During our stays in Pico, we meet young producers, most of them picaroto men and women with impressive respect for the terroir and the landscape transformed by their ancestors five centuries ago. But also with strong creativity and capacity for risk taking, which have managed to surprise us with their consistency and determination.
Azores Wine Company, a well-established producer, is responsible for producing wines that have conquered some of the most important wine accolades around the world, but their cellar which houses a wine hotel is also known for one of the most interesting architectural projects, regarding esthetics, sustainability, and local adaptability.
We could continue our list of favorite Pico wine producers, but we will save it for another moment. Or, you can just join us, in one of our Culinary Wine Trips to the Azores Islands, and meet them personally while tasting their wines in their original terroir.
In parallel to this, what I see (and taste!) is the resistance of these wines, as if they were a living organism, surviving and becoming surprisingly authentic and avant-garde in their ways of growing and being.
The Azores islands are an internationally certified sustainable destination and the remote island of Pico is yet to know the effects of mass tourism, welcoming each visitor to its black and green landscape in a distinctive and slow-paced way.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the 60-year-old Whittier Narrows Dam is structurally unsafe and poses a potentially catastrophic risk to the working-class communities along the San Gabriel River floodplain.
The San Gabriel River plunges 9,900 feet, from boulder-strewn forks in the mountains down to Irwindale. It then meanders in a gravelly channel to lush Whittier Narrows, a natural gap in the hills that form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley. From there, its flows are tamed in a concrete-covered channel for most of its final journey to the Pacific Ocean.
As a boy, Barajas said, he hunted doves and rabbits in the area with a beat-up, single-shot .22-caliber rifle. Now an avid bird watcher and neighborhood activist, he has made a priority of protecting habitat in the 1,492-acre sanctuary hemmed in by freeways, warehouses, a high school and fast-food outlets.
The Earth Observation Training, Education, and Capacity Development Network (EOTEC DevNet) is a global network of networks in the forefront of integrating satellite Earth information into decision-making, especially in managing disasters. The Network focuses on fostering expert collaboration and knowledge sharing on the use of Earth Observations (EO) in improving disaster risk reduction efforts globally.
The primary goal is to enhance the accessibility of EO tools and training. The network aims to support a broad audience, ranging from local authorities to international agencies, in effectively utilising EO data for disaster management. The approach involves aligning existing EO solutions with the needs of those managing hazards such as floods and droughts. Additionally, the network seeks to bridge the gap by disseminating knowledge to partner institutions and the entities responsible for implementation, aiming to harness the strengths of both and address the requirements of disaster risk reduction.
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