Portugal - NW in Spain

Question 1

Portugal - Castas (Grape Varieties):

Answer 1

Red Casta:
Castelão -
adaptable vine, full-bodied, tannic with meaty, red-fruit aromas, widely planted
Touriga Nacional -
Portugal’s finest red casta. cherished Port blends, accounts for approximately 10% of nation’s vineyard acreage, + inky, full-bodied, structured wines

White Casta:
Fernão Pires(Maria Gomes in Bairrada) -
most planted white, workhorse, early-ripening, aromatic grape concentrated in Bairrada + S plains of Tejo. fairly simple, honeyed wines prone to oxidation + low acid
Encruzado -
Nobler white wines, in Dão = elegant, balanced grape yielding floral + citrusy wines that gain complex nutty, resinous aromas w/ age
Arinto -
1 of Portugal’s oldest indigenous varietals = lively, mineral-tinged + is grown throughout the country, although its most striking examples issue from the coastal regions, + from Bucelas in particular.
Antão Vaz -
aromatic, tropical is 1 of most important white grapes in Alentejano, + Alvarinho (Spain’s Albariño) is highly regarded by the producers of Vinho Verde.
Sercial -
most thrilling indigenous white variety, a highly acidic, prized for dry Madeira + known as Esgana Cão—the “dog strangler”—on the mainland. It is often confused w/ its homophone Cercial(used in Dão, Douro + Bairrada blends) but the 2 grapes are genetically distinct.

Question 2

Portugal - Minho + Vinho Verde:

Answer 2

NW Portugal, S of Minho River + Rías Baixas
Vinho Verde grapes:
Loureiro = most heavily planted white + primary component of traditional Vinho Verde blends.
Other white grapes include = Trajadura (Treixadura), Avesso, Pedernã (Arinto), + Spanish Albariño(Alvarinho in Portugal), the grape is chiefly bottled as a varietal wine near the N town of Monção, situated directly X the Minho River from Rías Baixas’ Condado do Tea region.

Red + rosato wines, produced from grapes = Vinhão (a teinturier grape), Espadeiro, Borraçal, + Alvarelhão, = minority of exports. The light, floral whites of the region are marked by lively acidity + low alc, + are slightly sparkling—a result, generally, of carbon dioxide injection prior to btl. The red wines, also pétillant, gain their sparkle from maloferm in the bottle, a process usually avoided for white wines. All wines best in the year after release.

Question 3

Portugal - Region Break Down:

Answer 3

Minho + Vinho Verde
Transmontano
Duriense: Douro and Porto
Beiras
Lisboa
Península de Setúbal
Tejo and Alentejano
Algarve
Açores

Question 4

Portugal - Wine Classification System:

Answer 4

Top tier Down:
Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC)
Denominação de Origem Protegida (DOP) (= AOP) or
Indicação Geogràfica Protegida (IGP)

Indicação Geogràfica (IG)
min 85% of grapes grown in the stated region

As of 2011, there are 14 IGPs in Portugal: Minho, Transmontano, Duriense, Terras do Dão, Terras de Cister, Terras da Beira, Beira Atlântico, Tejo, Lisboa, Alentejano, Península de Setúbal, Algarve, Terras Madeirenses, and Açores. Wine produced in Portugal that does not meet any of the above criteria is considered Vinhos de Mesa, or simply Vinho—table wine.

vintage-dated DOP or IGP, Portuguese table wines may be labeled as garrafeira (“private wine cellar”), = Aged prior to release.
Tinto (red) garrafeira = 30 months, + min 12 mo in btl.
Branco (white) + rosado garrafeira = Min 12 mo, min 6 in btl.
vintage garrafeira Port style = separate connotation: following a few years’ aging in barrels, the Port is aged min 8 yrs in glass demijohns.

Question 5

Portugal - Wine Label Reading:

Answer 5

reserva, indicating an alcohol content of at least 0.5% higher than the legal minimum established by the respective DOP or IGP; however, stricter requirements in individual DOPs may supersede this standard.