Casa Agrícola Brum — A Centennial House in Wine Production
With 130 years of existence, the Casa Agrícola Brum represents the history of five generations of an Azorean family, dedicated to wine production in the Biscoitos Region, Terceira island, and to the management of the Biscoitos Wine Museum, an ethnographic space dedicated to culture of Vine and Wine in the Azores.
The parish of Biscoitos is the northernmost parish of Terceira island, with a length of three kilometers, located between the parishes of Quatro Ribeiras and Altares. Since the height of the island’s settlement, the Biscoitos area has established fame for its production of quality wine, which continues today, translating into the designation of Quality Wines Produced in a Demarcated Region (VQPRD).
As in the islands of Pico and Graciosa, the production of Verdelho wine on the island of Terceira is done using the singular “curraletas” (or “currais”) — small stone squares that protect the plantations from the sea wind but allow the necessary sun to enter, creating a kind of “greenhouse effect” that allows for the full development of the vineyards.
The “curraletas” are an example of a rural architecture that has resisted the various problems that have plagued the winegrowing area of Biscoitos. Each “curraleta” has an average of nine pits, also known as “covachos” or “caldeiras” (boilers). As we move away from the shoreline, the curraletas reach larger sizes, sometimes comprising twenty and more pits, these being at a distance of 0.70 m from each other.
Given its characteristics, this cultural system uses a lot of labor, making mechanization difficult or almost impossible. Each curraleta has a variable number of strains, which is conditioned by the respective area and physiography.
The Brum Family
Around 1870, the phylloxera pest reached the island of Terceira, particularly the wine production of Biscoitos, decimating crops and forcing the use of the American vine as a rootstock, in order to avoid this disease in the selected varieties.
At that time, and thanks to his enormous spirit of initiative, Francisco Maria Brum founded the first Regional Winery of his time, on February 2, 1890, in the parish of Fontinhas. Seven years later, he moved to Biscoitos, having led the process of requalification of the Biscoitos vineyard, with puas coming from free-standing feet, initially collected in Porto Martins and Caldeira das Lajes.
About ten years after the founding of the Adega, wine production began. The results of the initial tests were satisfactory and the production was rampant. In 1901, three pots of verdelho wine were produced; the next year a kite; in 1903, it was 6 and a half kites; the following year, 11 kites. And the number of kites grew, as did the fame of Verdelho dos Biscoitos wine, recognized here and overseas as a high quality liqueur wine.
Son of Francisco Maria Brum, Manuel Gonçalves Toledo Brum followed in his father’s footsteps and built a new cellar. His son, Fernando Linhares Brum, not escaping the rule of his predecessors, with increased production, endowed the House with new and adequate infrastructures.
Recognizing and praising his effort and commitment as an entrepreneur, in 1987, the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mário Soares, on June 10, awarded Fernando Brum the Degree of Commander of the Order of Agricultural and Industrial Merit (Class of Agricultural Merit).
Son of Fernando Brum, Luís Mendes Brum continued the legacy of his family, leading him to modernize one of the wineries designed for still wines, with equipment from Italy. He launched the white table wine “Donatário” and “Da Resistência”, both references in Azorean wines.
Luís Mendes Brum was the main driver of the movement that led to the creation of the Confraria do Vinho Verdelho dos Biscoitos. In 2007, Casa Agrícola Brum reached its 5th Generation, with the inclusion of Luís and Maria Cristina Brum in its management bodies.
The Biscoitos Wine Museum
On February 2, 1990, marking the first centenary of the founding of Adega Regional de Francisco Maria Brum, its heirs inaugurated the Museu do Vinho dos Biscoitos (Biscoitos Wine Museum).
The Museum is a space where you can learn about the entire wine production process, from the cultivation of the vine to the maturation of the vineyard and the transformation of the grape into wine or its by-products. Here you will also find a whole collection of agricultural implements related to the treatment of the “curraletas” where the vine is grown.
The museum is the facade of a property with 10 bushels, in addition to the more than 60 that include the exploration of Verdelho and consists of the following sections: a cellar for Verdelho Wine, a distillery, an ethnographic room, a tasting room, a Typical house where the bottling of the Verdelho is made, a typical house that is the headquarters of the Confraria do Vinho Verdelho dos Biscoitos, an ampelographic field, a trellis, several patios that house pieces of mills, a tower, a threshing floor, and a two-story haystack.
Assuming itself as a thematic museum, this space seeks to present visitors with more than four centuries of the history of vine culture in Biscoitos. As a cultural space at the service of the population, it has been making its facilities available for the Festa do Vinha e do Vinho dos Biscoitos (Biscoitos Vine and Wine Festivity), as well as for other cultural activities.
The House Wines
Casa Agrícola Brum produces white table wines and liqueur wines (VLQPRD). White wines are “Donatário” and “Da Resistência”, the liqueur wines, “Chico Maria”, evoke the memory of the Cellar founder — Francisco “(Chico) Maria” Brum.
White Wine “Da Resistência” — “Da Resistência, not only for continuing the first wine produced on Terceira Island, more than 400 years ago, with the same grape variety, but also because it seeks to resist the assault of unbridled and unnecessary urbanization” (Oliveira Figueiredo).
“Donatário” White Wine — made with Verdelho from Biscoitos, it reaches an alcohol content of 12%. Color: pale gold with green highlights. Aroma: very fine green fruit and discreet sea air (fresh seaweed). Taste: quite voluminous and soft, with correct acidity, with a very pleasant taste of the nose, especially seafood, long. Consumption temperature between 8 and 10º C.
Chico Maria (Angelica) — “Angelica” liqueur wine, straw colored with greenish tones, with an elegant aroma of dried fruits (nuts and hazelnuts), with highlight and some spices and with a dry, smooth, harmonious flavor, and a persistent aftertaste.
Chico Maria (Sweet) — sweet liqueur wine, made with Verdelho from the Azores and traces of Terrantez of Terceira island, reaching an alcohol content of 19%. Color: passed out new gold. Aroma: seaweed, salt air, fine woods. Flavor: sweet, very velvety, with a balanced acidity, showing great harmony and a very persistent taste.
Chico Maria (Medium Dry) — medium dry liqueur wine, made with Verdelho from the Azores and traces of Terrantez of Terceira island, reaching an alcoholic strength of 18%. Color: straw gold set. Aroma: fine, tobacco, sea air and dried fruit. Flavor: velvety, very corporeal, bittersweet persistent.
Chico Maria (Dry) — dry liqueur wine, made with Verdelho from the Azores and reaching an alcohol content of 17%. Color: straw gold with greenish hues. Aroma: elegant, of dried fruits (nuts and hazelnuts), with enhancement and some spices. Flavor: dry, smooth, harmonious, with a persistent finish.
Brum — liqueur white wine, with more than 18 years of aging, to be enjoyed with the wisdom that is due to it. This bottle is the commemoration of the hundred and eighth harvest of Casa Agrícola Brum, a landmark of perseverance in the middle of a volcanic land. Alcohol content: 19%.
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