ALVARINHO

Alvarinho makes characterful, rich, mineral white wines with fruity notes of peaches and citrus, and sometimes tropical fruits and flowers. This high-quality white grape has long been prized in the north west of Portugal, and is much planted in the northern part of the Vinho Verde region, between the River Lima and the River Minho, which forms the border with Spain. (You may have met the Spanish version, Albariño.) Its famous heartland is the Vinho Verde sub-region of Monção and Melgaço. Alvarinho wines are fuller in body and higher in alcohol than most Vinho Verde, and are often bottled as a single variety, and named on the label. These wines are delicious young but can age well. Growers elsewhere in Portugal have recognised Alvarinho’s quality, and the variety is slowly spreading south.

ARINTO

Arinto | Pedernã makes elegant, lemony, appley, mineral whites that are delicious young and fresh but can gain complexity with age. Arinto is the main grape of the famous wines of Bucelas, ne, elegant whites from just north of Lisbon. It’s a late-ripening grape with the great advantage that it keeps its marked acidity even in hot conditions. No wonder that it grows across much of the country. It often adds freshness and elegance to blends of other white varieties. It also succeeds in the cool Vinho Verde region, where it is known as Pedernã. Its crisp acidity is also an advantage for sparkling wines.

ENCRUZADO

Encruzado makes elegant, well-balanced, full-bodied whites with delicate oral and citrus aromas and sometimes an intensely mineral character. Delicious in a pure, unoaked style, Encruzado also responds well to oak-fermentation or oak-ageing, turning out some serious, ne, well-structured wines that can mature and gain complexity over many years. You are most likely to nd it in the Dão region, up in the north, either as a single variety or in blends – these are some of Portugal’s most exciting white wines. In the vineyard, even in hot conditions, Encruzado grapes keep their fresh acidity and ripen to perfection without becoming over-sweet.

FERNÃO PIRES

Fernão Pires | Maria Gomes makes light, fruity, fragrant whites reminiscent of Muscat in avour – oral and citrus. It tastes freshest when picked early for drinking young and fresh. It is also used in sparkling wines, and can occasionally be harvested later to make sweet wines. Portugal’s most cultivated white grape, it is grown more or less everywhere but especially down the western coast including the Setúbal Península, Tejo, Lisboa and Bairrada, sometimes under the alias Maria Gomes.

BAGA

Baga is a late-ripening grape often makes lean, tannic reds that can be astringent in youth, but mature to complexity with age. In hotter years, or by skilful ripening and winemaking, Baga can give rich, dense reds, with cherry and damson fruit, ageing to softer, complex avours of herbs, malt, cedar and dried fruit. Its heartland is Bairrada but it also grows elsewhere in the Beiras, including Dão. It is also used as a base for sparkling wine.

TRINCADEIRA

Trincadeira | Tinta Amarela can make reds with wonderfully bright raspberry fruit, spicy, peppery, herbal avours, and very good acidity. This red grape grows all over Portugal, especially in dry, warm areas, but is probably at its best in the Alentejo. In the Douro it’s known as Tinta Amarela.

TOURIGA FRANCA

Touriga Franca makes densely-coloured, firm but rich, aromatic wines with oral overtones and blackberry fruit. It is one of the five officially recommended grapes for Port, and is also used in red Douro blends – indeed it is the most widely planted grape in the Douro Valley. It is generally used in blends.

CASTELÃO

Castelão is the most planted black grape of the southern part of Portugal can make firm, fine, raspberry-fruity wines that evolve to a cedary, cigar-box character. It is at its best in the Palmela region on the Setúbal Peninsula south of Lisbon.

ARAGONEZ

Aragonez | Tinta Roriz makes ne, elegant red wines with aromas of red fruits, plums and blackberries, rm tannins and good ageing potential – you may have met it across the border as Tempranillo. Called Tinta Roriz in the north of Portugal, this is one of the top grapes for Port and Douro table wines, also important in the Dão region. In the Alentejo it is called Aragonez. It is generally used in blends with other varieties.

TOURIGA NACIONAL

Touriga Nacional makes rm, richly-coloured wines (and Port) with complex aromas and avours reminiscent of violets, liquorice, ripe blackcurrants and raspberries, along with a subtle, herby hint of bergamot. It’s a northern grape by origin, Dão and Douro both claiming it as their own, but now it is grown all over Portugal. It can age well.