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Grapes / Vinhão
Red grape · Localised

Vinhão

Say it: veen-YOWNG

A deeply coloured Portuguese red variety central to Vinho Verde and known as Sousão in the Douro.1

A red-fleshed grape known as Vinhão in the Vinho Verde region, where it makes the traditional inky red, and as Sousão in the Douro, where a little adds colour and acidity to Port.

In the glassOpaque purple, sour blackberry, very high acidity.

Character

Taste profile

Our guide

Our own 1–5 scores for a typical wine from this grape.

Body3/5 · Medium
Acidity5/5 · Very high
Tannin3/5 · Medium
Aroma2/5 · Delicate
AgeingDrink young (1–3 years)
Typical bottle€7 (€4–25)

Vine & wine traits

Sourced

Scores mapped from the cited source’s own wording, quoted beneath each one. How they work

In the vineyard

Budding4/5 · Late2 Tardio, mais 15 dias do que o Castelão
Ripening3/5 · Mid-season2 Maturação média
Vigour4/5 · High2 Casta vigorosa
Yield3/5 · Medium2 Medianamente produtiva e de produção regular
Drought tolerance2/5 · Poor2 Sensível ao stress hídrico

In the wine

Acidity4/5 · High3 Acidez alta
Colour intensity5/5 · Very high2 Maior capacidade tintureira entre as castas portuguesas

Aromas and uses

Sourced

Aroma families

Black fruit2Red fruit2

Typical uses

Still red2Varietal wine2Blend component2

Origin and parentage

Sourced

Wines of Portugal identifies a Minho origin and later migration to the Douro.4

Names

Sourced
NameKindWhereLegal status
Sousão1Legal synonym—Permitted
recognized national synonym

Where it grows

Sourced
RegionLinkProminenceNote
Vinho VerdeGrown hereCultivated throughout the region.2
DouroGrown hereCultivated under the name Sousão.3

Styles made with Vinhão

Port

Fortified
Vinho do Porto

Sweet fortified wine from the Douro. Fermentation is stopped part-way by adding grape spirit (aguardente), which keeps natural grape sugar and lifts alcohol to roughly 19–22%. Grapes are still trodden by foot in granite lagares at some quintas. Traditionally the young wine was shipped downriver and aged in lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, opposite Porto.

Critics: up to 99 pts

Vinho Verde (red)

Red
Vinho Verde Tinto · Vinhão

Inky purple, tart and fizzy red made mostly from Vinhão. An acquired taste outside the Minho, it is traditionally poured into white porcelain bowls (malgas) that stain purple.

Douro Red

Red
Douro DOC Tinto

Dry reds from the same terraces as Port: dense, floral and structured, with a stony freshness from schist soils. Barca Velha, first made in 1952, showed what was possible; since the 1990s Douro reds have become some of Europe’s most admired, especially from old field-blend vineyards.

Critics: up to 97 pts

Wines to try

Aphros Vinhão

Red
Aphros Wine · Lima
Vinhão

Dom Diogo Vinhão

Red
Quinta da Raza · Vinho Verde
Vinhão

Producers to try

Quinta do Vallado

Peso da Régua · Douro

A historic family estate near Régua, once owned by Dona Antónia Ferreira, now known for modern dry reds and whites and a wine hotel.

Quinta da Raza

Vinho Verde

Family estate in the Basto subregion producing varietal and blended Vinho Verde.

Aphros Wine

Vinho Verde

Biodynamic Vinho Verde project in the Lima subregion led by Vasco Croft.

Sources

Sourced

Numbered facts on this page come from the research archive and are backed by the sources below. Everything without a number is our own guide. How sourcing works

  1. Portaria n.º 380/2012, de 22 de novembroDiário da República · Legislation · Tier A · read 2026-08-17
  2. Vinho Verde — castas and technical profilesComissão de Viticultura da Região dos Vinhos Verdes · Official regional technical page · Tier B · read 2026-08-17
  3. Castas da Região Demarcada do DouroInstituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, I.P. · Official regional technical page · Tier B · read 2026-08-17
  4. VinhãoViniPortugal / Wines of Portugal · Expert trade reference · Tier C · read 2026-08-17