Portugal Study Guide

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Portugal

Portugal ranks as the world’s 11th largest producer of wine; the country is 7th in the world in per capita consumption.  Although its fame in the world of wine rests squarely on the shoulders of two great fortified wines, the country is rapidly developing an arsenal of modern table wines, sourced from a diverse array of over 200 unique, native varietals.  Worldwide decline in the sales (and interest) of fortified wines has prompted Portuguese producers to look beyond Port and Madeira in an effort to compete, but years of geographical and—until the last decades of the 20th century—political isolation have left an inscrutable, perplexing vineyard terrain.  Rather than adopt the same international varietals that characterize newer winemaking regions worldwide, Portuguese producers instead look to their own bounty of grapes and traditions.  New research continues to identify the best indigenous varietals and clonal selections for quality table wines, and technological advancements in the winery allow Portugal’s table wines to overcome past criticisms of rapid oxidation and rusticity.    

The History of Port, Madeira and Portuguese Wine

The history of wine in Portugal closely parallels that of its Iberian neighbor Spain through the Age of Exploration.  Wine in Portugal predates the Phoenicians, Greeks, Celts, and Romans, each of whom arrived in turn prior to the Common Era.  After the fall of the Roman Empire, the ensuing Germanic and Moorish conquests of the region frustrated—but did not eradicate—viticulture.  Portugal expelled the Moors and affirmed its national identity by 1250, over two centuries before Spain would conclude its Reconquista.  In 1386, Portugal signed the Treaty of Windsor with England, establishing a diplomatic alliance that would pave the way for extensive trade between the two kingdoms.  Portugal emerged from the Middle Ages with great interest in maritime trading routes and exploration