Have you tried wines from the Azores? Let’s explore and taste.
The Azores
The Azores are Portuguese volcanic islands about 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal. Wine production started here in the 15th century with Portuguese explorers and clergy bringing vines with them.
There are 9 major islands in the Azores with three of them producing enough wine to have their own IPR (Indicacao de Proveniencia Regulamentada) denomination beyond the generic Portuguese Açores VR (Vinho Regional) for wines from the Azores. The three IPR’s are: Pico, Gracisosa and Biscoitos. The former two are named after the island they’re on while Biscoitos is on the island of Terceira. Most of these wines are consumed locally with the biggest exporters and top producers being from Pico, the second biggest island. One of top exporters, who produces the most bottles (~150,000 bottles annually) and its most expensive wines, is the Azores Wine Company.
The problem facing the islands is its subtropical climates which make it hard for it to have ripeness while maintaining enough acidity. Thus, the island produces a lot of fortified wines like they do in Madeira, which is about 700 miles away.
The main varieties produced here are Verdelho with some Arinto dos Açores, Fernão Pires and Terrantez do Pico. These are all white grapes. 95% of their wines are made from white grapes. Saborinho and Bastardo are the main red varieties. Besides fortified wines, both their unfortified whites and reds are light, fresh and minerally in style.
Given how hard it is to find wines from the Azores, this will be my first Azores wine. Let’s taste. 
Tasting Notes
2021 Niepoort Pico Reserva Açores (Azores)
Made of indigenous varieties: Arinto dos Açores, Verdelho, Terrantez do Pico on volcanic rock. Stainless steel aging, but the color looks like it had some oak aging and/or it was older. It’s dark gold. The nose opens up with fresh apples. Then there’s a nuttiness and a bit of fresh herbs. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with a round but not quite oily texture. More of the ripe, slightly brown apple fruit up front. It’s a briny and minerally finish. Decent length. Medium-low acid. Low alcohol. It just seems older than it is and past its prime, or maybe it’ll open up more later. I just wanted more acidity and fruit on the palate. I was looking for something closer to Etna Bianco or a white from the Canary Islands, and it has some aspects of that but without the acidity. Wax top. The cork didn’t pop, so perhaps there was more oxygen let in. This is not cheap either. I see it for $90 in the US even though I got it for a lot less. This was interesting but too expensive for what it’s showing now. Maybe it was better younger. 89