Northern Portugal

Question 1

Vinho Verde

Answer 1

North of the Douro, up to the river Minho. From the coast to 90km inland. Largest region and one of the most well known. Warm in summer; high rainfall, mainly in summer but often at harvest, posing disease problems. Granite bedrock, sand and granite topsoil. Recent plantings wire trained with double cordon. (Older plantings use cruzeta, a high trained cordon system). Traditionally wine underwent malolactic fermentation to give it a prickle of CO2. Malolactic is now avoided and CO2 is injected. Export wine often has partially fermented wine with residual sugar kept to add sweetness. Vinho Verde translates to ‘green wine’, but refers to youth of wine drunk (usually in the year after vintage) rather than colour. Nearly half of production is red. Wine must be light, and low in alcohol, under 11.5% abv unless made from Alvarinho.

Broad range of grapes grown. Loureiro and Paderna- Riesling- like aroma and crisp acidity, important in the south of the region.

Alvarinho- mainly limited to the north of the region, only permitted for DOC if grown in Moncao. Used for best wines, often single quintas. Higher alcohol and no CO2. Light, rest with an aromatic green apple character.

Question 2

Douro

Answer 2

Each vintage a limit is set for Port production and excess harvest is made into unfortified wine. Now many vineyards dedicated to high quality unfortified wine production, rather than Port. As with Port, viticulture is labour and cost intensive. Traditional Port varieties such as Touring Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touring Franca, Tinta Cao are used.

Question 3

Dao

Answer 3

South of the Douro, 80 kilometre inland. Vines planted 200 to 400 metres above sea level on a plateau. Sheltered on all sides by mountains.

Jaen- Depply coloured, fruity and lighter in tannins than most Portuguese reds.

Touring Nacional and Tinta Roriz- Supply tannins, acids and concentrated fruit to blends.

Encruzado- Full bodied and nutty white wine.

Question 4

Northern Portugal- Typography and Soils (Vinho Verde)

Answer 4

• Extreme north-west of Portugal, between Porto and the Spanish border (river Minho)
• Mostly sandy granite soils.

Question 5

Northern Portugal- Red and Roses Grapes (Vinho Verde)

Answer 5

Azal, Vinhao, Espadeiro

Question 6

Northern Portugal- White Grapes (Vinho Verde)

Answer 6

Alvarinho

• Thick-skinned grapes that can resist damp climates
• Wines in relatively high alcohol (12-13%abv), hi acidity and intense flavours of green apple - Limited to the north of the region (Moncao). Used for best wines, often single quintas

Loureiro/a

• ‘Laurel scented’ aromatic white grape; higher yielding vs. Alvarinho
• Often blended with Trajadura. Important in the south of Vinho verde area

Trajadura
- Adds citrus character if picked sufficiently early. Also grown in Galicia
Others: Avesso, Pederna

Question 7

Northern Portugal- Viticulture (Vinho Verde)

Answer 7

• 59,000ha
• Vines trained in high pergolas (cruzeta) to avoid grey rot. Recent plantings wire trained or double cordon.
• 90% of farmers also grow vines

Question 8

Northern Portugal- Winemaking and Wine Styles (Vinho Verde)

Answer 8

• Vinho verde refers to youth of the wine. Can be red, white or rosé.
• Traditionally, MLF to give the wine a prickle of CO2 and reduce acidity. Now CO2 injected.
• Export wines are partially fermented to keep some residual sugar i.e. sweetness.

• Whites usually made more & more with Loureiro and Trajadura. Light bodied wines, bone dry w hi acidity, low
alcohol, slightly fizzy and Riesling-like aromas

• Reds still around 50% of production but hasn’t succeeded on the export market. In decline.

