Jeropiga is the name given to a traditional alcoholic drink of Portuguese origin that is prepared by addingaguardente to grapemust.[1][2] The addition is made in the beginning of thefermentation process, making it different to another Portuguese traditional drink, theabafado, in which aguardente is added during the fermentation process.[1]
The usual given ratios for the confection of jeropiga are of two parts ofmust to one part ofaguardente orbrandy.[3][4] The must's naturalfermentation process is interrupted by the addition of the alcohol.[5][6]
Jeropiga traditionally accompanies themagosto autumn festivals,[7] celebrated also in northernSpain andCatalonia, where the festival is known as Castanyada. Jeropiga is home-brewed and drunk throughout the year inTrás-os-Montes and theBeira regions in Central Portugal.
Historically, jeropiga has been added toPort wine to increase its sweetness,[8][9] in a practise that is still applied today to somefortified wines.[5] The historic use of jeropiga mixed with brandy andelderberries as a means of coloring in red wines has also been recorded.[8] Nineteenth-century English writers largely dismissed jeropiga when discussing the port wine trade, with W. H. Bidwell calling it an "adulteration used to bringing up the character of ports".[3] In 1844, the English wine merchantJoseph James Forrester anonymously publishedA Word or Two on Port Wine, a pamphlet that, among other criticisms made to the wine trade in theDouro region, denounced the use of jeropiga in wine.[10]
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