Wine plays a central role on the Portuguese table, and the country has one of the highest per-capita wine consumptions in the world. Portugal even has two wine landscapes listed by UNESCO as World Heritage: the Alto Douro Wine Region, the Douro valley where port is made, inscribed in 2001, and the Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture, in the Azores, inscribed in 2004.
Portuguese wine is the product of very different lands and climates, from the rainy Atlantic north to the heat of the Alentejo, and above all of an extraordinary wealth of native grape varieties (castas): more than 250, many grown almost nowhere else. Production areas are strictly demarcated and only certain varieties are allowed in each appellation (DOC). Quality has risen enormously over the last thirty years, and Portuguese wines now offer some of the best value in Europe.
The wine regions
Portugal is divided into fourteen main wine regions:
- Vinho Verde, in the Minho, in the far north: fresh, light, slightly sparkling wines, mostly white, from Alvarinho and Loureiro grapes.
- Trás-os-Montes, in the north-eastern interior.
- Douro and Porto, in the Douro valley: besides famous port, great dry reds from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz.
- Távora-Varosa, a small sparkling-wine area.
- Dão, in the centre, around Viseu: elegant reds from Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen and Tinta Roriz, and whites from Encruzado, Bical, Cerceal Branco and Malvasia Fina.
- Bairrada, between Aveiro and Coimbra: reds from the Baga grape and excellent sparkling wines, perfect with roast suckling pig.
- Beira Interior, in the mountains near the Spanish border.
- Lisboa, north of the capital, with the historic small appellations of Bucelas, whites from Arinto, Colares, with vines grown in sand near the ocean, and Carcavelos, a fortified wine.
- Tejo, along the Tagus, in the Ribatejo.
- Península de Setúbal, with Moscatel de Setúbal, the rare Moscatel Roxo and reds from Castelão.
- Alentejo, the great southern region, with soft, warm reds and whites from Antão Vaz, in the sub-regions of Borba, Évora, Granja-Amareleja, Moura, Portalegre, Redondo, Reguengos and Vidigueira; the ancient tradition of vinho de talha, wine fermented in clay amphorae, also survives here.
- Algarve, with growing production.
- Madeira, with famous Madeira wine.
- Azores, with Vinho do Pico, grown among lava-stone walls.
Grapes to know
Among reds, the king is Touriga Nacional, powerful and fragrant; then Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo, called Aragonez in the Alentejo), Baga, Castelão, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet. Leading whites include Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto, Encruzado and Antão Vaz.
Tasting wine in Portugal
You can visit a quinta in the Douro valley, perhaps arriving by train along the river from Porto or on a cruise, taste port in the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, follow the Alentejo wine routes around Évora and Reguengos, or discover the wineries of the Bairrada and Dão. In Lisbon and Porto wine shops and wine bars let you taste wines from every region by the glass. In restaurants the house wine is often good and cheap. For food pairings see the page on Portuguese cuisine.