Wine styles

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.

Fortified wine from the island of Madeira, aged with heat and air until it becomes almost indestructible. Cheaper wines are warmed in tanks (estufagem); the best age slowly in casks in warm lofts (canteiro). An opened bottle keeps for months, and century-old vintages are still lively.

A rich fortified Muscat from the Setúbal Peninsula. After fortification the wine stays in contact with the grape skins for months, soaking up intense orange-peel and floral flavours. Aged versions turn amber and take on notes of caramel, dried apricot and walnut. Moscatel Roxo, from a rare pink-skinned grape, is especially prized.

A fortified Muscat from the high plateau around Favaios and Alijó in the Douro, made from the small-berried Moscatel Galego. Fresher and more floral than Setúbal’s Moscatel; a popular aperitif across northern Portugal.

A historic, off-dry fortified wine from the seaside town of Carcavelos just west of Lisbon. Urban sprawl nearly wiped it out; it survives thanks to a handful of vineyards, notably the one run by the municipality of Oeiras.

Light, crisp whites from the rainy northwest, often low in alcohol and sometimes with a slight sparkle. Everyday blends are some of Portugal’s best-known exports; single-variety Alvarinho and Loureiro offer more depth and age well.

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.

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.

Whites from high-altitude Douro vineyards, where cool nights keep freshness. Often blends of Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio and Códega, with citrus, stone fruit and a mineral finish.

Elegant, fresh reds from granite soils. Often called Portugal’s answer to Burgundy for their finesse and ability to age. Touriga Nacional, Jaen and Alfrocheiro are the classic trio.

Textured, age-worthy whites built on Encruzado, often fermented or aged in oak. Some of Portugal’s finest dry whites.

Tannic, high-acid reds from Baga grown on clay-limestone. Traditional Garrafeiras can age for 30 years or more; modern producers make lighter, gentler versions for earlier drinking.

Bairrada is the centre of Portuguese traditional-method sparkling wine, made by second fermentation in bottle. Styles range from crisp whites to Baga-based blanc de noirs and rosé.

Fresh, high-acid traditional-method sparkling wine from a cool mountain plateau south of the Douro, made from Malvasia Fina and Cerceal alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Ripe, round, generous reds from a sunny inland plain, with soft tannins and dark fruit. Easy to enjoy young; the best estates make powerful wines that age well.

Full, sunny whites built on Antão Vaz, freshened with Arinto and Roupeiro. Vidigueira and high Portalegre make the freshest examples.

Wine fermented and aged in large clay amphorae (talhas), sealed inside with pitch or beeswax, a tradition kept alive in the Alentejo since Roman times. White, red and orange versions exist; the wine stays on its skins and cannot be drawn before 11 November.

One of the world’s most unusual vineyards: ungrafted Ramisco vines planted in deep sand dunes by the Atlantic, crawling low behind cane windbreaks. The reds are austere and tannic, needing years to open; the whites from Malvasia de Colares are salty and long-lived.

Crisp, lemony, long-lived whites from Arinto grown just north of Lisbon. Popular in Victorian England, where it was sold as a Portuguese answer to German hock.

Juicy, characterful reds built on Castelão grown on sandy soils around Palmela, often with red fruit, earthy and slightly gamey notes.

Taut, salty, mineral whites from vines growing in volcanic black lava-stone enclosures by the sea. Pico also has a historic fortified style, once exported as far as the Russian imperial court.

Portugal introduced much of the world to rosé after the Second World War through lightly sparkling, off-dry brands such as Mateus and Lancers. Today most Portuguese rosé is dry and crisp, often from Touriga Nacional or Baga.