PORTUGAL, an unusual wine country

Recently I was invited for a tasting with a nice lunch for wines from Portugal in one of our nicest hotels ‘Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam’.Portugal is very exceptional because in this country there are about 250 different kind of grapes you hardly find anywhere else.What we know from Portugal is often Port (Douro region), Madeira (isle) both fortified sweet wines or Vinho Verde (mainly white wines). The Douro region is also known for it’s white and red wine. Vinho Verde means ‘green wine’. It refers to the young and fresh style of the wine. These wines are mostly released several months after the grapes are being harvested. White Vinho Verde is made from Alvahrino, Arinto en Loureiro. And for the red or rosé wines they mostly use Amaral. The region of Vinho Verde is in the North of Portugal around the cities of Braga and Viano do Castelo can honestly say that it’s a very nice wine to taste and even drink.In Portugal there are around 14 wine regions with 31 DOC’s appellations, (denominação de origem controlada). From which 5 appellations are on the isles Azores and Madeira. https://www.winesofportugal.com/en/discover/wine-regions

Some well known white grape varieties are:
Alvarinho, Arintho, Encruzado, Fernão Pires/Maria Gomes, Antão Vaz, Bical,
Fonte Cal, Gouveio, Loureiro, Malvasia Fina, Moscatel de Sebútal, Rabigato,
Síria, Trajadura, Verdelho, Viosinho.

And for red wines:
Aragonez/Tinta Roriz, Baga, Castelão, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro,Jaen, Moreto, Moscatel Galego Roxo, Ramisco, Rufete, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Caiada, Tinto Cão, Tinto Negra, Vinhão

Of course I have tasted Portugese wines before. Some 50 year old Madeira, young and older Ports, wines from the Douro, Vinho Verde and Niepoort Açores Branco Reserva 2020 produced from Verdelho, Arinto dos Açores and Terrantez do Pico.
I got the wine from the Azores as a present from my neighbour Dennis. Pico is an isle in the Azores.
And like other wines from other wine countries some I liked some I didn’t.

With this wine tasting I had the chance to taste also older white, red, fortified and sparkling ones. The red one from 1996 ’Grand Reserva Aleixo Tinto’ from the Baga grape (region Bairrada) was very good. The wine is from ‘Real Cave do Cedro’ by Aleixo’.
The older white wine was very oxidated. Oxidated wines are more understood and appreciated by professionals because it’s a taste you have tried before.
The sparkling wines don’t have a name like Prosecco in Italy, Cava in Spain or Crémant and Champagne in France. What can they call them?
My all time favourite wine at the tasting was the sweet wine ‘Moscatel Adega de Favaios 1999’ from Moscatel Galego (ADEGA DE FAVAIOS, region Douro).
Several vineyards in Portugal are planted on a higher altitude. Like you also see in some regions in Germany and in France.
Portugal is a wine country with a lot of nice wines you can try for sure.