Portugal Worth The Visit
Spurred
by joining the European Economic Community in 1986, wineries
are investing in new technology and emphasizing quality over
quantity. Fortunately, they are largely staying with the
indigenous grape varieties that make Portuguese wine unique,
while planting some international varieties like Cabernet
Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay.
According to Rui
Abecassis, deputy trade commissioner in the Portuguese Trade
and Tourism Office in New York, authorities have reduced the
number of grape names from 35OO to 34O. That will please
those who try to sell Portuguese wine in the United States.
It doesn’t mean that there are fewer kinds of grapes, only
that the confusing practice of different names in different
parts of the country has been rationalized to conform to
Common Market rules. (But there are still 11 grapes allowed
to have more than one name. For example, the grape called
Tempranillo in Spain can still be called Aragonez or Tinta
Roiz in Portugal.)
Upon joining the
European Economic Community, Portugal became eligible for
subsidies that helped in modernization of the wine industry,
among others.
Portugal can
claim the first-ever appellation, in 1756, with the creation
of the Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto
Douro. To protect the quality of Port, which was first
exported to England in 1675, the company demarcated the
region of production, recorded the vineyards, classified and
certified wines, and prescribed certain practices. (That was
99 years before the famous 1855 Classification of Bordeaux.)
Then in 19O7 to 19O8, Madeira, Moscatel de Setubal,
Carcavelos, Dao, Colares, and Vinho Verde were
demarcated.
It was the
French, however, who set the model for a nationwide system
of appellations, which was later picked up in Europe and
elsewhere, including the United States. Upon joining the
Common Market, Portugal established 33 Denominations of
Origin, distributed within eight Geographic Indications.
Since then, there are more regions but only 29
denominations.
If the wine
label says DOC, the grapes come from within that
appellation, and the grape types and vinification techniques
are regulated. If the label says IG, at least 85 percent of
the grapes must be from one of the larger regions and be
made there, but there is more freedom to use non-traditional
varieties. There is a third classification: Vinho de Mesa
(table wine).
A booklet,
the wines of portugal, published by the Viticulture
Denominations of Origin National Association (ANDOVI), is
the source for the rest of this article. It says the number
of DOCs may have changed in recent legislation. However,
here they are listed as in the booklet. Listed first is the
region and then the denominations within it, and some of the
grapes (using the spelling used for those
chapters).
Douro: This
region, named for the Douro River that flows through it, is
probably the best known in Portugal, since it is where Port,
the famous fortified wine, is produced. However, its red
table wines are esteemed and have their own following. The
vineyards are spread along the banks of the Douro and its
tributaries. The best grapes for Port come from vineyards
near the river, while Douro red and white wines come from
vineyards at higher altitudes. The region contains two DOCs,
Porto and Douro, covering the same area.
The same five
grapes are used for Port and red table wine, with the
location determining which is better suited for Port or
table wine. Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz,
Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cao are the red grapes. Of these
grapes, Touriga Nacional may be said to be Portugal’s
leading claim to nobility, and it is sometimes vinified as a
varietal.
A fortified
white wine, Moscatel do Douro, is made from the Moscatel
Galego variety. The grapes for white table wines are mainly
Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato, and Viosinho. Some
sparkling wine is made in the Douro also.
Minho: This
region, in the northwest corner of the country, is most
affected by the Atlantic; it is cool, with much rain and
humidity. Consequently, the wines, like those of Germany,
tend to be low in alcohol and high in acidity. There is one
DOC, Vinho Verde, for this large region, with extends from
the ocean to the mountains, but there are six subregions –
Moncao, Lima, Basto, Braga, Amarante, and Penafiel – with
their own microclimates and grape choices.
The region
produces more red Vinho Verde than white. The red is
consumed almost entirely at home, and rarely exported, since
it’s conceded to be a taste hard to acquire. (I happen to
like it.) It’s the white Vinho Verde that’s exported, and
much of it is off-dry, almost sweet. Some say that the
Portuguese themselves like it dry, but others insist that,
like Americans, they prefer it off-dry. Even if it appears
dry, there is likely to be some residual sugar to balance
the high acidity. Some fine sparkling wine is made from
Vinho Verde grapes – a natural since the climate yields
high-acid wines suitable for bubbly.
Traditionally,
Vinho Verde had a slight sparkle that came from unresolved
fermentation; now the sparkle is inserted by CO2 (although
vintners don’t admit it). Because the wine was still
working, in the old days, it was meant to be consumed right
away, and there was no need to put a vintage on the label.
Most Vinho Verdes in the market still do not specify the
vintage, although there is a code that tells the bottling
date.
Alvarinho
(Abarino in Spain) is the most famous grape of Vinho Verde.
It is vinified dry, with higher alcohol than other Vinho
Verdes, and is usually bottled as a varietal because of its
fame. It is an aromatic grape that reminds some people of
Riesling.
Loureiro is
another fine white grape that often is bottled as a variety,
that is, unblended and dry. But most Vinho Verdes are
blended, and the other white grapes include Avesso, Arinto
(also called Pederna) and Azai.
