Portugal

Wine regions in Portugal 16 growing regions

	Algarve
	Trás-os-Montes
	VR Terras do Sado
	Douro
	Estremadura
	Alentejo
	Madeira
	Azores

	Tejo
	Vinho Verde
	Beiras
	VR Península de Setúbal
	Vinho de Mesa
	VR Lisboa
	VR Transmontano
	Beira Atlántico

Description to Portugal

In ancient times, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans brought vines to the Iberian peninsula. Under the long Moorish rule from the 8th to the 12th century, viticulture stagnated but did not come to a complete standstill despite the ban on alcohol. As in many other countries, the Roman Catholic monastic order of the Cistercians had a decisive influence on viticulture; in the 12th century they founded 18 monasteries in Portugal. King Dinis (1279-1325) promoted agriculture and viticulture on such a large scale that the proceeds were used to build up a merchant fleet, thus creating the basis for Portugal's rise to become a world power. He was therefore given the nickname "Rei lavrador" (King of the Peasants). Under the Avis kings, especially Emanuel I. (1469-1521), Portugal rose to become a leading European trading and naval power. Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) initiated voyages of discovery along the West African coast. Muscat and Malvasia grapes were planted on the rediscovered island of Madeira. A flourishing wine trade with England developed.

Portugal - Transport von Portwein auf dem Rio Douro und Portweinglas

Portugal's most famous and best-known wine is undoubtedly port. Its great triumph began when the Methuen Treaty was concluded between England and Portugal in 1703. This treaty provided for large tariff reductions for the import of Portuguese wines. As early as 1756, the famous Prime Minister Marquês de Pombal (1699-1782) ordered the exact demarcation of the Douro region. Along with Chianti, this was one of the very first regions to be controlled for origin. A special role in the port wine trade was played by the Factory House opened in 1790 in Porto, where the British factors negotiated and concluded their business among themselves. With over 50%, Portugal is the world's largest producer of cork, of which about half comes from the province of Alentejo.

In the 19th century, mildew and phylloxera destroyed most of Portugal's vineyards. It was not until 1930 that the vineyards were rebuilt. After the end of the dictatorship in 1974, the changeover from the production of cheap mass wines to quality products began. Due to the climate, the country is ideal for viticulture, as the wine-growing northern part of Portugal has abundant rainfall and long, beautiful summers. The soils are mostly granite and slate. Viticulture is an extremely important economic factor in Portugal, as around 15% of the population live from it. In 2012, 6.32 million hl of wine were produced from 233,000 hectares of vineyards. White wines account for 30% and rosé and red wines for 70%. Among the most famous Portuguese wines are the dessert wines Madeira and Port, as well as Vinho Verde. However, the rosé wine Mateus, created in 1942 by the company Sogrape, founded in the same year, and similar products such as Lancers by the company Fonseca, with about 40% of the export volume, have long since overtaken this rank.

Grape variety list

A special feature are the countless indigenous vines. In the "land of 500 autochthonous grape varieties", these used to be cultivated largely as a mixed set. The often identical names or synonyms cause confusion, but more and more ancestry is being clarified by DNA analysis. It was not until the 1980s that pure varietal vineyards began to be planted, mainly due to EU regulations on quality wines. Many of the predominantly indigenous grape varieties are also found in neighbouring Spain(some with different names). With only one exception (Syrah), there is no international variety among the first 20 in the table. The grape variety table 2010:

