Portugal Flashcards
What is the range of climates in Portugal?
The west of the mainland is influenced by the Atlantic, bringing cool, rainy weather particularly to the north west.
Mountain ranges protect many of the more inland northerly regions which, with a continental climate, enjoy warmer, drier growing seasons.
In the warmer, drier south the topography is categorised largely by rolling hills and plains.
What is the range of soils in Portugal?
Significant variations that can impact varieties grown and styles produced.
Schist or granite are commonly found in mountainous regions, eg, Vinho Verde, Douro, and Dão, and on hilly outcrops in Alentejo.
The wine regions further south near the coast, eg Bairrada, Lisboa, Tejo and Península de Setúbal, have more varied soils: clay with high limestone or sandy.
There’s some fertile alluvial soils around riverbanks, eg in Tejo.
What has happened to the area under vine in Portugal?
In 2018 there was 190,000 ha, representing a reduction of 85,000 ha over the last 30 years.
A substantial amount of high-prpducing vineyards on the fertile, alluvial soils, especially Tejo, but also Vinho Verde/Minho have been grubbed up since joining the EU in 1986.
Replanting has been focused on high quality material and sites (and has been restricted to avoid a surplus).
What has been the trajectory of popularity? Why did this begin?
With a warm, sunny and dry climate and flat topography, Alentejo saw significant investment and growth. EU funds and the recruitment of consultant winemakers meant Alentejo started to produce quality wines in a soft, ripe style that was quickly popular on domestic and export markets.
This in turn encouraged further planting and investment.
What is differentiating about Alentejo’s wineries?
Comparative to the usual of many small growers with small holdings, Alentejo has a high number of estates with large, relatively young, vineyard holdings.
Given its proximity to Lisbon, many are set up for tourism.
What are production levels in Portugal, and what natural factors affect this?
99% on the mainland, the remainer on the island of Madeira and the Azores.
Over the last decade, numbers have varied between 560m L to 710m L depending on the vintage.
Climate change has brought an increase in drought, especially in continental, inland regions such as the Douro, Dão and Alentejo.
Extreme weather events have been occurring. Eg, hail and storms in Douro and the Dão was affected by wildfires in 2017.
Wet weather in the more coastal regions can increase the risk of fruit set and, later in the season, increase fungal disease pressure.
The trunk disease Esca and the vineyard pest European grapevine moth are common issues.
What is common training throughout Portugal?
Majority are cordon or replacement cane and VSP trellised.
A significant amount of bush vines can be found in the Douro and certain areas of Alentejo, with a much smaller proportion found in Dão and Bairrada. These are usually planted in mixed vineyards for field blend wines.
The vast majority of vineyards planted since the 1980s are planted to one variety or in varietal blocks.
What is the state of water availability in the Douro?
In the past, all regions required authorisation to irrigate, but this is now generally not required.
Some regulation may still exist at a regional level. Eg, Douro producers must notify the IVDP when they irrigate.
Generally, irrigation is only to be used in scenarios where lack of water could jeopardise quality, and cannot be used to bolster yields.
What is the state of organics?
Around 2700ha farmed by 500 growers are certified.
This is low compared to some EU countries. However, a number of growers who tend their vines with organic methods believe the benefits of certification are not worth the cost.
Production of organic wines is expected to grow in coming years with a number of vineyards in conversion.
What does the IVDP stand for?
Institutos dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto.
What is the summary of varieties grown?
A wide variety are grown, mostly Portuguese in origin.
Many varieties are grown across multiple regions, but the plantings may be concentrated to one region. Give eg.
Some international varieties are allowed in some regions, such as Tejo, Alentejo, Bairrada and some areas of Lisboa and the Peninsula de Setúbal, but not in the Douro, Dão or Vinho Verde.
Some regions used to rely on international varieties for their exports, but there’s now a growing return to indigenous varieties, and some ‘artisanal’ producers are reviving native grapes.
What are common varietal wines?
Baga from Bairrada. Encruzado from Dão, Alvarinho from Vinho Verde. The rest are usually blends.
What is the breakdown of varieties grown throughout Portugal?
Aragonez/Tinta Roriz 21000ha
Touriga Franca 13500ha
Touriga Nacional 13000ha
Fernão Pires/Maria Gomes 12000ha
Castelão 9000ha
Trincadeira 8000ha
Baga 8000ha
Loureiro 5500ha
Arinto/Pedernã 5500ha
Syrah 5500ha
Roupeiro just over 5000ha
Alicante Bouschet just under 5000ha
What factors modernised Portuguese winemaking?
Admission to the EU: protective winemaking, temperature control, improvements in fruity whites.
