The Wines of
Portugal
While the most prestigious wines exported from Portugal are the Portos, the
country does produce a range of good quality table wines.
Years ago, in the 1960s and 1970s, the most ubiquitous wines were the rosés from
Portugal. Along with other European "fine wines" (I'm thinking of Blue Nun
Liebfraumilch, Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux and Riunite Lambrusco), the other famous Euro-exports
were Lancer's and Mateus rosés. People buying these sorts of wines were thought of
as "bon vivants," being some sort of wine "expert."
Today these wines cannot be found in a serious wine shop (we'll special order them for
you, if you like).
Portuguese
wines are, for the most part, unknown to the San Francisco wine drinker. In fact, few
outside of Portugal are very familiar with the wines of this Iberian Peninsula country.
While the typical wine connoisseur most certainly has bottles of Bordeaux, Burgundy and
Napa Cabernet, other than a bottle of Port, you're not likely to find Portuguese wines in
the collection.
The Portuguese have had a system of wine regulations in place longer than France, for
example. Wine regions were demarcated and standards were instituted, but the Portuguese
didn't keep up with the times. As a result, there are but a few Portuguese wines which
fetch premium prices. This will change, as we're starting to see a few very fine
bottlings from Portugal. Also, many Portuguese producers are now venturing to the
U.S. in hopes of creating a market for their wines.
In 1985 there were but 10 demarcated regions. Today there are 55. Things are changing.
Portugal's entry into the European Union is good news. Monies became available to
upgrade the vineyards and wineries. While we still taste some rustic (or rusty) wines from
Portugal, some positive signs (and wines) are showing up here.
Though there are nearly 200,000 winegrowers in Portugal, the bulk of the business is
done by cooperative wineries (of which there are a few more than a hundred) and large
independent vintners.
The past decade has seen major changes and Portugal is
producing some great "value-priced" bottlings and there are numerous
deluxe, high-priced efforts, too. The landscape is changing, with a number
of good, small, privately-owned estates. But some of the large wine
companies make lovely wines and with their names often being difficult to
pronounce, these are overlooked by many American buyers.
Happily, the producers don't require us to be able to say their names correctly
to be able to buy a bottle of their wines.
| The Minho Vinho Verde |
This is the region from Oporto at the south to the Spanish
border at the north.
Though the region produces something like 70% red wines, it's the mildly fizzy white wine
called "Vinho Verde" which is amongst the most famous wines of Portugal.
There are several important sub-regions , including Amarante and Peñafiel (near Oporto),
Braga (see the map above), Basto, Lima, Melgaço and Monção. It is in this latter region
where one finds the Portuguese version of Albariño, "Alvarinho". Some contend
this is a sort of "Vinho Verde", though we find it considerably more
interesting. |
| The Dão Dão
Dão Nobre
(more "noble")
Dão Novo (a nouveau style)
Dão Clarete (bigger than Novo, lighter than
standard Dão)
|
The center of this region is Viseu and it's some 50 miles
south of the Douro. There are three rivers along which you'll find vineyards, the Alva,
the Dão and the Mondego. There are 50,000 acres of vineyards and, until recently, I read
that there is but one "estate grown and bottled" wine in the entire region! Most
of the wine is red although white Dão is somewhat simple, and steely-dry. We usually find
the reds from Dão to be somewhat on the order of a little French Minervois or Fitou, for
example. The red grapes include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro Preto. Jaen,
Tinta Pinheira for the reds. White varieties include the Encruzado, Assario (known as
Malvasia Fina in the Douro), Cerceal and the Bical. |
| Bairrada |
Though the Dão has a head-start in selling its wines around
the world, Bairrada is a challenger in terms of really good quality wines, along with the
Douro. This region is north of Coimbra and south of Oporto, just west of the Dão. The
cities of Mealhada and Anadia are the main towns in the Bairrada region. You'll find
mostly reds here (it's quite a warm area). The main grapes are Baga (for the reds) and
Bical (for the few whites). The reds tend to be rather strong and have a firm backbone of
tannin. The Castelão is often used to soften the Baga wines. Another red variety, Preto
Mortágua (the Touriga Nacional of the Douro and Dão) is also found here. Arinto and
Cerceal are two other white grapes currently being cultivated. |
| Douro |
We've been finding some pretty good reds made in this region,
the area famous for its Port wines. Virtually all the Port producers make dry red wine,
even if they don't sell it. They can't be drinking Port morning, noon and night! We have a
very good example of this sort of "daily plonk", to somewhat bigger, richer
wines. The Ferrerira Port firm makes what has been the most prestigious (and expensive)
Portuguese red, Barca Velha. The grapes include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta
Barocca, Touriga Francesa, Tinta da Barca and Tinto Cão for the reds. White varieties are
the Malvasia Fina, Viosinho and Gouveio. |
| Near Lisbon |
Carcavelos is a tiny appellation, not far
from the famous Estoril resort. This area produces and off-dry dessert (or aperitif, if
you like) wine which is reminiscent of a Madeira. Colares is a red wine
of some fame. It's produced from a grape called Ramisco and is grown in the sand dunes
west of Lisbon between Sintra and the sea. The vines are ungrafted as phylloxera can't
deal with sandy soil.
Bucelas is slightly better known and a larger appellation, located
about 10 miles north of Lisbon. White wine of little distinction tends to be produced in
this region. Arinto is the grape in this region.
Setúbal is the peninsula some 20 miles south of Lisbon and legend has
it that it was settled by one of Noah's son, Tubal. The Phoenicians brought Muscat to the
region and its wine became a favorite of Louis XIV. Today the Muscat of Setúbal is still
famous, though on these shores, seriously under-appreciated. This is (or can be) one of
the world's greatest dessert wines. |
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