At the heart of Portugal’s winemaking tradition lies the Douro Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here, amidst terraced vineyards cascading down the steep hillsides along the Douro River, some of Portugal’s most iconic wines are born, such as the fortified wine Porto.
Born almost by chance in 1678, when two English wine merchants tasted the wine produced in the Douro Valley and found it extraordinary, they imported it to England, captivating the palates of the nobility. This marked the beginning of a massive importation that still makes England the world’s largest consumer of Port today.
But Portugal’s wine offerings go beyond Port. Thanks to the valorization of a wide range of local grape varieties, which have not been supplanted by international blends, Portugal proves to be a land in ferment and ready to be discovered, capable of offering wines with great territorial expressiveness. From fresh and saline wines like Vinho Verde from Minho, to more intense and internationally styled red and white wines from the Douro or Bairrada, to rich and full-bodied reds and fresh and aromatic whites from the rising region of Alentejo, Portugal’s innovative wine production is attracting attention.
Portugal is also famous for its unique fortified wines, such as Madeira and Moscatel de Setúbal, which boast centuries-old traditions and a passionate following among wine lovers.
Interview with Frederico Falcão President of Portugal Wines
Which countries are more interesting for export from Portugal?
So our six biggest countries, in order are France, then the United States, UK, Brazil, Canada, Germany. So these are our biggest countries where we export more wine. So I would say because France is strong for Port wine, and if we except Port wine, I would say the more important markets are the United States, UK and Brazil.
What do you think about Chinese market?
Well, the Chinese market used to be a very strong market for us. Then the market has been dropping since 2017. I think it’s dropping a lot, the consumption of wine. Then came the pandemic. And the drop was even bigger. We still invest in China. We still go to China every year to several cities in China, wine fairs in China. We keep investing in the market because we think that China in the near future will start growing the consumption of wine. It’s estimated that in 2025 the market will start to grow again. And of course, when the Chinese start to drink wine, it’s a lot of wine we need to sell there. So, we keep investing in the market. We keep thinking the market in the Chinese market is going to recover. So that’s why we go to China every year.
Portuguese wines -Wine Tasting
Vinhos Verdes
So now we’re trying a wine from the northern region of Portugal. It’s called Vinhos Verdes. It’s up north in Portugal. It’s made from a grape variety called Alvarinho. So it’s a Portuguese and Spanish grape variety. It exists in the north of Portugal and in the south of Galicia, in Spain. So it exists in both parts of these two countries, Portugal and Spain.
It’s a very aromatic grape with a very full-bodied, strong palate. And these wines of Alvarinho, they age beautifully. They’re easy wines to drink as an aperitif, easy to pair with seafood, shellfish. But it’s a great wine, a great grape.
And these wines aged beautifully. I’ve tasted wines over 20 years old and they’re amazing because they have very good acidity, and good palates. And I love it, its very great, one of our best.
The wine from the Alentejo area
So now we’re trying the wine from the Alentejo area. I mean, it’s the biggest region in Portugal, not a wine region, because the wine region is Douro, but it’s the biggest regions in Portugal because it occupies like one third of the total area of the country in lands. So it’s a big producer. It’s an area that produces a lot of wine nowadays on internationally.
It’s very cool area, rains a lot, temperatures are low, especially for white wines. And now we are in the south of Portugal, in one of the hottest areas of Portugal. It’s a big producer of red wines and more fruity and intense red wine and full bodied red wines. It’s a lot of fruit, a lot of fruit coming in, really smooth round tannins. You feel the alcohol, you feel the body of the wine.
Verdelho from Madeira
Now I’ll show you a wine from Madeira. From the islands. Yeah, the grape variety it’s Verdelho. So in Italy, we have a grape called Verdicchio. And in Spain there’s one called Verdejo. And this one is called Verdelho. So the names are similar, but they’re completely different grapes, not the same grape, but the names are very similar. So this is a fortified wine. You will feel an explosion of fruit and elegance and complexity in this wine. It’s amazing. And these wines, these Madeira wines, they last forever.
I’ve tried Madeira wine from the 18th century that was amazing. And the 19th century, I’ve tasted many, many wines from Madeira. These wines last forever. This is a perfume as well. This is an amazing wine from here. Like a feeling of heaven.