Question 9

Northern Portugal- Production (Vinho Verde)

Answer 9

• 800,000hl/yr of DOP wine in Minho
• Key producers:

oQuinta da Aveleda -13m btls/yr
- Largest Vinho Verde producer owned & run by the Guedes family. Casal Garcia

oProvam, Cabo-Barbeita
- Association of quality winemakers founded in 92; only bough-in grapes

Question 10

Northern Portugal- Typography and Soils (Douro)

Answer 10

• 3 regions: 1) Baixo Corgo 2) Cima Corgo 3) Douro Superior

1) Baixo Corgo: coolest & wettest (900mm); wines of lesser quality

2) Cima Corgo: heart of demarcation; around Pinháo; lower rainfall (700mm) + higher temp; largest area
under vine

3) Douro Superior: most easterly; most arid (400mm; +3C vs Baixo); still relatively unexploited Schist soils usually for Port varieties and granite-based soils for table wine.

Question 11

Northern Portugal- Climate and Weather (Douro)

Answer 11

• Hot continental; very dry; increasingly hot and dry further inland
• V. unpredictable weather: excess heat (50C), frost (Douro sup) & unpredictable rain + Summer & Autumn hail
• Altitude from 80 to 600m w/ better quality in lower altitude.

Question 12

Northern Portugal- Grape Varieties- Red (Douro)

Answer 12

Touriga Nacional

• Believe to originate from Dao
• Vigorous vine prone to poor fruit set that produces small quantities of very small berries
• Deep coloured, hi tannins, concentrated wines
• Mainly grown in Douro & Dao

Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo)

• Black grape w thick skin that ripens early (temprano: ‘early’)
• Thrives in chalky soils & moderate climates for better acidity & elegance
• Little resistance to pest and diseases
• Wines are med->full bodied, low to med+ acidity, w med tannins and flavours of strawberry, cherry, raspberry & plum. Oak and ageing add flavours of herbs, mushrooms, leather & tobacco

Others: Tinta Franca (all arounder), Tinta Cao (red dog, deep colour)

Question 13

Northern Portugal- Grape Varieties- White (Douro)

Answer 13

Donzelinho Branco, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina

Others: Rabigato, Viosinho

Question 14

Northern Portugal- Viticulture (Douro)

Answer 14

• 38,000ha with around 50% of area dedicated to unfortified wines
• As with Port, viticulture is labour and cost intensive due to steepness of vineyards (mostly on narrow terraces)

Question 15

Northern Portugal- Production (Douro)

Answer 15

• 1.3m hl/yr with 60% of Port.
• Beneficio system sets quantity for Port production -> excess harvest made into unfortified wine. Now, many
  vineyards dedicated to high quality unfortified wines, rather than Port.

Question 16

Northern Portugal- History (Dao)

Answer 16

• 1940s: monopole given by Salazar to 10 cooperatives had adverse effect and drove quality down.
• Since 1980s: entry in the EU -> end of monopoles; investment from large producers e.g. Sogrape

Question 17

Northern Portugal- Typography and Soils (Dao)

Answer 17

• Area situated 80kms inland, south of Douro; 200-400m high plateau sheltered by mountains on all sides
• Well-drained sandy soils on top of granite rock.

Question 18

Northern Portugal- Climate and Weather (Dao)

Answer 18

Temperate climate Long warm dry summers Hi rainfall mostly in winter.

Question 19

Northern Portugal- Red Grape Varieties (Dao)

Answer 19

Jaen

• Ripens early in Dao to produce deep coloured reds with low acidity
• Usually blended w Touriga Nacional or Alfrocheiro.

Touriga Nacional

• Believed to originate from Dao
• Vigorous vine prone to poor fruit set that produces small quantities of very small berries
• Deep coloured, hi tannins, concentrated wines
• Mainly grown in Douro & Dao

Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo)

• Black grape w thick skin that ripens early (temprano: ‘early’)
• Thrives in chalky soils & moderate climates for better acidity & elegance
• Little resistance to pest and diseases
• Wines are med->full bodied, low to med+ acidity, w med tannins and flavours of strawberry, cherry, raspberry & plum. Oak and ageing add flavours of herbs, mushrooms, leather & tobacco

Others: Alfrocheiro preto

Question 20

Northern Portugal- White Grape Varieties (Dao)

