Ch. 21 – Portugal Flashcards
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal winemaking history
Tagus and Sado valleys 2,000 BCE
Alliance with England - major wine supplier
19th and 20th century
- Portugese Civil War
- Phylloxera
- Cooperatives were given preferential rights
- Badly equipped and run - high volumes of poor wines
- Mateus Rose, Lancers Rose (40% of exports)
Democracy and EU
- cease of trade restrictions
- low-interest loans - encouragement of investment
- no more government protection for cooperatives
- modernization
- research programmes
- pulling up high-producing vineyards replacing with higher quality material and sites
Portugal growing environment
topography and soil
Rolling hills and plains
Soils
- significant variations
- Mountain regions - schist and granite
- South - more variation - clay, limestone, sand
- fertile alluvial soils around riverbanks (Tejo)
Portugal climate
Strongly infuenced by Atlantic (cool rainy weather)
More continetal climate inland
- protection of mountain ranges
- warmer, drier, south
Hazards
- drought (especially inland)
- extreme weather events - hail, storms, wildfires
- Wet weather in coastal regions - fungal diseases
- Esca and European grapevine moth
Portugal viticulture
Majority pruned and trained
- cordon or replacement-cane and VSP trellised
- significant number of old bush vines (Duoro, Alentejo)
- mixed vineyards, producing ‘field blends’
Irrigation allowed
- most do not need to apply for authorization
- Generally only if lack of water lowers quality
- cannot be used for boosting yield
Low proportion of certified organic vinayards
- some practise organic but do not certify
Grape varieties in Portugal
Growing tendency to return to local varieties
Majority of wines are blends
Aragonez/Tinta Roriz Touriga Franca Touriga Nacional Fernão Pires/Maria Gomes (white) Castelão Trincadeira Baga Loureiro (white) Arinto/Pedemã (white) Syrah Roupeiro Alicante Bouschet
Regions which do not allow international varieties in Portugal
Douro
Dao
Vinho Verde
Regions relying on international varieties as part of their export strategy
Alentejo
Lisboa
Tejo
Portugal winemaking
Mostly blends
Admission to EU started large modernization
- protective techniques
- temperature control, de-stemming
- French oak (primary type of oak)
Traditional techniques
- large Portugese oak (3,000-6,000l) and Brazilian hardwood toneis
- more restrained use of oak and larger format
- new foudres (around 2,000-2,500L)
- chestnut barrels
Lagares - regularly practised
Fermenting wine in clay vessels
Pre-fermentation skin contact for Portugese whites
- growth in natural wines
Primary oak used in Portugal
French
size of foudre
between 2,000 ad 2,500 litres
Portugese wine law
as member of EU follows PDO and PGI system
DOC/DOP (denominação de origem controlada/protegida)
- 31 DOCs
- each its own regulations om growing, winemaking
- all wines must be officially tested, tasted and approved
VR (Vinho Regional)
- PGI wines
- 14 VRs
- often permit international varieties
Vinho
- no PGI or PDO status
Wine business in Portugal general
Grape growing represents 35% of total national agricultural output (highest in the world)
Land of small holdings
- in the past most growers were selling to negociants
- Sogrape - largest in Portugal
- increasing number of growers produce their own wine (Quinta/Herdade)
Trend of small winemakers who do not own land who select vineyards from where they source their grapes
9th largest export producer
- steady growth in volume and value of unfortified wine
- France, Angola, Germany, UK
Promotional body Wines of Portugal
Significant raise in tourism and growth in average income
Portugese name for estate wine
Quinta or Herdade
Portugese wine regions
Vinho Verde Douro Dão Bairrada Alentejo \+ Vinho de Talha DOC Lisboa - Alenquer DOC - Bucelas DOC - Arinto DOC - Colares DOC Peninsula de Setubal - Palmela DOC - Setubal DOC Tejo DOC / VR
Vinho Verde
topography
River Minho (west) and Douro (south) Mountains of Peneda-Gerês National Park (east)
Mostly granitic bedrock with shallow topsoil of granite and sandy texture - good drainage
- low fertility
- fertilizers commonly used
PGI region (VR) for Vinho Verde
Minho
Vinho Verde
climate and viticulture
Moderate maritime climate
- Atlantic coast
- network of rivers funnelling Atlantic winds inland
- land gradually raises inland (soils become poorer)
- inland more continental (warmer, drier)
- high rainfall (1.500mm)
- marked vintage variation
Fungal disease problems
- rot, mildew
- vines are usually trained high (even up the trees)
- single or double Guyot with VSP or Lyre
- importance of summer pruning techniques
Vinho Verde grape varieties
Large change from red to white dominated
Loureiro Pedernã Alvarinho Avesso Trajadura
Loureiro
Loureira in Spain
Mostly grown by the coast (Vinho Verde)
Mid ripening
Med+ acidity, citrus, pear, floral, herbal notes
Pedernã
Local name for Arinto in Vinho Verde
mid ripening, relatively productive
Less aromatic, subtle citrus and apple and high acidity
Alvarinho
(Albarino in Spain)
Citrus, peach, sometimes tropical flavours
Med+ body, med+ to high acidity
Admitted as named grape variety on the label since 2016
Avesso
late ripening (can fail to ripen unless very warm and dry)
Lower in acidity, relatively full bodied
Citrus and stone fruit
Trajadura
(Treixadura in Rias Baixas Spain)
low in acidity with apple and peach flavours
Usually blended with more acidic varieries
Winemaking in Vinho Verde
Inexpensive wines
- protective winemaking
- cool fermentation
- bottled fast after release
- carbon dioxide often added to give light spritz
- low alcohol, high acidity, apple, citrus, peach
- some may have residual sugar
Higher priced wines
- Mostly old oak for ferment and/or maturation
- may age on lees
Vinho Verde legal requirements
Name of sub-region may appear on the label
Min alcohol 9.5%
- (8.5% without sub-region)
Monção and Melgaço
- only sub-regions able to label single varietal Alvarinho
- other regions must declassify to Minho VR to label single varietal Alvarinho
- other regions can label Alvarinho (min 30% of blend) along other varieties of the blend
Single varietal Alvarinho from Monção and Melgaço
requirement
lower max yield than rest of Vinho Verde
Min alcohol 11.5%
Only Monção and Melgaço sub-regions can name Alvarinho on their labels as single variety
- other regions must declassify to Minho VR to label single varietal Alvarinho
- other regions can label Alvarinho (min 30% of blend) along other varieties of the blend
Wine business in Vinho Verde
- Producers
- export
- market composition
Very fragmented - many growers
- most deliver to coops or merchants
Producers - Anselmo Mendes and Quinta de Soalheiro
Gradually growing export 40%
- Germany, USA
Douro
- DOC for fortified and unfortified wines
Porto DOC - fortified
Douro DOC - unfortified
Fernando Nicolau de Almeida
- first Douro red wine
Used to work at Ferreira Port
After visit at Bordeaux pioneered first vintage of Barca Velha 1952
- cooling fermentation with ice
- experimentation with fermentations of still wines
- Settled on Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo)
- now super-premium priced wine
Douro DOC established in 1982