Portugal Flashcards
When/what was the Treaty of Methuen? What was its contribution to the world of wine?
1703: the signing of a long-lasting trade agreement between Portugal and England, granting preferential tariffs for Portuguese wines.
What year did the English “discover” Port?
1678
What is the name of the organization that manages the appellation and production of Port?
The IVDP: in English, the Douro Port Wine Institute
What were ‘Vinhos ao Roda’?
Madeira wines that made the trip torna viagem, or round-trip across the Atlantic or to the East Indies and back
What year did Phylloxera enter Portugal? What was the only area to be spared?
1867
Colares
Portugal has 14 IGPs. Name as many as possible.
- Minho
- Transmontano
- Duriense
- Terras do Dao
- Terras do Cister
- Terras da Beira
- Beira Atlantico
- Tejo
- Lisboa
- Alentejo
- Peninsula de Setubal
- Algarve
- Terras Madeirenses
- Acores
What does the term “garrafeira” indicate?
Garrafeira means “private cellar wine” and stipulates a minimum aging requirement per wine style.
Branco/rosado: min 12 months aging with at least 6 in bottle
Red: min 30 months aging with at least 12 in bottle
*For Port, the term takes on a different meaning: it is a style pioneered and solely produced by Niepoort. A single vintage Port is aged 3 to 6 years in barrel then transferred to demi-johns where it continues to age in glass
What house produces a singular Garrafeira Port?
Niepoort: the Port is aged for 3 to 6 years in barrel, then transferred to glass demijohns to continue aging. The Port is of a single vintage. This type of aging adds a unique character known as “cheiro has garrafa” (translates to: savour or essence of the bottle) which is derived from prolonged direct contact with the glass demijohns. The first vintage was 1931 - bottled in the 1950s.
What does the term ‘reserva’ mean for Portuguese table wines?
The wine must be .5% higher in alchohol than base regulation; stricter requirements in certain DOPs may supersede this
What does ‘colheita seleccionada’ indicate for Portuguese wine?
That the wine must be at least 1% abv higher than base requirement for its related IGP/DOP
Portugal vocab: what is a casta?
Grape variety
Describe Castelao: what are the characteristics of this grape and its wine? What company/brand is largely responsible for its widespread planting?
An adaptable variety generally producing red-fruited, meaty, tannic wines. JM da Fonseca brought the grape from Tejo to what is the the Peninsula de Setubal and bottled it under the brand “Periquita”. The brand was so successful that Periquita became a moniker for the grape, which Fonseca defended in court.
Bical Tinto and Mortagua Preto are synonyms for what varietal?
Touriga Nacional
Jaen is a synonym for _________.
Mencia
As of 2017, what is the most planted red grape of Portugal? What are the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th most planted?
Tinta Roriz is the most planted red grape. Castelao was the most planted red grape previously but now sits at 3rd.
2: Touriga Franca
3: Castelao
4: Touriga Nacional
5: Trincadeira
Aragonez is also known under what 2 synonyms?
Tempranillo
Tinta Roriz
Fernao Pires is known by what name in Bairrada?
Maria Gomes
Maria Gomes is a synonym of what grape?
Fernao Pires
What is the most-planted white grape in Portugal? In what areas are most of its plantings concentrated in?
Fernao Pires aka Maria Gomez
Plantings are largely concentrated in Bairrada and the southern plains of Tejo
Describe Fernao Pires.
An early ripening, workhorse white grape.
Produces honeyed, low acid wines prone to oxidation. This is the most planted white grape in Portugal.
What is Encruzado?
Portugal’s better white grape; its home is in the Dao. It makes more elegant, floral, and citrusy wines that gain nutty, resinous aromas with age.
Sercial is known by what name in mainland Portugal?
Esgana Cao - ‘dog strangler’
What is the IGP of the Douro and Porto?
Duriense
The Douro Valley is carved out of what two mountain ranges?
The Montemuro and Marao Mountains
What is the preferred soil type in the Douro Valley?
Schist
Schist is the preferred soil type in the Douro Valley. What is schist exactly?
A metamorphic rock. The soil type retains heat well and is rich in magnesium and potassium but poor in organic nutrients and nitrogens
What are the Douro Valley’s 3 subzones, from west to east?
Baixo Corgo: highest density of plantings
Cima Corgo: highest total vineyard acreage
Douro Superior: largest and most sparsely planted. Stretches to the Spanish border - very hot and arid.
What styles of wine are authorized under Douro DOP?
Vinho Branco, Rosado, Tinto
Vinho Espumante
Vinho Licoroso
What fortified wine is released under Douro DOP?
Moscatel do Douro, made from Moscatel Galego. Min abv is 16.5% and may carry an age designation like that of tawny port.
