Why not buy a wooden house in Portugal?

August 8, 2020

From north to south, from the Minho region to the Algarve, Portugal’s wines are numerous. Their vines cover the Portuguese plains and hillsides. Like an investigator of size, I went, just for you :

eating grapes in the vineyards,
crush grapes in vats,
drinking wine in the cellars…
All for you, of course! 🙂

Portugal has a rich wine-growing heritage. Hundreds of grape varieties are referenced. Here’s some 2018 data on wines in Portugal (OIV data, 2019):

11th largest wine producer in the world,
4th European producer by volume,
11th world producer by volume: production represented more than national consumption(550 million liters),
9th largest exporter worldwide, in both volume and value.
Main customer by value and volume: France.

Before you start reading the article, I’d like to make it clear to wine pros that I’m not one, and this article is a “light” piece of writing with a first approach to wines in Portugal.

Wine appellations in Portugal

Portugal has a wine control system comparable to the French system, but where France has a single control body, Portugal has two:

Instituto da Vinha et do Vinho -> for classic wines,
Instituto do Vinho do Porto -> entirely dedicated to Porto.

Portuguese wines are classified into 4 “appellations”:

Vinho de mesa: this is what we usually call “table wine” in France. These wines are subject to few production rules.
Vinho regional : this corresponds to “Vin de pays” in France. Production rules for these wines are fairly flexible.
IPRIndicaçãode Proveniência Regulamentada : comparable to the French VDQS. Superior quality wines, just before the appellations d’origine contrôlées : DOC in Portugal.
DOCDenominaçãode Origem Controlada : the equivalent of the French AOC. It is within this category that we find wines subject to the strictest rules.

“Appellation” wines in Portugal

Types of wine in Portugal

Vinho Tinto: red wines

The Dão, Douro and Alentejo regions produce the country’s finest red wines. These are often powerful, concentrated wines.

Vinho Branco: white wines

Portugal is less renowned for its white wines, but one “white” wine is nonetheless very well known: vinho verde (more on this later in the article). White wines from the Bairrada and Bucelas regions also stand out.

Vinho espumante: sparkling wines

Some sparkling wines can be found in the Palmela(south of Lisbon) and Bairrada regions.

Muted wines

There are several fortified wines in Portugal, including the inevitable Porto, as well as Madeira and Moscatel, which we’ll talk about later.

Types of wine in Portugal

Wine grape varieties in Portugal

There are more than 250 wine grape varieties in Portugal.

The best-known red varieties are :

touriga nacional : throughout the country,
tinta roriz: mainly in the Porto, Douro and Dão regions,
touriga francesa: mainly in the Porto and Douro regions,
tinto cão.

The best-known white grape varieties are:

alvarinho
maria gomes
azal branco
avesso(used to make the famous vinho verde)

250 wine grape varieties in Portugal

Unmissable wine regions in Portugal

Minho

The vineyards of the famous vinho verde(green wine) stretch from the Douro to the Minho. Without a doubt, vinho verde is the wine of the summer! A light, fresh wine. It’s an ideal accompaniment to fish dishes, especially Portugal’s delicious grilled sardines(I’m salivating just thinking about them).

The name “vinho verde” has nothing to do with its color. No, this alcohol is not green! You’ll find it mostly in white, but it also exists in red and rosé. It’s usually slightly sparkling, but sometimes not. But why is it called “green wine”? Some refer to the wine’s green hues, others to the verdant region of the vineyards, but in fact this appellation is linked to the fact that the wine is very young

Dão

Less well known than others, the Dão region, in the hinterland between the mountains, also offers a wealth of wines. The main grape variety is Touriga Nacional, and this area is considered one of the most renowned wine-growing regions for sweet wines.

Alentejo

The wines of this region have a strong, powerful character and often compete with those of the Douro. This gigantic territory, which covers almost the entire southern half of Portugal, offers a favorable climate with plenty of sunshine and warmth. Its red wines are mature and fruity.

