Água-pé, jeropiga and new wine: what Portugal drinks on St Martin's Day

By Luís Serra, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile

About a 5 minute read

There is a question that comes up every year around this time and rarely gets a clear answer: what exactly is the difference between água-pé and jeropiga? They sound like cousins. In practice, they are almost opposites.

On St Martin's Day, 11 November, Portugal drinks three things with its chestnuts: água-pé, jeropiga and new wine. Água-pé is a light drink made by adding water to the grape pomace after pressing; jeropiga is grape must with brandy added to stop fermentation, which is why it is sweet and stronger; new wine is the wine from that year's harvest, tasted for the first time at this point. To roast the chestnuts that go with them, the black clay roaster by Cesar Teixeira from Gondar is fired in a soenga, the technique that gives this clay its dark colour.

What is água-pé, and what is jeropiga?

Let us start with água-pé. After the grapes are trodden and pressed for wine, the pomace is left: skins, pips and stalks. In home wineries, water was poured over that pomace and left to ferment for a few days. What came out was água-pé: cloudy, low in alcohol, around 2 to 6%, and slightly sharp. Some people add a little brandy, which makes it stronger. At heart, it is a clever way of using up leftovers. No wonder it was born at home.

And at home is where it stays, for a less romantic reason: under EU wine regulations, água-pé may only be used for distillation or for the producer's family consumption. That is why it is mostly drunk in the homes of people who make wine, and why you will not find it on shelves like any other bottle.

Jeropiga follows the opposite logic. It is made from must, freshly pressed grape juice. When it starts to ferment, brandy is added; the alcohol stops the fermentation and the grape's natural sugar stays in the drink. The result is sweet, full bodied and much stronger than wine, around 15 to 18% alcohol. Unlike água-pé, jeropiga can be produced and sold, as long as it meets the legal rules.

Because it contains brandy, the quality of that brandy matters a great deal. To get to know a serious Portuguese wine brandy, in a small glass and on its own, the Aguardente Lourinhã Matriz from the Lourinhã wine cooperative is DOC Lourinhã and is aged in French oak, Portuguese oak and chestnut casks. The story of the region is in Aguardente DOC Lourinhã.

Why is new wine tasted on St Martin's Day?

Grapes are picked at the end of summer and the start of autumn. By November, the wine from that harvest is freshly made and it is time to taste it for the first time. As the Portuguese proverb goes: "On St Martin's Day, go to the cellar and taste the wine." New wine is young, fresh and fruity, made to be drunk early rather than kept for years.

To sum up the differences, which is usually what people are looking for: água-pé is made from pomace and water and is the lightest, a little sharp; jeropiga is made from must and brandy and is the strongest, and sweet; new wine is must fermented all the way and sits in the middle, fresh and fruity. Água-pé is found mostly in the homes of winemakers; jeropiga and new wine can also be bought.

For those who like wines with a story, the Vinho dos Mortos from Boticas, in Trás-os-Montes, is almost the opposite of new wine: it is buried in the ground, a custom local tradition links to the passage of Napoleon's army. We explain it all in Vinho dos Mortos. I admit I enjoy the contrast: in the same month, one wine drunk as early as possible and another hidden underground.

How are they served with chestnuts?

Tradition asks for very little: roast chestnuts, a fire and a small glass. Jeropiga is served lightly chilled, at 8 to 10 degrees; água-pé a little warmer, at 10 to 12. The chestnuts are scored and roasted in the Chestnut Roaster by Cesar Teixeira, in black clay from Gondar; the step by step is in Magusto at home.

A note of common sense: jeropiga is strong and sweet, and one small glass is enough. Alcohol is not for minors or for anyone driving. And grape juice or a hot tea keep chestnuts perfectly good company; the celebration does not depend on the glass.

If you have no água-pé to hand, there are other Portuguese drinks that go well with an evening of chestnuts. The Traditional Mead by Zimbro Licores Serrano is the old fermented honey drink; more in Mead: what it is. For the origins of the festival there is Magusto: what it is, and to set the whole table, the Magusto November page.

Frequently asked questions

What is água-pé?

A light drink made by pouring water over grape pomace that has already been pressed and letting it ferment; it is around 2 to 6% alcohol.

What is the difference between água-pé and jeropiga?

Água-pé comes from pomace and water and is light; jeropiga comes from must with brandy, which stops fermentation, so it ends up sweet and stronger, at 15 to 18% alcohol.

Why can you not buy água-pé in shops?

Because EU wine regulations only allow it for distillation or for the family consumption of whoever makes it. Jeropiga, on the other hand, can be sold.

What is St Martin's new wine?

Wine from the current year's harvest, which by November can be tasted for the first time. Young, fresh and fruity, it is made to be drunk early.

At what temperature is jeropiga served?

Lightly chilled, at 8 to 10 degrees. Água-pé likes it a little warmer, 10 to 12 degrees.

When is St Martin's Day in Portugal?

On 11 November. It is the day of the magusto, with roast chestnuts, a fire and the first taste of new wine.