Vinho Verde refers to Portuguese wine that originated in the historic Minho province in the far north of the country. The modern-day 'Vinho Verde' region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho province plus adjacent areas to the south. In 1976, the old province was dissolved.
Alvarelhão is a red wine grape grown in northern Portugal.
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia and in Northwest Portugal where it is also used to make varietal white wines. Albariño is the name for the grape in Galician. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and sometimes as Cainho Branco.
Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfamiliar with wine production. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the Methuen Treaty in 1703. From this commerce a wide variety of wines started to be grown in Portugal. In 1758, one of the first wine-producing regions of the world, the Região Demarcada do Douro was created under the orientation of Marquis of Pombal, in the Douro Valley. Portugal has two wine-producing regions protected by UNESCO as World Heritage: the Douro Valley Wine Region and Pico Island Wine Region. Portugal has a big variety of local kinds, producing a very wide variety of different wines with distinctive personality.
Mencía, known as Jaen in Portugal, is a grape variety native to the western part of the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, it is planted on over 9,100 hectares, with another 2,500 hectares in neighboring Portugal. It is primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras, Monterrei and Dão wine regions.
Ribeiro is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the northwest of the province of Ourense, in the valleys formed by the Avia, Miño, and Arnoia rivers. It extends over the territories of nine municipalities in their entirety and includes parishes in five others.
Monterrei is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the southeast corner of the province of Ourense in Galicia, Spain. It covers the municipalities of Verín, Monterrei, Oimbra and Castrelo do Val.
Rías Baixas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen (DO) for wines located in the province of Pontevedra and the south of the province of Corunna in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is renowned for its white wines made from the Albariño grape variety. Its Regulatory Council is headquartered at Pazo de Mugartegui in the city of Pontevedra.
Galician wine is Spanish wine made in the autonomous community of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain. It includes wine made in the provinces of A Coruña, Ourense, Pontevedra and Lugo. Within Galicia are five Denominacións de Orixe (DO): Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Valdeorras. In recent years, the region has seen a resurgence in its wine industry led by the international acclaim being received by the Rías Baixas region for its Albariño wines.
Minho, formerly Rios do Minho, is a Portuguese wine region covering the same areas as the Vinho Verde DOC. The region is classified as a Vinho Regional (VR), a designation similar to a French vin de pays region. The wines of the Minho and Vinho Verde are nearly identical except for the Minho VR allowing foreign grape varieties to be used that are excluded from the Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) regulations for Vinho Verde.
Azal branco is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Minho region but with greater expansion to Amarante, Basto, Baião and Vale do Sousa sub-regions. It noted for the high acidity of its wines, and is used for white Vinho Verde. Varietal Azal Branco wines can be somewhat reminiscent of Riesling.
Loureiro is a white wine grape cultivated in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. This includes Galicia, Spain and Minho, Portugal. In the latter, it is notably cultivated along the Lima River, a sub-region of Vinho Verde.
Azal Tinto or Amaral is a variety of red Portuguese wine grape. It is planted in the Minho region where it is used in red Vinho Verde, while the related Azal Branco is used for white Vinho Verde.
Caíño tinto is a red Galician wine grape variety that is also grown in Portugal's Vinho Verde wine region where it is known as Borraçal. In Spain, it is a permitted variety in the Denominación de Origens (DOs) of Rías Baixas and Ribeiro where it produces highly perfumed wines with noticeable tartness and high acidity.
Treixadura or Trajadura is white Portuguese wine grape variety grown primarily in the Vinho Verde wine region of northeast Portugal and the Galician wine regions of Ribeiro and Rías Baixas in Spain where the variety is known as Treixadura. The grape is primarily a blending variety that adds body and light lemony aromatics to wines. It is most commonly blended with Loureiro and Alvarinho in Rías Baixas while in Ribeiro it is often blended with Torrontés and Lado.
Camaraou noir is a red French wine grape variety that was historically grown in South West France but is now more widely planted in the Spanish wine region of Galicia where it is known as Espadeiro. However, despite its Spanish synonym Camaraou noir has no relationship to the Portuguese wine grape Espadeiro that is used to make red Vinho Verde. The grape may have some relation to the Jurançon and Béarn wine grape Camaralet de Lasseube which is also known as Camaraou blanc but DNA analysis has shown that the two varieties are distinct and not color mutations of one or the other.
Donzelinho branco is a white Portuguese wine grape variety that is classified as one of the "Very Good" varieties authorized to be used in Port wine production. While rarely seen as a varietal wine, Donzelinho branco is a permitted variety in the white blends of several northern Portuguese wine regions including the Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) of Douro and Trás-os-Montes and the Vinho Regional (VR) wines of Duriense and Transmontano.
Ribeiras do Morrazo is a Spanish geographical indication for Vino de la Tierra wines located in the autonomous region of Galicia. Vino de la Tierra is one step below the mainstream Denominación de Origen indication on the Spanish wine quality ladder, and mirrors the Vins de pays of French wine.
Loureira Tinta is a rare red wine grape cultivated in Galicia, Spain. It is an authorised variety in the Rías Baixas DOP. Galicia also grows a white variety called Loureira.