Setubal

The Setubal region is best known for its Moscatel, made in the same way as Port, from 3 Muscat grape varieties, mainly Muscat d’Alexandrie (85%). It spends 5 years in casks, but some producers go as far as 25 years. Highly concentrated, this is a powerful wine.

Madeira

Madeira is a red wine made in the same way as Port: by mutage, then heated either by hot water or the sun. This method gives the wine a caramel-like taste. There are 5 different types of Madeira:

madeira finest (3 years old),
madeira Reserve (5 years of age),
madeira Special Reserve (10 years),
madeira Extra Reserve (15 years of age),
vintage Madeira.

The Douro

The Douro Valley, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, can be explored by car, train or boat. The Douro Valley impresses with its breathtaking scenery: terraced vineyards. The vineyard terraces are called “socalcos” and are supported by low walls. For centuries, Douro winegrowers have been able to meet the world’s growing demand for Port. But the Douro Valley is known not only for the production of Port, but also for its red wines. Recognized worldwide, the Douro region offers ideal conditions for the production of top-quality wines.

Douro vineyards.

Port wine

I’ve already told you a little about Port in my previous article “3 famous products with English origins“, and I’m coming back to it in this article because Port is one of Portugal’s must-try wines!

History

In the 17th century, Colbert, prime minister of King Louis XIV, launched a series of measures aimed at taxing all English products. Furious, King Charles II of England decided to boycott French wines. The English began to drink Portuguese wines. In 1703, the Methuen Trade Treaty was signed between England and Portugal. Under this trade treaty, England could freely export wool to Portugal, in return for importing wine from Portugal.

Portuguese wines(from the Douro vineyards) were then shipped from Portugal to England. However, the English realized that Portuguese wine did not stand up well to the sea voyage and was no longer very good once it reached England.

To remedy this problem, an English merchant, Jean Bearsley, decided to add brandy to the barrels: Porto was born! Adding brandy to wine stops its natural fermentation and causes it to lose its acidity, while retaining its sugars. Porto was born of this ingenious solution. The UK is still one of the world’s biggest consumers of Port. The world’s oldest appellation of origin is Port, recognized in 1756.

Port glasses overlooking the Douro vineyards.

Port winemaking

We sometimes hear it referred to as “cooked wine”, but Port is a “mutated wine”, and the most famous mutated wine in the world!

The base wine used to create the famous Port is made from the vines of the Douro Valley. Once harvested, the grapes are crushed (“pisar as uvas” in Portuguese) . Today, the majority of wineries known as “quintas” crush the grapes mechanically, although some still do so with their feet in “lagares”: large, shallow granite basins.

“Pisar as uvas

The must is then put into vats for fermentation. It is during this period that the most important task takes place: the addition of brandy. This operation, known as “mutage”, stops fermentation, and the wine retains a certain amount of sugar, which explains its fruity character. Once mutaged, the wine is stable. Port leaves the quintas for the houses of Vila Nova de Gaia, opposite Porto.

Port: three main families

RubyRubyis the “basic” Port. Its name is linked to its color. It’s a fairly young wine that ages between two and four years in cask.
TawnyTawny is a blend of several vintages. It is therefore more complex than ruby. The age is indicated on the bottle: 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. Tawny wines are therefore a blend of several wines, some of which are up to a century old. More expensive than ruby, tawny wines come in a range of prices: a 40-year-old will be more expensive than a 20-year-old, which will be more expensive than a 10-year-old.
VintageThenec plus ultra of Port wines is vintage. It is made in the best years. It is aged for only two years in cask and then continues its life in bottle. Vintage bottles can age for decades and continue to improve. The best years are: 2000, 2003 from 1963 and 1945.

Types of Port

Here is a non-exhaustive selection of Port producers:

In conclusion

Portuguese wines are part of Portugal’s national treasure. In fact, wine tourism is booming in the country, and it’s even possible to sleep in wine barrels, as I recently mentioned in my article on unusual accommodation in Portugal.

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