Portuguese Wine

Better known for the classic fortified wines Port and Madeira, Portugal has a place in our hearts (and a bottle with a candle stuck in it!) thanks to the phenomenal marketing success of Mateus, the famous pink pétillant wine. Incredibly, for the seventh largest wine making country in the world, these wines were for many years the sum total of Portugal’s international recognition. Since it’s entry into the EC, the range, variety and extent of the Portuguese wines has become more apparent.

Vinho Verde (Green Wine) is popular, fresh and deliciously unpretentious, however it’s only the white version that is exported. The Portuguese themselves prefer the red version. Picked late and drunk very young, Vinho Verde is a typical Portuguese style wine that suits the Portuguese palate. Most Portuguese wines reach a good average standard, but in truth they are seldom comparable with the top rank fine French wines for example. However, there are a select few private estates that are producing some excellent wines.