Bairrada: Great Wine Centre since 1820

In 1877, Marques Gomes publishes the book “Cidade de Aveiro * Todas as Villas e Freguezias do seu Districto” (City of Aveiro * All the Towns and Parishes of its District) in which, when he characterises Bairrada, he states that it only became a great wine centre in 1820, when one of the first owners of Mealhada, João Baptista Ferreira, started the production of grafts at Quinta da Tapada, in lands previously used for wheat production.
After the licence of 1765 that determined the grubbing-up and the prohibition of the new planting of vines, Baga grape variety is presented as the predominant in red wines, followed by Castelão, Moreto, Xara and Trincadeira. For white wines, Boal de Santarém, Rabo de Ovelha, Alvadurão, Escabelado, Arinto, Mourisco and Esgana-Cão are indicated as predominant.
The vagaries in the creation of Companhia Vinícola da Bairrada by Carreira de Melo in 1874 are also highlighted in the book.