Tras-os-Montes:
A mountainous region and a DOC with three sub-regions –
Chaves, Valpacos, and Planalto Mirandes – is directly east
of Minho but, instead of being cool and moderate, it has
extremes of heat and cold. Viticulture is not the main
agricultural product, but the predominant red varieties are
Trincadeira, Bastaro, Marufo, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca,
and Touriga Nacional. The main whites are Siria, Fernao
Pires, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato, and
Viosinho.
If the wine is
bottled IG, there may be international varieties like
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Beiras: This is
a large region that includes several denominations whose
names are more familiar than Beiras. Throughout the region,
winemaking started with religious orders, especially the
monks of the Cisterian Order. The best-known appellation in
Beiras is Dao, Portugal’s second-oldest wine area, having
been developed in the middle of the 19th century and
officially demarcated in 19O8. It has a reputation for
full-bodied red wines that age gracefully. Located in the
center of the Beiras, Dao is a plateau, 12OO to 22OO feet
high, surrounded by mountains; the soil is poor, mostly
granite with some clay and schist. In the 2Oth century, it
was mostly small estates, where vine growers sold their
grapes to 1O large cooperatives. Starting in the late ‘8Os,
change began on three fronts: Companies who used to buy from
the cooperatives decided to start their own wineries and buy
vineyards. The coops, in turn, began to modernize their
wineries and develop their own brands. Finally, some small
and medium producers decided to build their own wineries.
All of this led to improved quality, starting with better
grapes and viticultural techniques. Red varieties include
Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jean, and Tinta Roriz. Whites
are Encruzado, Bical, Cercial, Malvasia Fina, and
Verdelho.
Bairrada: Even
with its long history, which includes formation in 1887 of a
viticulture school, it wasnot officially demarcated until
1979. The first Portuguese sparkling wines were made here in
189O. Five cooperatives are there, along with large and
medium-sized companies, and more recently small private
producers. Because Bairrada is closer to the coast, the
climate is moderate. Baga is the predominant red variety,
mostly planted in clay soils. Other reds include Touriga
Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Cabernet Savignon, Syrah, Merlot, and
Pinot Noir. White grapes are planted in sandy soils, where
Baga does not thrive, and are fruity with enough acidity to
allow them to evolve. Fernao Pires (also called Maria Gomes
here) is the leading white; also grown are Arinto, Rabo de
Ovelha, Cercial, and Chardonnay.
Tavora-Varosa:
This small DOC north of Dao has a few producers who make red
wines from Amaral and Jaen varieties and whites from Arinto,
Cercial and Pabo do Ovelha.
Beira Interior
is one DOC, largest of the region’s denominations, and split
into two parts, one right next to the Spanish border, with
three sub-regions: Castelo Rodrigo, Cova da Beira and
Pinhel. Most of the wines are made by cooperatives, but
recently small and medium wineries were established. The
common red varieties are Tinta Roriz, Bastardo, Marufo,
Rufete, and Touriga Nacional. The wines are medium-bodied
and fruity. The climate, with high altitudes, allows for
aromatic white wines with fresh acidity. The grapes are
Siria, Malvasia Fina, Arinto, and Rabo de Ovelha.
Tavora-Varosa,
which borders Douro and Spain, is known for its sparkling
wines, made with Malvasia Fina, Cercial, Gouveio,
Chardonnay, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional,
Tinta Roriz, and Pinot Noir. Estremadura, once known as
Oeste (West), includes nine DOCs and the city of Lisbon. It
is a strip of land hugging the Atlantic coast that is no
wider than 4O kilometers. Despite the abundance of
appellations, 9O percent of its wine is sold a Regional
Estramadura, because in the upgrading of what used to be
largely a bulk-wine area, vintners wanted more freedom with
varietals, both Portuguese varieties not traditional in the
area and grapes from outside the country.
Colares is a
small DOC on the coast near Lisbon. I visited Colares and
remember the Ramisco vines crawling along the sandy soil
like huge snakes. The soil protects them from phylloxera.
The wine was noted for its longevity and aroma, but it will
be hard to find; there is only one producer now, making less
than 1O,OOO bottles a year. Blame urban sprawl for the
fading of Carcavelos, where a fortified wine from the Galego
Dourado grape once was sold all over Europe. Now there are
fewer than 1O hectares of vine, and the appellation may
disappear. Bucelas, another small DOC near Lisbon, is
surviving more successfully, and the wine is available in
the United States. Made from the Arinto grape, with
sometimes some Sercial and Rabo de Ovelha, the wine was once
underwhelming but now has an elegant fragrance that reminds
me of Fiano de Avellino, the southern Italian variety that
also benefits from the new technology.
Four DOCs in the
middle of the region – Obidos, Arruda, Torres Vedras and
Alenquer – are where most of the modernization is taking
place. Red varieties are Castelao, Aragonez, Touriga
Nactional, Tinta Miuda, and Trincadeira, plus Alicante
Bouschet, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.
Whites are mainly Arinto, Fernao Pires, Seara-Nova, and
Vital, along with some Chardonnay.