Grape variety	Colour	Synonyms or name in Portugal	Hectare
Tempranillo	red	Aragonez, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Santiago	16.706
Touriga Franca	red	formerly Touriga Francesa	11.582
Castelão Francês	red	Castelão, João Santarém	11.086
Touriga Nacional	red	Carabuñera, Mortagua, Touriga Fina	10.175
Fernão Pires	white	Maria Gomes, Molinha	9.376
Trincadeira Preta	red	Tinta Amarela, Trincadeira	9.246
Síria	white	Códega, Crato Branco, Roupeiro	7.145
Tinta Barroca	red	Boca de Mina, Tinta Barocca	5.939
Arinto	white	Arinto de Bucelas, Pedernã	4.446
Rufete	red	Rifete, Rufeta, Tinta Pinheira	4.183
Baga	red	Baga de Louro, Moreto	4.108
Marufo	red	Brujidera, Mourisco	4.008
Syrah	red	-	3.501
Loureiro	white	Branco Redondos, Loureira, Marqués	3.469
Alicante Henri Bouschet	red	-	3.322
Trousseau Noir	red	Bastardinho, Bastardo	3.149
Palomino	white	Listrão, Malvasia Rei, Palomino Fino	3.033
Malvasia Fina	white	Arinto do Dão, Assario, Boal, Gual	2.930
Vinhão	red	Sousão, Espadeiro Basto	2.482
Mencía	red	Jaen, Jaen du Dão, Loureiro Tinto	2.454
Alvarinho	white	Albariño, Azal Blanco	1.989
Cabernet Sauvignon	red	-	1.671
Tinta Carvalha	red	Preto Gordo, Tinta Carvalha du Douro	1.311
Rabigato	white	Preto Gordo, Tinta Carvalha du Douro	1.273
Antão Vaz	white	Antonio Vaz	1.252
Caladoc	red	-	1.197
Vital	white	Boal Bonifacio, Malvasia Corada	1.182
Alfrocheiro	red	Albarín Negro, Tinta Bastardinha	1.180
Trajadura	white	Treixadura (Spain), Trajadura Branca	1.171
Diagalves	white	Carnal, Dependura, Diego Alves	1.156
Azal Branco	white	Azal, Azal da Lixa, Carvalha	1.072
Damaschino	white	Alicante Branco	1.037
Malvasia Preta	red	Moreto, Mureto, Pinheira Roxa	1.003
Bical	white	Bical de Bairrada, Borrado das Moscas	924
Rabo de Ovelha	white	Rabigato, Rabo de Ovelha de Cola Res	908
Moreto do Alentejo	red	Moreto, Morito	900
Chardonnay	white	-	803
Merlot	red	-	772
Santarena	red	Santareno	739
Avesso	white	Bornal, Bornão, Borracal Branco	685
Seara Nova	white	-	681
Negramoll	red	Mollar, Saborinho, Tinta de Madeira	676
Muscat d'Alexandrie	white	-	647
Côdega de Larinho	white	Côdega do Larinho	629
Gouveio Real	white	-	582

Wine law

In August 2009, the EU wine market regulation came into force with fundamental changes to the wine designations and quality levels. There are the following new designations or quality levels (see also in detail under Quality System). The traditional terms Vinho Regional and DOC are still possible as alternatives:

Vinho (formerly Vino de Mesa or table wine) = wine
IGP or IG or alternatively VR = local wine
DOP or alternatively DOC = quality wine

Vinho: Wines without a narrower designation of origin. This lowest quality level usually involves blends from different growing regions.

IGP or IG (Indicação Geográfica Protegida) or Vinho Regional
A local wine with a protected geographical indication. The regulations contain certain criteria such as grape variety (for example, 85% must come from the area) and alcohol content, but offer relatively wide latitude. There are 14 regions for local wines; see the list below.

IPR (Indicacão de Proveniencia Regulamentada)
The former precursor to DOC was abandoned in 2011.

DOP (Denominação de Origem Protegida) or DOC (Denominacão de origem controlada)
A quality wine with a protected designation of origin. Grape varieties, minimum maturation times in barrels and bottle, minimum values for alcohol content, acidity and total extract (dry extract), as well as colour and aroma are prescribed. A sensory and analytical test must be carried out before marketing. There are about 30 quality wine ranges; see the list below.

Other designations: For the age or regarding the maturation of a wine there are the designations Verde (green, no ageing), Maduro (old or matured in barrel), Reserva (red wines three years old, of which one in bottle, white wine one year, of which six months in bottle), Garrafeira (like Reserva and higher alcohol content) and Velho (red wine three, white wine two years old). The degrees of sweetness indicated on the bottle label are seco = dry, meio seco = semi-dry, meio doce = semi-sweet and doce (also adamado, suave) = sweet.