By Gerd Hirschmann
posted
Oct 31, 2012
Every time I try to write about Portuguese wines I get stuck
writing about Port and Madeira. But there is a whole lot more to
Portuguese wines. Aside from Mateus Rosé in the uniquely
narrow-necked, flask-shaped bottle and Vinho Verde, the slightly
effervescent, low-alcohol white so refreshing in the summer, there
is a multitude of wines that never really became popular abroad and
stays mostly in Portugal, known only to wine geeks or Portuguese
expatriates.
Mateus is said to have been stockpiled in the vaults of Saddam
Hussein's palaces. It was hugely popular in the 70's pop culture,
mentioned in an Elton John song and featured on the cover of Graham
Nash's album 'Wild Tales'.
By today's standards, it is a relatively forgettable wine, but
nonetheless is a nicely refreshing, slightly frizzante, and medium
sweet rosé that still has its fans.
Vinho Verde, the 'green wine', is a very fresh, young wine by
nature and due to its natural acidity combined with fruity and
floral aromas a great choice with salads and light foods. It is
produced in the northwest corner of Portugal from grapes that don't
reach enough sugar content to complete fermentation and make
age-worthy wines.
But a map of Portugal is literally littered with wine growing
regions and Portugal ranks among the top ten wine exporting nations
ahead of the US, Argentina, Germany, South Africa or Chile. Minho
is the region in the north for Vinho Verde. The non-fortified wines
from the Douro Valley, long just a footnote to Ports, have in
recent years become respected in the own right and are considered
some of the best Portugal has to offer. While about two-thirds of
Douro's production is Port wine, most of the rest is quality DOC
wine made of the same red or white grape varieties as Port. Touriga
Franca, Touriga Nacional, and Tinta Roriz are the main varietals,
with some Cabernet and other international grapes grown that don't
qualify for the DOC status, similar to other traditional European
wine regions
Beiras is the large district south of Douro, stretching from the
ocean to the Spanish border with two DOC regions to mention:
Bairrada and Dão. Most wines from both regions are reds, with Dão
mostly producing blends of Touriga Nacional and Bairrada has
traditionally been based on the acidic Baga grape, with some of the
international varieties now also allowed.
Up and coming is the Alentejo region in southeastern Portugal,
where production is increasing faster than anywhere else in the
country. DOC wines a mostly based on either Aragonez (known to the
rest of the world as Tempranillo) and Trincadeira grapes, but
plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah have been quite
successful as well.
The most important grape variety is Touriga Nacional, the red
grape considered the best in Portugal. It provides structure and
body to wine with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black
fruit. Touriga Franca (or Francesa) is lighter and more perfumed,
adding finesse to its blends. Tinta Roriz, a.k.a. Aragonez, is the
Portuguese name for Tempranillo, best known in Spanish wines. This
very dark grape is known for full-bodied wines that greatly adapt
to the environment or terroir of its vineyards.
Other grapes worth mentioning are Tinta Barroca (a hardy
blending varietal), Tinto Cão (a low yield, dense grape), and Tinta
Amarela, a.k.a. Trincadeira (a very dark grape, making full-bodied,
rich wines).
Other useful terms for Portuguese wines are Branco (white),
Tinto (red) and Vinho (wine). Colheita means the vintage year,
Quinta is vineyard, and Casta means grape variety.
As most Portuguese wines still need to be discovered by the
general wine drinking public, there are still pretty good deals to
be found. Great wines to 'experiment' with in these budget
conscious times.
Tagged:
Portuguese wines, Wine Experiments
