The Alentejo is an agricultural region par excellence. The crops and pastures are traditionally combined with vineyards, olive groves and the montados of cork oak or holm oak in a balanced and sustainable way.
The “Montado” (the Portuguese name given to the Cork Oak (Quercus suber L.) and Holm Oak (Quercus rotundifolia Lam.) forest) is one of the most important ecosystems in the Mediterranean and, therefore, in the Alentejo, where it became a striking feature of its landscape and a real symbol of the region. It is an open forest, typical in the hot and dry areas in the south of Europe, where traditional systems for using the soil are developed which are characterised by their high degree of sustainability, diversity and multiple use.
In the Montado, countless economic activities are developed in an integrated way. Firstly, the production of cork, an activity that plays a very important role in the economy of the Region and of farmers. But in the Montado we also find hunting-related activities linked to tourism and the grazing of herds of native breeds of cattle, sheep and black pig (which also eat the acorns that fall from the trees), extensive productions for a top quality end product. The Montado provides shelter and is a breeding ground for countless local or migratory species of fauna and flora: pigeons, cranes, the imperial eagle and Iberian lynx are just some examples.
The largest Cork Oak Forest in the world is in the Alentejo, covering around 520 000 hectares, which makes the Region the number one world producer of cork.
Portugal is responsible for around 70% of the global production of cork.
A cork oak can live for over 200 years and the cork (part of the bark) can be harvested once every ten years.
The cork oak Montado is vital for preserving the balance of the delicate Mediterranean.
Traditionally, agriculture in the Alentejo has always preserved natural resources. However twenty years ago, the technical assistance programmes for wine growing in the region clearly adopted a production system known as “Integrated Production” which is based on the preservation of natural resources, of the landscape and income, thus aimed at a top quality production with a low environmental impact.
The vast majority of vineyards in the Alentejo today follow management principles that respect a good regulation of the ecosystems, a minimisation of the side-effects of the activity, a good balance of the cycling of elements, the Integrated Protection of culture and a respect for biodiversity.
Given the continually dry and hot climate, the incidence of pests and diseases on the vines is low. As a result, in the Alentejo the need to use vine protection products is therefore substantially lower when compared with other European regions.