Answer 20

Encruzado

• Low yields produces fragrant full bodied nutty whites
• Best in Dao
• Can be close to a white Burgundy when aged in barrique
• All too often blended with poorer quality Malvasia Finca & Bical

Others: Bical, Malvasia Finca,

Question 21

Northern Portugal- Viticulture (Dao)

Answer 21

20,000ha – DOC since 1990

Question 22

Northern Portugal- Winemaking and Wine Styles (Dao)

Answer 22

• In theory, Touriga Nacional min 20% of any red blend but much lower in practice.
• Red Dao tends to be firm, tannic (sometimes astringent if prolonger maceration with stalks) Investment in new French and Portuguese oak by new quality oriented producers.
• Whites traditionally oxidised and full bodied; modern wines fresher, fruitier and more fragrant.

Question 23

Northern Portugal- Production (Dao)

Answer 23

• 0.3m hl/yr with most under DOC
• Key producers:

Dao Sul – several million bottles/yr

• Owns 1,000ha and continues to expand with a wide range of wines from supermarket wines to top quality
  wines. Also operates in Estremadura, Douro, Bairrada and Alentejo.

Quinta das Carvalhais
- Started by Sogrape in the 90s; mass market Grao Vasco brand to high quality Duque de Viseu.

Question 24

Vinho Verde

Answer 24

Dramatically improving dop in north-west portugal known for its distinctively light, fresh wines. Vinho Verde originated as a rough and ready local wine on a domestic scale. Following fermentation in open stone lagares, the wine would be run off into cask where the secondary malolactic conversion produced carbon dioxide. This was retained in the wine, giving it a slight sparkle. The better-known brands are typically slightly sweet, sparkling, non-vintage white wines made for early consumption (vinho verde means ‘green wine’, a reference to the youthful state in which wines were customarily sold). However, since the 1980s a shift towards better viticultural practices and more protective winemaking has challenged the old stereotype, resulting in a growing middle and upper tier of higher-quality wines from individual estates (the latter typically subregional varietal wines). The region’s verdant coastal strip (known as the Costa Verde or Green Coast) extends from Vale da Cambra south of the River douro to the River Minho that forms the frontier with Spain over 130 km/80 miles to the north (see portugal map), and the big brands (these days better made), represent most of production where rain-bearing westerly winds from the Atlantic support intensive cultivation on its granitic soils. Moreover, these fertile soils extend inland, along the rivers which criss-cross the region (and act as conduits for tempering ocean winds). In 2011, over 129,000 vineyards totalled around 21,000 ha/51,892 acres, many little bigger than a suburban back garden. In order to make the best use of these small plots, vines were traditionally grown high above the ground on pergolas, stout granite posts up to 4 m/13 ft high, leaving space for other crops underneath. Similarly, farmers trained vines on pergolas around the perimeters of fields planted to corn (once the region’s biggest crop). These high-trained vines also helped to reduce the risk of grey rot, which is endemic during the warm, damp growing season where average annual rainfall is as high as 1,500 mm. However, this culture of polyculture, which remained embedded well into the last century, was neither conducive to mechanization nor quality, both of which factors had become critical to making economically viable wine once the Portuguese wine industry entered a new, more entrepreneurial (and competitive) phase following the country’s eu accession. New vineyards planted (or restructured) since the 1990s are on lower training systems, the new norm and dominant form, resulting in riper, healthier grapes. Increased professionalism in the vineyard has been mirrored in winemaking. Since the 1980s, the average alcoholic strength has increased from 9–10% to 11–12% without sacrificing the region’s signature freshness. The Vinho Verde dop is officially divided into nine subregions, distinguished by climatic differences and the white grape varieties grown there. The subregion of monção e melgaço on the Spanish border produces one of the best but least typical Vinhos Verdes from the alvarinho grape, which can be up to 13% and is relatively expensive. Further south along the River Lima around the towns of Braga, Barcelos, and Guimarães, the dominant grape varieties are loureiro (which thrives in the subregion of lima), trajadura, and Pedernã (see arinto). Inland towards the River Douro around the town of Baião, avesso is the most important variety, producing a slightly fuller style of wine in a warmer, drier climate. Basic Vinhos Verdes must be between 8 and 11.5% cent alcohol so more potent basic wines are sold as vinho regional minho. Vinho Verde labelled with a single variety, subregion, or quality level (Escolha, Grande Escolha, Superior, Colheita Selecionada) have different (generally higher) minimum alcohol levels and are subject only to a maximum potential alcohol of 14%. Since 1999, the DOP extends to sparkling wines (labelled espumante) made by the traditional method, which must be bottled-aged for at least nine months. Until the 1980s, Vinho Verde was predominantly red, made in a naturally fizzy, acidic, bone-dry style from red grapes such as Azal, Vinhão, and Espadeiro. Examples of deep-coloured, rasping reds still exist and are prized locally, but little leaves the north of Portugal. Some of the new breed of single estates now make deeper-fruited, still reds, sometimes even oaked.

