Azores

The Azores (UK /əˈzɔːrz/ ə-ZORZ, US /ˈeɪzɔːrz/ AY-zorz; Portuguese: Açores, [ɐˈsoɾɨʃ]), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Região Autónoma dos Açores), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the North Atlantic Ocean about 1,360 km (850 mi) west of continental Portugal, about 880 km (550 mi) northwest of Madeira, about 1,925 km (1,196 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, and about 6,392 km (3,972 mi) northeast of Brazil. Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming (for cheese and butter products primarily), livestock ranching, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition to this, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in many aspects of the service and tertiary sectors. The main settlement of the Azores is Ponta Delgada.

There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas Reef to the east. They extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest-southeast direction.

Açores VR

The Açores VR (Portuguese: Açores Vinho Regional) is a Portuguese wine region located in the archipelago of the Azores. This region is classified as a Vinho Regional (VR), which corresponds to table wines with a geographical indication under European Union wine regulations, similar to a French vin de pays region.

History

Located in the Atlantic Ocean, some 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) from continental Portugal, the archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine islands, of which three cultivate wine-making grapes for export production: Terceira, Pico and Graciosa. Located on the American, European and African tectonic plates, the islands of the Azores originated from recent volcanism, and have soils that are shallow in depth, consisting of basalt, traquites, andesites and clay formations. Agriculture has remained an important aspect part of the region, with primarily milk-production dominating, in addition to pineapple, cereals and other greenhouse-based vegetables. The islands were colonized in the middle of the 15th century, and the first castes were introduced by Franciscan friars, who realized that the conditions in this region were comparable to Sicily and introduced the Verdelho caste (Verdecchio siciliano) which quickly spread on the islands.