De-stemming equipment and French oak maturation resulted in improvements in tannin management for reds.
French is still primary oak, but some American.
What traditional winemaking still exists?
Upheld by a small proportion of producers, though recently joined by others keen to experiment with less widespread techniques.
Large 3000-6000L Portuguese oak and Brazilian hardwood toneis were commonly used and the tradition has been maintained by some high profile wineries, especially in Bairrada.
What is the stance on wood usage?
In line with worldwide trends, less overt use of oak. Reducing the amount in new oak and the duration, or ageing on larger format/old oak.
There’s been a niche revival of toneis sized vessels, though buying new foudres is common (sizes vary, but typically 2000-2500 L), and wooden fermenters from France, Italy and Austria.
Also experimentation with Portuguese oak and chestnut barrels (both common in the past)
What technique associated with Port is also used for still, unfortified winemaking?
Fermenting and foot treading in lagares (either from local material, schist granite or marble, or now easy to clean steel) is regularly practiced among top producers throughout Portugal.
What winemaking techniques have seen a rise in popularity across the country?
Fermenting or ageing in clay vessels.
Fermenting wines on skins (red and white) in clay has been enshrined with its own DOC Vinho de Talha in Alentejo (Talha is the local name for Clay Amphora).
A degree of pre-fermentation skin maceration for premium whites (existing), and a revival in fermenting whites on their skins.
Natural wines are also seeing a growth.
What key factor has aided Portuguese wines internationally?
The young winemakers are typically more widely travelled and outward looking, which has paid dividends for winemaking, packaging and marketing, whilst developing a keen appreciation for Portugals strengths, especially its native varieties and traditional techniques.
What are Portugals versions of the PDO and PGI system?
DOC/DOP: Denominação de Origem Controlada, and the more modern Protegida are widely used for PDO wines.
There are 31 in total in Portugal, each with regulations on grape growing and winemaking, and all wines must be officially tested, tasted and approved.
VR: Vinho Regional, the widely used teem for PGI wines. There’s 41 in Portugal and regulations are less stringent. They often permit international varieties, whereas some PDOs do not.
Vinho: the term for wines of neither above status.
How much of wine does Portugal produce? How much of total agricultural output does this account for?
Average total production is 6.4mhL, including fortified and still. Its estimated the production of unfortified, still wine is 5.5 mhL. About 35% of the national total output.
What is the average size of vineyard holdings?
Historically Portugal has always been, and to a significant extent remains a land of small holdings, where grape growing was one element of an entire farm.
The average size of vineyards in Däo, Vinho Verde and Douro is still tiny.
What is the history of Portuguese wine business until 1974? What happened in 1974?
Growers had a ready market for grapes (and wines). They were sold to negociants and the co-operatives who produced bulk wine, which was then shipped to Portugals former colonies in Africa, Angola and Mozambique.
This was brought to a halt by the Carnation Revolution in 1974.
High volume brands like Mateus Rosé and Lancers, and big brand Vinho Verdes like Casal Garcia are still largely sourced from growers who are separated from the business of making and selling wine.
What has EU funding encouraged for wine businesses?
Negociants have acquired vineyards themselves in an attempt to diversify, increase quality, and compete in non-traditional markets.
The most extreme of this is Sogrape, which, since the 1980s, has acquired leading Port brands and estates in Vinho Verde, Dão, Douro, Lisboa, and Alentejo.
It’s the biggest wine company in Portugal, and its annual revenue exceeds the total of the next 7 businesses.
What is the direction of popularity for estates and co-operatives? What new wave is being established?
Increasing numbers of growers have sought to add value to their grapes and become P of their own estate (Quinta) brand, especially in the Douro, Alentejo, Dão and Vinho Verde, and to a lesser extent Bairrada, Lisboa and Tejo.
Co-operatives have reduced in number. Though there are still 73 active.
A new small but influential trend is the rise of small volume winemakers who own no vineyards. They carefully select often old and neglected vineyards, in overlooked regions or planted to unfashionable native varieties, to source their grapes.
Where does Portugal stand in global production and exports?
12th largest wine producing company.
9th largest exporter, exporting 2.3 mhL of unfortified wine in 2018 (3 mhL total of all styles).
DOC wines made up 27% of volume but 40% of value.
What is the state of exports?
There’s been steady growth in volume and value over the last 2 decades for unfortified wine.
Largest exports for volume are France, Angola, Germany and the UK.
Largest for value are the France, the USA, UK and Brazil.
The promotional body Wines of Portugal was founded in 2010 with a focus on promoting and educating consumers and trade in export markets on Portuguese wines.
What is the state of domestic consumption?
Gradually increasing sue to growth in average income compared to the years of recession and an increase in tourism.
