How do I recognize quality? - Wine categories in Portugal

In 1678, while King Charles II was fending off conspiratorial Catholics in England, a Liverpool wine merchant had a different mission. He had heard rumors of a Portuguese clergyman adding brandy to the region's red wine during fermentation, thus stopping the fermentation. The result was a rich, sweet red wine—the ideal drink for Englishmen.

So the skilled wine merchant sent his sons to Portugal to meet this man near Lamego and do business with him. He succeeded, and trading houses sprang up all along the Douro, selling the popular port wine to England.

To prevent the black market from taking advantage of port's popularity, the boundaries of the Douro port wine-growing region were precisely demarcated almost a hundred years later. This made Portugal the first country to legally define the boundaries of its wine-growing region in 1756.

Today, Portugal's wine country encompasses 260,000 hectares with a production of 5 to 6 million hectoliters of wine. This wine is produced in five wine-growing zones, which form 40 quality wine-growing regions. In this article, I'll explore the composition of Portuguese wines , how they can be identified by specific designations, and what the cork is all about.

What wine categories are there in Portugal?

DOC/DOP – The Best

Of the 40 quality wine-growing regions, 31 are so-called DOC/DOP wines. Some say 29, which is also correct, since regions such as the Douro and Porto, as well as Madeira and Madeirense, were combined.

DOC stands for Denominação de Origem Controlada in Portuguese , which refers to a controlled designation of origin. DOP, Denominação de Origem Protegida , has been the new European designation for controlled origin since 2009.

This status corresponds to the highest regulated quality level and is similar to the French AOC system, the Spanish DO and the Italian DOC.

Not only are the geographical boundaries for DOC/DOP wines strictly defined, there is also an upper limit for grape production and a maximum for the variety of vines that may be used.

Before being approved, the wines must also be officially tasted and subjected to other quality tests.

IPR – The one with development potential

The Indicação de Proveniência Regulamentada classifies six quality wine regions and also indicates the regulations associated with their origin. These wines correspond to the French VQPRD category ( Vin de Qualité Produit dans une Région Déterminée) .

This new designation, which also indicates the regulated origin of the quality wines, has existed since 1991. It is an indicator of Portugal's thirst for further development. If the wines from these wine-growing regions can demonstrate continuous improvement in quality after five years, they receive the highly coveted DOC status.

In German, the IPR seal can be compared to the PGA (wine with a protected geographical indication = Landwein), although the IPR is only awarded for wines.

VR/IG/IGP – The regional wine

Portugal has 14 regional wine regions. Wines originating from these regions are labeled Vinho Regional (VR). Of course, the European Union also has a fancy new designation for this: IG for Geographical Indication or IGP for Protected Geographical Indication .

Although Vinho Regional is officially considered the lowest quality level, this has more to do with the few regulations than with quality per se. This flexibility allows winemakers to experiment more with grape varieties and volume, resulting in many high-quality wines. However, even VR wines are bound by grape varieties, minimum alcohol content, and other regulations.

Vinho de Mesa – The table wine

Vinhos, or table wines, are simple Portuguese wines that are not bound by regulations and usually lack a complex structure. They are not tested by local wine commissions and can be produced freely.

Although table wines do not enjoy a high official reputation, there are many ambitious winemakers in Portugal who have deliberately chosen the free variant of winemaking in order to be able to produce exceptional wines without having to adhere to any rules.

Which wine designations are relevant in Portugal?

As in other countries, Portugal has wines produced on vineyards and/or in wineries. Wineries are called quintas in Portuguese , and the Portuguese call them caves .

The following designations indicate the quality of wines in Portugal:

Green :

Verde refers to young wines that are consumed immediately after the fermentation process is complete. Verde wines have no aging potential, so they are not subjected to aging and are consumed quickly.

Maduro :

Maduro means “old” or “mature” in Portuguese and refers to all mature wines that do not fall under the Verdes category.

Reservation :

Designates all red and white wines of outstanding quality. These are particularly suited to barrique aging, i.e., maturation in oak barrels. Reservas are aged in oak barrels for at least one year and mature for a total of three years in barrel and bottle.

Grande Reserve :

These wines are aged for at least two years in oak barrels and mature for a total of at least five years in barrel and bottle. This rule does not apply to white Grande Reservas, which must mature for six months in barrel and a total of two years.

Garrafeira :

This is the name given to a top-quality red wine that has been aged for at least two years in barrel and one year in bottle. White wines are aged for one year in barrel and six months in bottle. The minimum alcohol content of Garrafeiras must be 11.5% ABV and must be labeled with the respective vintage.

Old :

Velho is the general Portuguese term for aged wines. Red wines must be aged for at least three years, and white wines must be aged for at least two years. A minimum alcohol content of 11.5% vol. is also required.

Portugal’s cork – the little guardian angel of wine

The cork is important for wine, as it can reveal a lot about the quality of the product. Portugal is the world's leading cork producer, producing 190,000 tons of corks annually, accounting for 51% of global production. It's no coincidence that souvenir shops throughout Portugal sell cork accessories such as bags and shoes to tourists and wine enthusiasts.

But what does the cork tell us about the quality of the wine? First and foremost, the cork protects the wine from interacting with oxygen. The bottle already contains small amounts of oxygen, which allows for a slow and careful exchange of the wine's components. Too much oxygen promotes the proliferation of acetic acid bacteria and affects the wine's color. Red wine fades, while white wine turns brown.

When opening a bottle of wine, the consistency of the cork tells us a lot about the quality of the fine wine. After about 10 to 20 years, the quality of a cork deteriorates. The result: it becomes permeable.

But corks that are too dry also no longer protect the wine as they should. They shrink, which means the wine bottle no longer remains airtight. To prevent drying out, wine bottles should therefore be stored lying down.

However, wet corks quickly lose their structure. They become crumbly and thus lose their protective function. If the owner fails to take care of this decomposition, fungi can grow on the cork or it can be used as an egg-laying site by pesky fruit flies.

The ideal cork must be firm, somewhat elastic and dry at the top, then nothing stands in the way of years of storage.