Herdade do Rocim, “Oceânico”, Arinto dos Açores

In 2017 I had the chance to visit the Azores while traveling through Portugal. We flew from Oporto on one of those perfect blue-bird autumn days, and after nearly four hours — about halfway toward Virginia if you kept going west — we landed in Ponta Delgada, right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From there we boarded another small plane to the island of Terceira, where we sat through a long four-hour layover and wandered into town — and it was absolutely insane. The bluest sky you’ve ever seen. Cobblestone streets. Brightly painted buildings in pastel blues and yellows. Tiny cafés pouring strong espresso. Locals moving through their day at a rhythm that feels completely disconnected from the modern world.

If you’re reading this — go.

After soaking it in we boarded a tiny prop plane for the final hop to Pico, an island that feels like it sits in the middle of nowhere. And that’s the best part. You drive from the tiny airport toward the historic vineyards around Criação Velha, and I felt like the main characters in Jurassic Park when they first see the dinosaur — just staring out the window thinking, how did they build this?

Rock by rock, over nearly 700 years, farmers built waist-high walls of black volcanic stone to protect the vines from the relentless Atlantic winds. Without these barriers the grapes would never ripen. When you crouch down inside one of these tiny vineyard squares — called currais, small vineyard plots carved into the lava rock — the temperature changes instantly. It goes from a cold windy beach day to feeling like you’re laying poolside. The locals say you can only plant vines “where you hear the crabs sing,” meaning right along the ocean. The entire landscape is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it feels almost untouched by time.

Nobody really talks about it because it takes four flights to get there, but it is one of the hidden treasures of the wine world. People still live much the way they did centuries ago, and the historic vineyards are among the most breathtaking sights anywhere in wine. Each small stone enclosure represents a family’s plot — sometimes enough fruit to make just a few hundred bottles at the local cooperative.

Portugal has one of the deepest wine histories anywhere in Europe. Vines were planted here more than 2,000 years ago, first by the Phoenicians and later expanded by the Romans. Over centuries the country developed one of the most remarkable collections of native grape varieties in the world, and today regions like the Douro, Dão, Bairrada, and Alentejo produce some of Europe’s most compelling wines.

But nearly 900 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean lies something completely different: the Azores (pronounced Ah-ZOR-esh), a chain of nine volcanic islands where vines have been cultivated since the 15th century. Islands like Pico, Terceira, Faial, and São Jorge rise dramatically from the ocean, their soils made almost entirely of black basalt and volcanic rock.

On Pico Island, farmers faced an almost impossible challenge: brutal Atlantic winds, salt spray, and thin volcanic soils. Their solution was extraordinary. Over centuries they built thousands of tiny stone enclosures called currais — rock walls stacked by hand that shield the vines from wind while absorbing heat during the day and releasing it back to the vines at night. This incredible landscape — one of the most surreal vineyard sites on earth — is now protected as the UNESCO World Heritage “Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture.”

Fruit from these historic vineyards is incredibly rare. Many growers farm only tiny parcels — sometimes enough grapes for just a few hundred bottles. Much of the fruit is therefore sold to trusted producers who can vinify it properly.

One of those producers is Herdade do Rocim.

Based on mainland Portugal in the Alentejo, Rocim was founded in 2000 and today is run by Catarina Vieira and Pedro Ribeiro, who have built a reputation for producing terroir-driven wines from Portugal’s native varieties. Through close relationships with growers on Pico, Rocim is able to secure small quantities of Arinto dos Açores, a rare local grape perfectly adapted to the island’s volcanic soils and maritime climate. Their Oceânico bottling captures the raw Atlantic character of these vineyards.

In the glass, the 2022 Oceânico Arinto dos Açores shows a pale golden-green color. The nose immediately evokes the Atlantic: sea breeze, crushed seashells, lime zest, stone fruit pit, lemon peel, and wet volcanic stone. On the palate it is bright and energetic — citrus, green peach and grapefruit layered over a salty mineral core with vibrant acidity and a long, mouthwatering finish. A faint smoky edge from the volcanic soils lingers on the finish.

Serve it well chilled around 50–52°F in a Burgundy stem.

And if you really want to experience this wine the way I did on Pico, make Arroz de Polvo — traditional Portuguese octopus rice. Tender octopus simmered with garlic, olive oil, tomato, and herbs alongside rice soaked in the cooking broth. The briny sweetness of the dish with the wine’s salty mineral edge and electric acidity is one of those pairings you never forget.

For $35, this wine isn’t about power or prestige. It’s about tasting the terroir of one of the most extraordinary places on earth.

Get your octopus rice ready — one of the best wine pairings I’ve ever had.