Question 25

Bairrada

Answer 25

Evolving dop wine region in northern Portugal (see map under portugal). The coastal belt south of oporto has been producing wine since Portugal gained independence from the Moors in the 10th century. By the early 1700s, Bairrada’s dark, tannic red wines were widely drunk in Britain, masquerading as or blended with port from the douro Valley to the north. Then in 1756, as part of his measures to protect the authenticity of port (see delimitation), the Marquis of Pombal, Portugal’s powerful prime minister, ordered that Bairrada’s vineyards should be uprooted. Despite the foundation in 1887 of the Escola Prática de Viticultura da Bairrada whose efforts to promote and develop the region included producing Portugal’s first méthode champenoise sparkling wine in 1890, it has taken Bairrada more than two centuries to recover. For the best part of the 20th century, the merchant bottlers (see négociants) and co-operatives that still dominate production churned out cheap bulk wines for Portugal’s African colonies. But this market collapsed in the wake of the 1974 revolution. Bairrada was awarded região demarcada (now dop) status in 1979. Tapping new, more demanding export markets required the merchant bottlers to exert greater control over fruit sourcing and production through the acquisition of vineyards, buying grapes (instead of wine), and investing in winemaking facilities. Most of Bairrada’s 2,000 growers own a very small area of vines even today, so most send their grapes either to a merchant or to one of the region’s three remaining co-operatives. Around 900 of them alone sell their fruit to sogrape for mateus rosé. Bairrada’s main quality impetus has come from the handful of dynamic individual winemaking estates that emerged in the 1980s and the successive wave that has reinforced its number. Stalwart supporters of traditional varieties, notably baga, have progressively tamed its worst excesses (fearsome tannins and acidity) by optimal vineyard site selection (warmer, better-drained calcareous-clay soils are best), trimming this productive grape’s yields, and gentler extraction. Others have taken advantage of dop rule changes which, from 2003, permitted blending with more approachable, popular varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. These incomers (sometimes with a dash of white grapes) have successfully fleshed out Baga and have even produced some very promising wines in their own right, especially the Bordeaux varieties, which are well-suited to Bairrada’s maritime climate. Keen to reinforce the region’s traditional varieties Baga, Maria Gomes, and Bical, from 2009 leading estate Luis Pato began once again to label its top wines Bairrada (as opposed to bottling all as Vinho Regional beiras). By 2014 Baga represented only 40% of land under vine (down from 90%), but those who remain committed to producing single varietal Baga are consistently making some of Portugal’s leading reds. While they retain the capacity to age in bottle for two decades or more, with riper, finer tannins and better fruit expression, modern Baga is broachable earlier than in the past. Filipa Pato even makes an elegant fortified Baga using the region’s and variety’s hallmark freshness to good effect. White grapes, mostly Maria Gomes (or fernão pires) and bical, once grown primarily by the merchants for traditional method sparkling wines, are increasingly valued by Bairrada’s leading individual estates which make some remarkably terroir-focused, almost Burgundian whites and, more recently, artisanal traditional method sparkling wines based on Baga. The Bussaco Palace Hotel owns a vineyard, Vinha da Mata, in Bairrada from which it has produced an impressively structured Baga-dominated red labelled VM since 2001. However, located on the cusp of Bairrada and Dão, it is best known for Buçaco red and white wines made from grapes sourced from both regions. Once regarded as some of the best table wines in Portugal, older vintages (dating back to the 1940s) are available only to guests dining at the hotel or one of its few associated establishments, apart from those few bottles that occasionally crop up at auction.

