Thirteen municipalities in Baixo Alentejo have been awarded the distinction of European Wine City 2026. The election took place on 23 May, at the Intermunicipal Assembly of the Association of Portuguese Wine Municipalities (AMPV), which took place in Alandroal.
Luís Encarnação, president of AMPV, said that “the presence of more than 70 municipalities at this assembly reflects the interest and importance that the European Wine City project has been gaining”.
The European Wine City is a project by Recevin – European Network of Wine Cities, in partnership with wine city associations in the countries where Recevin is represented. Anabela Caeiro, secretary general of RECEVIN, was present at this meeting and said that “the three candidates were very strong and that any of them could win, because they are territories with very different characteristics, with great potential in the wine and wine tourism sector”.
The municipalities in Baixo Alentejo that will be European Wine City 2026 are: Aljustrel, Almodôvar, Alvito, Barrancos, Beja, Castro Verde, Cuba, Ferreira do Alentejo, Mértola, Moura, Ourique, Serpa and Vidigueira. The program has the collaboration of CIMBAL – Intermunicipal Community of Baixo Alentejo and the Regional Tourism Entity (ERT) of Alentejo and Ribatejo.
The Azores, with eight municipalities, and the Algarve, with six municipalities, also competed for this title.
The municipalities of Baixo Alentejo aim to achieve greater dynamism around wine, greater promotion of the diversity and quality of wines, attract more visitors to the territory and increase the internationalization of the region.
The European Wine City 2026 will be presented to the European Parliament on June 18th in Strasbourg.