Portugal Flashcards
Where is Portugal?
The southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Spain to the north and east.
What are the most important red grape varieties in Portugal?
Touriga National, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Roriz (aka Aragonez elsewhere in Portugal and Tempranillo in the rest of the world)
What are the main white varieties in Portugal?
Loureiro and Alvarinho in Vinho Verde, Sercial, Malvasia, Verdelho, and Bual in Madeira
From bottom to top, what are the classifications of Portugese wine?
Vinho de mesa, Vinho Regional, IPR, and DOC
What is the river that runs through the main port-producing region in Portugal?
The Duoro
What are the three sub-regions of the Duoro Valley?
Baixo Corgo (westernmost section with ample rainfall), Cima Corgo (central core of the region that produces the finest ports), and Douro Superior (the eastern part of the valley, also the largest geographically but has less than 1/4 of Duoro acreage under vine)
What are the six preferred varieties for port production?
Touriga National, Touriga Franca, Tinto Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, and Tinta Amarela
What is the name of the vineyard ranking system in port?
Cadastro
What are the major styles of port?
Ruby - a light style with a dark ruby-red color and youthful aromas. Rubies are aged in large oak casks for 2-3 years
Reserve - a blend of premium ruby ports bottles after 4-6 years in oak casks
Aged Tawny - A port with enough additional oak aging that its color has taken on a brown hue and more oxidized flavors.
Vintage - taken from a single year’s harvest, bottled young and cellared for many more years before release.
Late bottled vintage - wine from a single vintage, matured like a tawny in large oak vats for 4-6 years and then bottled for immediate release
What is the term that was created to describe the “cooking” process used to age Madeira?
Maderization
What are the two methods used to recreate the sun-baked conditions abord ship in classic Madeira production?
Canteiro method - wine is placed in casks in the rafters of an uncooled warehouse where it will be subjected to high temperatures. This requires several years of aging, but produces the most complex flavors and aromas
Estufa method - Wine is left in a concrete vat (an estufa, or “oven”) and circulating hot water is passed though a submerged coil. This is a faster method, mainly used for commercial wines.
What are the classic grapes of Madeira?
Sercial (dry and highly acidic), Verdelho (off-dry), Boal (raisiny and sweet), and Malmsey (very sweet, yet balanced by acidity)
What region of Portugal contains the Vinho Verde DOC?
Minho
What is the Portugese term for a wine region?
Vino regional (VR)
