Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfamiliar with wine production. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the Methuen Treaty in 1703. From this commerce a wide variety of wines started to be grown in Portugal. In 1758, one of the first wine-producing regions of the world, the Região Demarcada do Douro was created under the orientation of Marquis of Pombal, in the Douro Valley. Portugal has two wine-producing regions protected by UNESCO as World Heritage: the Douro Valley Wine Region (Douro Vinhateiro) and Pico Island Wine Region (Ilha do Pico Vinhateira). Portugal has a big variety of local kinds, producing a very wide variety of different wines with distinctive personality.
History
In southern Iberian Peninsula, some archeological finds attest that the consumption of wine occurred around the 7th to the 6th century B.C. and production started in the 5th to the 4th century B.C. Romans did much to expand and promote viticulture in their settlements in the province of Lusitania, most especially Portuguese Estremadura and the south of Portugal. In Northern Portugal, and according to the current knowledge, wine-making started with Roman rule. Strabo notices that the indigenous peoples in Northern Portugal mostly consumed zhytos (a form of beer) and wine was rarely produced or consumed; the wine, of low production, was immediately consumed in family banquets, all orderly sited and consuming by age and status, proving that wine was a fascination to them. Wines were then produced across the territory for both local consumption as well as export to Rome. During the Reconquista in the 12th and 13th centuries, with the populating (povoamento) of the conquered territories, areas due to religion the Arabs reduced wine production. During this period, some new varieties were added to the ancient ones, from Burgundy came the French varieties. And during the period of discoveries, Henry the Navigator brought to the newly discovered island of Madeira the Moscatel and Malvasia from the Greek Island of Crete. In the Reign of King Carlos, the Região Demarcada do Vinho Verde and the Região Demarcada do Dão among Colares, Carcavelos, Setúbal, and Madeira were created. In 1979, Bairrada was added and in 1980 the Algarve region (Lagoa, Lagos, Portimão, and Tavira) was finally demarcated. In 1998, the Alentejo region was demarked by the gathering several smaller demarked regions created in 1995.
Grapes
Portugal has a large array of native varietals, producing an abundant variety of different wines. The wide array of Portuguese grape varietals contributes as significantly as the soil and climate to wine differentiation, producing distinctive wines from the Northern regions to Madeira Islands, and from Algarve to the Azores. In Portugal only some grape varietals or castas are authorized or endorsed in the Demarcated regions, such as:
Vinhos Verdes - White varieties Alvarinho, Arinto (Pedernã), Avesso, Azal, Batoca, Loureiro, Trajadura; red varieties Amaral, Borraçal, Alvarelhão, Espadeiro, Padeiro, Pedral, Rabo de Anho, Vinhão. Porto/Douro - Red varieties Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, Bastardo, Castelão, Cornifesto, Donzelinho Tinto, Malvasia Preta, Marufo, Rufete, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Francisca, Tinto Cão, Touriga Franca; white varieties Arinto, Cercial, Donzelinho branco, Folgazão, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Moscatel Galego branco, Rabigato, Samarrinho, Semillon, Sercial, Roupeiro, Verdelho, Viosinho, Vital. Dão - Red varieties Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Tinta Roriz, Jaen; White varieties Encruzado, Bical, Cercial, Malvasia Fina, Verdelho. Bairrada - Red varieties Baga, Alfrocheiro, Camarate, Castelão, Jaen, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz; white varieties Maria Gomes, Arinto, Bical, Cercial, Rabo de Ovelha, Verdelho. Bucelas - White varieties Arinto, Sercial e Rabo de Ovelha. Colares - Red varieties Ramisco; White varieties Malvasia Carcavelos - Red varieties Castelão and Preto Martinho; White varieties Galego Dourado, Ratinho, Arinto. Setúbal - Red varieties Moscatel Roxo; white varieties Moscatel de Setúbal. Alentejo - Red varieties Alfrocheiro, Aragonez, Periquita1, Tinta Caiada, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, Moreto; White varieties Antão Vaz, Arinto, Fernão Pires, Rabo de Ovelha, Roupeiro Algarve - Red varieties Negra Mole, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Periquita; White varieties Arinto, Roupeiro, Manteúdo, Moscatel Graúdo, Perrum, Rabo de Ovelha. Madeira - Red varieties Bastardo, Tinta, Malvasia Cândida Roxa, Verdelho Tinto e Tinta Negra; white varieties Sercial, Malvasia Fina (Boal), Malvasia Cândida, Folgasão (Terrantez), Verdelho. Tejo - Red varieties Baga, Camarate, Castelão, Trincadeira, Tinta-Miúda, Preto-Martinho, Aragonez, Touriga-Franca, Touriga-Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Caladoc, Esgana-Cão-Tinto, Jaen, Petit Verdot, Tinta-Barroca, Tinta-Caiada, Tinto-Cão, Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Bastardo, Pinot noir, Alicante-Bouschet, Grand noir, Moreto, Syrah; white varieties Arinto, Fernão Pires, Rabo-de-Ovelha, Tália, Trincadeira-das-Pratas, Vital, Verdelho, Tamarez, Cerceal branco, Alicante branco, Chardonnay, Malvasia-Rei, Pinot blanc, Sauvignon, Alvarinho, Moscatel-Graúdo, Síria, Viosinho.
Appellation system
The appellation system of the Douro region was created nearly two hundred years before that of France, in order to protect its superior wines from inferior ones. The quality and great variety of wines in Portugal are due to noble castas, microclimates, soils and proper technology. Official designations:
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