Foreign residents often wonder how they’ll know they’ve been embraced as locals. A simple test involving jeropiga (pronounced zheh-roh-pee-guh), a traditional Portuguese beverage, provides the answer.
Jeropiga is made by combining grape must (freshly pressed, unfermented grape juice) with aguardente, Portuguese brandy. The brandy kills the wild yeast that lives on the skin of the grapes, preventing it from converting the grapes’ fructose into alcohol. The result is a fortified drink with an alcohol content between 16 and 20 percent that preserves the grapes’ natural sweetness. It is the perfect pairing for roasted chestnuts.
You cannot generally buy jeropiga. Farmers make it in small batches for personal consumption and to share with friends. Receiving a bottle is a clear sign that someone regards you as a local.
People rarely tell you where they got their jeropiga, but we’re happy to reveal that ours comes from our friend Raul Reis. Not content with growing the finest potatoes in Portugal, he also makes wonderful jeropiga in Sobral, a village near Lourinhã. This region is known for the excellence of its brandies, so it is no wonder Raul’s jeropiga is so great.
Salt of Portugal 
Love a good Jeropiga!
It is bottled for sale here in Aveiro, but I understand the commercial juice is much sweeter than better homemade versions.
It is delicious when it is well made. We got to try some from a local farmer that was delish. And the aguardente from Lourinhã is divino!
Obrigada Portugal!
We also tried a commercial version but it was very sweet and did not have the character of the artisanal version.