Flight School

It was just a short time ago when I released a post about a past wine dinner that was incredibly educational. The reason that concept started in our group of friends was because one of the couples was about to go on their honeymoon, and being into the great outdoors and adventure they took a trip to Portugal to celebrate. With my foray into WSET studies beginning, I was asked if I could show them some wines to look out for when they went away, maybe run an informal-but-educational tasting to make them aware of some different styles. This eventually led to us all deciding that wine dinners would be a great idea. So we had a lot of fun with this, where honestly we were all exploring Portuguese wines together; none of us had really taken a dive into this proud Iberian country that can sometimes get lost in the shuffle among France, Italy, Spain, and Germany in the Old World wine hierarchy.

Portugal has records showing the first wine production to take place in this area sometime around the 5th century, B.C. By the time trade with England opened up with the signing of the Methuen Treaty in 1703, Portugal had already begun a system of demarcating quality vineyards and production zones, roughly 200 years before France even began passing laws to protect well-regarded wine production areas. Further south in the Dão region, they had even begun outlining demarcartion guidelines as early as the end of the 14th century. Wine has been taken seriously here for a long time.

However, the Colonial Era right through the 20th century saw complex waves of political and economic strife. With international trade all over the map as far as relationships went, Portugal could always count on their native grape varieties having already adapted to its diverse soils and climates. Grapegrowing was easy to some degree since Portugal never really absorbed the well-known Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Chardonnay. However, remote inland areas lacked in the winemaking equipment necessary to produce good wines. Once Portugal was admitted to the European Union in 1986, grants for technology upgrades, most notably temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks, led to improvements in winemaking and its quality of its dry wines. By the time the 21st century arrived, we were well on our way to having more Portuguese dry wines to choose from. Portugal had emerged from all of the chaos as a serious Old World producer of awesome wines; with the reliance on native varieties that lack name recognition to the wine-drinking masses, Portuguese wines were (and still are) a fantastic value.

As you know, I already published a Port cheat sheet for you here at Flight School back in the wintertime, but we have yet to discuss the dry wines of Portugal, something that is very important for you to know about as a wine consumer. Here's the thing...I would bet that a good percentage of you have never heard of some of these grape varieties used: Aragonez, Touriga Nacional, Antao Vaz, Encruzado, Jaen, and Alfrocheiro are just a handful of the cornucopia of native grapes used to make fine dry wines. That said, the warmer southern regions of Portugal have lowered their resistance to international varieties and have started to make some interesting blends, particularly with red wines, where a local variety joins up with an international one. For instance, this is one of the first such wines I can remember tasting:

The combination of Aragonez (a.k.a. Tempranillo), Syrah, and Touriga Nacional (the great grape of Portugal) results in a dark, spicy, savory wine that is also easy on the wallet.

While Port labels don't typically tell you the proportions in a blend, the dry wines do just the opposite. There is greater transparency to help you get to know some of these grapes and understand what to expect in that bottle. Am I going to list them all here for you today? No, but there are some grapes that take on greater significance than others internationally, and simply trekking to a different part of the country leads you to a new array of varieties. Here are the regions of note you are likely to find on the shelves here in the U.S.

Vinho Verde:

In its simplest form, this is a low-alcohol, slightly fizzy wine that is easy to knock down on hot summer days. The majority exported is white, made from Loureiro and Arinto (a.k.a. Pedernã) grapes, creating a lemony, green apple-y dry wine that can be had for less than $10. A fuller-bodied non-fizzy example is made from Alvarinho, and will be labelled as "Vinho Verde Alvarinho," which will raise the price bracket to $12-$18. Some rosé is exported and tiny quantities of red wine make it to us, both of which have the fizz.

Douro:

This is the valley of greatest significance, as this is where Port wines are made. With respect to dry wines, all of the Port varieties are available, but instead of stopping fermentation to make the wine sweet, all grape sugars are fermented dry. The bulk of what we see is red, with Touriga Nacional leading the way, complemented by Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, and Touriga Franca. In the best vintages, you will find more Touriga Nacional in the blend (which also typically dictates when a "Vintage" is declared for Port wine). Since production of Port wine is limited by the government, any surplus is fermented into dry red wines. Seek out the Douro red blends from the years 2011, 2007, and if you are lucky, 2003 and 2000...these are all years where Vintage Port was declared. Wines can show a range of styles from fresh and fruity to deep and savory. There is also an increasing amount of white wines becoming available.

Dão:

The Dão region has been fighting with the Douro over who gets to claim origin of Touriga Nacional, the highly-structured, ageworthy grape variety packed with bold aromas and dark fruit flavors. Dão tends to use more varieties outside of the Port grapes used by the Douro, but any chance to showcase its style with Touriga Nacional is welcomed. The two most common grapes I encounter are Alfrocheiro (a berry-scented variety which retains acidity well in the heat of the growing season) and Jaen (a rustic, blueberry/cherry flavored grape that performs reliably well in Dão). I also need to draw attention to the white wines made from Encruzado, which is a citrusy and very floral wine with body and richness that will allow further development of honeyed notes when aged in bottle. I look at this as the Portuguese answer to Riesling, but with fewer sweet examples.

Bairrada:

Bairrada is an important area for Portuguese sparkling wines. Fernão Pires (a.k.a. Maria Gomes) is the main grape used, but Arinto (from Vinho Verde above) is also included among several other varieties. Fernão Pires can taste of just about any citrus fruit with an earthy/ash quality the shows up, particular in the non-sparkling wines. Red wines often include Baga, which reminds me of France's Carignan in some ways. When not taken care of in the vineyard, wines made from this grape can be overly acidic and tannic with very little fruit. Older vines given more attention are capable of giving you wines with dark plum fruit, smoke, and pipe tobacco. Baga combines well with all of the Douro and Dão varieties above, giving the winemaker a large palette of choices in the winery.

Alentejo:

Antao Vaz, Arinto, and Viognier combine to make a fruity and aromatic wine with plenty of tropical fruit and richness.

This is Portugal's most important region for experimentation as international varieties are increasingly included in both white and red blends. It's plenty warm in this southern region, so just about any grape will ripen reliably. Here, the grapes of all of the regions above (except Vinho Verde) are used in conjunction with many red varieties and a handful of white. These are often tasty and inexpensive when you are looking for something a little different. Any time these international varieties infiltrate the wine, you will see the label marked as "Vinho Regional Alentejano."

Aragonez, Syrah, and Touriga Nacional create a boldly-flavored, spicy, full-bodied wine that will be a winner with any animal protein you toss on the grill.

I have long been impressed by Portugal's commitment to their native grape varieties; they all offer so much in the way of aromatics, fruit, and earthiness with an edgy character that makes the wines taste distinctly Portuguese. I hope I have given you some good reasons to grab a few bottles of Portuguese wines the next time you head out to your local wine merchant. There will be more to come as I dive into specific regions and grape varieties, but this mini-guide should help you get started if you didn't know where to begin. Cheers to the start of a great week!

Supporting information credit goes to Wines of Portugal.