Portuguese Wines

Winery, cellar.

Grape marc spirit. Made from grape skins, pips and other residuals after pressing.

Brut, for a sparkling wine with sugar dosage inferior to 12g/litre.

Grape variety.

Vintage, date of harvest.

Late harvest. Official designation for DOC/DOP wine and IGP wine.

Acronym for “Comissão Vitivinícola Regional”, regional wine commission.

The highest official European category in terms of quality, with specific rules for each region, concerning authorized grape varieties, winemaking processes, alcohol percentage…

Sweet. A wine is sweet when it contains more than 50 g/l of reducing sugars (glucose and fructose).

Ageing in bottle or cask.

Official designation for DOC/DOP wine and PGI – Protected Geographical Indication wine with harvest year and minimum aging: for red wine an aging of at least 30 months, of which at least 12 months in glass bottle; for white and rose wines an aging of at least 12 months, of which at least six months in a glass bottle. It also stands for wine shop or wine cellar in Portuguese.

Official designation for DOC/DOP wine and PGI – Protected Geographical Indication wine with highlighted organoleptic characteristics and an alcoholic strength equal to or greater than (in 1% by vol.) the minimum threshold set as evaluated by the panel of the regional wine commission. The use of this designation requires the indication of the harvest year.

Acronym for “Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho”, Portuguese public vine and wine institute.

Fermentation vat, often shallow, made of granite, marble, concrete ir stainless steel, in which grapes are trodden by foot or mechanically.

Medium dry. Champagne, sparkling and semi sparkling wines with a residual sugar content between 33 g/l and 50 g/l.

Wine estate or property. “Quinta” is a designation most traditionally used at the northern part of Portugal, and “herdade” is used in the south.

Superior quality designation for DOP wines, granted following assessment by the certification body

Wines with a sugar dosage inferior to 4g/litre.

“Winemaker selection”, unofficial designation for a wine recommended by the winemaker.

The Portuguese word for wine, but also the designation for ex.: “table wine”, wine not certified by the local wine commission and not following the rules for DOC/DOP or Vinho Regional/PGI – Protected Geographical Indication wines.

White wine, made from white grapes.

Sparkling wine, obtained by a second fermentation in the bottle with the addition of yeast (classic or champagne method). It can also be obtained by a second fermentation in a closed vat (continuous method).

Fortified wine, generally obtained by adding alcohol or wine brandy during the winemaking process, interrupting the process.

With no specific area and with a wider range of rules in terms of winemaking and grape varieties. This is a category often used in top quality wines that don’t fit in the DOPs requisites.

Red wine, obtained by fermenting the must of red varieties, pigmented by maceration of solid matter that has a strong coloring power.

Table wine. Expression traditionally used in opposition to sparkling and liqueur wines.

Wine made from a single noble variety, or with an absolute dominance of this strain.