Encostas d’Aire
is in the northernmost part of the region, and modernization
is proceeding more slowly. More varieties are being added to
the traditional Baga and Castelao, Arinto, Fernao Pires, and
Malvasia. Lourinha, on the coast, exclusively produces
brandy from the red grape Cabinda and the whites Malvasia
and Talia, among others. It’s the only DOC in the country
that has beverages distilled from wine.
Ribatejo, to the
east of Estremadura, is bisected by the Rio Tejo (Tagus
River) that not only affects its climate but was once a way
to move wine by sailboat to the taverns and restaurants of
Lisbon. The region (which is also the only appellation) has
an area of fertile plains where many crops such as corn,
wheat, tomatoes, and melons flourish. Grapes have also been
grown there, with quantity more than quality, and one of the
reforms is to move viticulture into the poorer limestone and
clay soils on the right bank of the Tejo, where there’s less
rainfall and where they’ve been growing grapes, olive trees,
oak trees, and cork plantations. Concrete fermenting tanks
are giving way to stainless steel tanks and cooling systems.
Legislation is more permissive about varietals, allowing the
better grapes from other parts of Portugal as well as
international varieties. When labeled as a regional wine,
there is even more freedom to choose grapes.
Peninsula de
Setubal is on the Atlantic coast south of Lisbon. It has two
quite different DOCs, both of them relatively small and in
the north, with long histories of viticulture. (In the 19th
century, it had a 4OOO-hectare vineyard, belonging to a
single owner, the biggest vineyard in the world.) On the
other hand, the 😯 percent of the region to the south and
east, while suitable for quality wines, has no DOCs – its
wines are designated Vinho Regional Terras do
Sado.
Palmela was once
dominated by two big companies and two cooperatives, but now
has a number of smaller producers. Palmela reds must have 67
percent of the Castelao (often called Periquita, but not
legally under the new rules), but may include Alfrocheiro or
Trincadeira. Red Palmela is fragrant with soft tannins, with
a silkiness that reminded me of Pinot Noir, though I suppose
no one will make a movie about it. White grapes are Fernao
Pires, Arinto and Moscatel de Setubal (this last also in dry
wines).
Setubal is where
the fortified sweet wine Moscatel de Setubal, made from the
variety of the same name, has been made for centuries. (It
was a favorite of Louis XIV of France.) A small quantity of
Moscatel Roxo is also grown. This fortified wine was
exported to America and across the Equator to other
countries, and it acquired the term “Moscatel de
torna-viagem” meaning that some of the wine went across the
Equator and then back; the movement and the sharp variations
in temperature made these wines more concentrated and
smoother.
Alentejo is the
largest administrative region in Portugal, almost a third of
the country, and has one DOC of the same name, but with
eight sub-regions: Portalegre, which is to the north at
higher altitude; Borba, Regengos, Redondo and Evora in the
center of the region; and Moura, Vidiguera and
Granja-Amareleja to the south. Unlike the rest of Portugal,
commercial viticulture does not have a long tradition here.
Wine was for local consumption, and was vinified according
to Roman tradition in big clay amphoras. Agriculture was
mostly wheat, olives, cork and oak trees, and
cattle-breeding.
Alentejo was
unlike Portugal in another respect. There were huge estates
instead of many small farmers. When the revolution of 1974
overthrew Salazar, these huge spreads were targeted for land
reform by the Communists, who were especially strong in this
area. Some wealthy families sent their children abroad for
safety. With the election of 1976, moderates began to take
control, and eventually some of the large estates were
returned to their original owners. At about this time, huge
changes began in winemaking in Altentejo. In the late ‘8Os I
took a tour sponsored by the Portuguese Trade Commission,
and it focused on the Alentejo.
Compared with
any other wine region of Portugal, Alentejo thus began with
a clean slate. The wines I tasted recently seemed to reflect
“new world” tastes in the use of new oak and bright fruity
qualities. When I mentioned this to deputy trade
commissioner Abecassis, he responded that all of Portugal’s
wine industry might be considered “new, new
world”.
Trinadeira, a
grape that does well in hot weather, is a favorite in
Alentejo, along with Aragonez, Castelao and Alicanate
Bouschet, a French variety that seems to do especially well
in Portugal, and other red grapes. Of the whites, Roupeiro
and Antao Vaz are notable, and Arinto.
Algarve, at the
southern tip of Portugal, is primarily a resort. There are
four DOCs – Lagoa, Lagos, Portimao, and Tavira – but what
wine is made is usually sold under the regional label.
Castelao and Negra Mole are the traditional reds, but Syrah
is said to do well. Whites are Arinto and SÃria.
Although the wines are Algarve are usually dismissed,
quality is improving, and if you were sitting at a table
overlooking the ocean, you’d find the local wine very
satisfactory.
Acores (Azores)
is the origin of many Portuguese-Americans, but the wines of
the islands are not similarly represented in the United
States. There are three DOCs: Pico on the island of that
name, Graciosa on that island, and Biscoitos on the island
of Terceira. The best known wine is a fortified wine from
Pico. Madeira is another denomination, and the famous wines
of that island are an article – nay a book or two – all by
themselves.
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