The Vineyards of Pico

Gordon: This morning we took the ferry from Horta to Madalena, on the island of Pico. The crossing only takes 30 minutes, but it felt like an adventure. There was a strong breeze blowing, which, combined with the mid-Atlantic swell, had the modestly sized ferry rocking. The vessel is the largest of the three that make this crossing, and the only one capable of transporting vehicles, but only about eight of them.

At the southern outskirts of Madalena are extensive vineyards growing in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable. The ground is mostly black lava, but grape vines have been planted in cracks in the rock. To protect the vines from the salt spray, and to provide some additional warmth, the vines are surrounded by stone walls in a dense pattern. Until the mid-19th century a renowned fortified wine was produced. It was exported to the US, and, famously, the court of the Czar in Russia. However, the double blows of a mildew and phylloxera destroyed the vineyards in the latter half of the 19th century. Supported by the vineyards, the population of the island was double its current number of 15,000, but the economic collapse caused by the loss of the vineyards resulted in mass emigration from Pico, not for the last time.

Perhaps as a tribute to the sheer effort involved in producing wine on Pico, the vineyards have UNESCO designation. Conventional table wines, rather than the historic fortified wines, are currently produced. We have thus far tried only one, and found it quite agreeable. Of course, my indiscriminate palate would probably enjoy grape Kool-Aid with a shot of everclear, so take my recommendation for what it is worth. Even more than the wine, we enjoyed cycling around the vineyards on a sunny afternoon. The patterns of the rough rock walls, with the sea on one side and the massive Pico volcano on the other, was a delight to behold.