Question 26

Douro

Answer 26

Portuguese dop named after the river which rises as the Duero in Spain (see ribera del duero) before turning south to form the frontier with portugal, then weaving west where it cleaves through the hard, granite mountains of northern Portugal before finally slipping past Oporto into the Atlantic swell (see maps under portugal and spain). Most famous as the source of the fortified wine port, the Douro Valley is also well known for the production of (unfortified) table wine labelled Douro DOP. First demarcated in 1756, making it one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions (see delimitation and portugal, history), the Douro Valley’s since-modified irregular outline corresponds closely with an outcrop of pre-Cambrian schist, which is hemmed in by granite. For over two centuries, the demarcation applied only to port, but in 1979 it was extended to include table wine. Although (poorly made) ‘blackstrap’ table wines dominated Douro production until usurped by port in the latter part of the 18th century, the first glimmer of the region’s true potential for table wines appeared when port shippers ferreira launched Barca Velha 1952, a red wine from the Douro Superior, upstream of the port heartland. Making table wines did not take hold, however, until the 1990s, following Portugal’s accession to the eu. This provided invaluable funds for research and new equipment. It also led to the demise of the port shippers’ de facto monopoly over exports, enabling estates to make and sell their own wine. In the spirit of Barca Velha, early efforts focused on ambitious, upmarket reds. But this century has seen the emergence of many a mid-priced and even entry-level Douro table wine as the number of port shippers and independent wine farms (quintas) making table wine has mushroomed. While quality is correspondingly more variable, the Douro still produces some of Portugal’s most consistent red wines. DOP wines are made from a single variety or, more typically, a blend of as many as 30 of the region’s 100-plus approved indigenous varieties, which are similar to those used for port. Should winemakers stray from the approved list, wines are labelled Vinho Regional Duriense. The region’s varietal versatility reflects the sheer diversity of the world’s largest mountain vineyard (about 250,000 ha/617,763 acres, of which 45,203 ha/111,197 acres are under vine), whose terroir has been more artfully exploited as a result of the increased focus on Douro DOP wine. Divided into three subregions (the easternmost Baixo or Lower Corgo, Cima or Upper Corgo, and the Douro Superior/Upper Douro which reaches the Spanish border), in general terms it is progressively warmer and drier towards the east. However, since the steep slopes extend from around 150 m to a substantially cooler 900 m elevation and face every which way (the Douro DOP not only tracks a 100 km stretch of the River Douro, but also the valleys of its tributaries), there is many an exception. The first decade of this century saw a sharper focus on fresh white wines sourced from higher sites often located on granite soils. Earlier picking and especially the use of older and larger oak barrels is also resulting in greater freshness and restraint among the better reds. The quest for individuation led some to question 1970s viticultural studies whose outcome was a shift away from the tradition of field blends towards varietally homogenous plantings of the supposedly superior red grape varieties, touriga nacional, tinta roriz, touriga franca, tinta barroca, and tinto cão—five were even mandatory for new vineyards planted under the 1982 Trás-os-Montes Integrated Rural Development Project (which encouraged the restructuring of over 3,700 ha of abandoned vineyards). Traditional varieties that have been planted once more include tinta francisca, Donzelinho Tinto, Touriga Brasileira, Folgasão, and also Sousão (which is prized for its high acidity). For whites (mostly from old field blends), key varieties include rabigato, côdega do larinho, viosinho, gouveio, malvasia Fina, and arinto.

Question 27

Ribatejo

Answer 27

Former name of tejo in Portugal.