Vineyards at Balteiro

Photograph of a post-phylloxera terraced patch located in a valley nestled at the foot of Monte de S. Domingos between the village of Balteiro and the place of Regadas. The village is on a high point, the houses being distributed on terraces. The available land is used for the cultivation of vegetables, orchards and scattered trees, with the boundaries destined for the vineyard. Significant areas of forest are preserved on the hills, with chestnut and wild cherry trees, among other species. The vineyard occupies the slopes facing the stream, which are joined by a public road that crosses Quinta do Balteiro, where a harmonious housing nucleus is preserved, even though the vineyard has been converted without taking into account the pre-existing terracing. The preserved terraces are supported by schist walls resting on the cliffs, with sets of different qualities, from small stone walls, laid in simple layers, to walls with uniform and leveled lines and well finished corners. The circulation systems with stairs and ramps with divergent stretches, curved or zigzag lined stairs stand out in the landscape for their architectural quality, as well as double, steep and narrow staircases, which connect the plots from the valley to the top of the slope. Of note, the shelters of vernacular construction and the water conduction systems with tanks and dikes, which take advantage of the water coming from the stream to irrigate the fields.