Portugal's history of viticulture and vinification covers many centuries and has included the use of an extensive number native varieties. In addition, through experimentation and field trials a number of new varieties have emerged and are now playing key roles in producing the country's wide array of wines.
The relative absence of many international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon,VIVC, "Cabernet Sauvignon" ChardonnayVIVC, "Chardonnay Blanc" and SemillonVIVC, "Semillon" is another characteristic of this country's wine industry, although in recent decades many of these varieties have been brought into wider use as the lists below reveal.
Portugal's wine production in 2019 was 6.5 million hectolitres (Mhl), consistent with its annual average since 2015, and the forecast for 2020 is also 6.5 Mhl.2020 Wine Production: First Estimates. 27 October 2020. International Organisation of Vine and Wine. p. 4. Available online at This industry makes an important contribution to the country's annual income by attracting a vigorous local market and by being exported all over the world with France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Germany as the main destinations. Evidence gained from recent research may suggest that the industry has not yet reached its maximum level of winegrape output efficiency.
Among other wine exporting nations, Portugal was ranked as the world's 9th largest in 2018-2019."Wine Exports 2019." Wines of Portugal. Accessed 7 January 2021.
Identifying a variety - the problem with homonyms and synonyms Wine grape varieties are usually known by what is called the "prime name", and it is under this name they are listed in official and academic documents such as the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC)Maul, Erika, et al. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC). Julius Kühn-Institut - Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants. Accessed 23 February 2020. and Kym Anderson et al.'s Which Winegrape is Grown Where?: A Global Empirical Picture.Anderson, Kym, and Signe Nelgen. Which Winegrape is Grown Where?: A Global Empirical Picture, Revised Edition. Edited by Kym Anderson and N R Aryal. University of Adelaide Press, 2020. Published online 2020. . Accessed 2 February 2021.
Sometimes in a particular country, a variety may have a prime name which is different from its prime name in the international context. For example, the variety called Tempranillo or Tempranillo TintoVIVC, "Aragonez" internationally is officially listed in Portugal as Aragonez, and is also known in different regions as Tinta Roriz or Aragonês.
Along with the prime name, the other names, that is homonyms and synonyms, by which each variety is known are also included in the lists below. These homonyms and synonyms indicate how many of the wine grape varieties grown in Portugal are known by more than one name both within the country itself and internationally. For example, the synonyms for Tinta CaiadaVIVC, "Parraleta" (also called Tinta LameiraWPL, "Tinta Lameira" in Portugal, and known elsewhere by its Spanish name, Parraleta), listed by country of origin, are: Bonvedro, False Carignan (Australia); Espagnin Noir (France); Bastardão, Bonvedro, Bomvedro, Lambrusco de Alentejo, Monvedro, Monvedro do Algarve, Monvedro de Sines, Murteira, Olho Branco, Pau Ferro, Perrel, Preto Foz, Preto João Mendes, Tinta Caiada, Tinta Grossa, Tinta Lameira, Tintorro, Torres de Algarve (Portugal); Bonifaccencu, Bonifacienco, Carenisca, Caricagiola (Sardinia); Bastardo, Cua Tendra, Parraleta, Parrel, Salceño Negro (Spain).WPL, "Parraleta" In an international context, some varieties have more than 200 or 300 homonyms or synonyms: over 250 for Chasselas Blanc,VIVC, "Chasselas Blanc" about 300 for Pinot Noir,VIVC, "Pinot Noir" and close to 350 for Moscatel Galego Branco.VIVC, "Moscatel Galego Branco"
Often homonyms or synonyms of a particular variety are a direct translation from one language or dialect to another. Pinot Blanc,VIVC, "Pinot Blanc" for example, originated from France and therefore its prime name is in French, but in Italian it is called Pinot Bianco (bianco = white) and Pinot Bijeli (bijeli = white) in Croatian and languages or dialects related to Serbo-Croatian. Sometimes, when a variety originated from a particular place or has been grown there for a long time, it can be given a local name that reflects that association. Arinto,VIVC, "Arinto" for example, has among its synonyms Arinto d'Anadia, Arinto de Bucelas, Arinto do Dão and Arinto do Douro as well as Asal Espanhol, Pé de Perdiz Branco and Terrantez de Terceira.
Further confusion has arisen when a particular homonym or synonym has been given to more than one variety. Espadeiro,VIVC, "Espadeiro Tinto" for example, is the prime name for a variety; but as Wein-Plus warns, "It must not be confused with Camaraou Noir,VIVC, "Camaraou Noir" Manseng Noir (both from France), Padeiro,VIVC, "Padeiro" Trincadeira PretaVIVC, "Trincadeira" or VinhãoVIVC, "Vinhão" (all five with the synonym Espadeiro), despite the fact that they seem to share synonyms or have morphological similarities.WPL, "Espadeiro"
Probably the greatest confusion of identity has come about through misidentification, misnaming, or mislabelling. Some growers, for example, have found themselves with vines for which they have no formal identification and have based their decision on observation or even guesswork; so if the vine, grape or seasonal behaviour is similar to that of another variety, it is not surprising that the variety is given an incorrect name. The occurrence of mislabelling was also frequent in the past, especially when the gathering and exchanging of cuttings were carried out informally and without some form of control. New legislation and strict administration have reduced but not eliminated this risk.
Ampelography and the establishment of the National Ampelographic Collection A major step in mapping and conserving Portugal's unique grape profile was the establishment in 1988 of the Coleção Ampelográfica Nacional (National Ampelographic Collection or CAN),Cunha, Jorge Manuel Martins, João Brazão, Francisco Baeta, José Eduardo Eiras-Dias. Coleção Ampelográfica Nacional: uma “ferramenta” indispensável à preservação e ao melhoramento de variedades autóctones de videira (National Ampelographic Collection: an indispensable “tool” for the preserving and improving of indigenous grape varieties). Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P. (National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research or INIAV), January/February/March 2020. pp. 25-28. Available online at . Accessed 1 January 2021.Cunha, Jorge Manuel Martins, Margarida Teixeira Santos, João Brazão and José Eduardo Eiras-Dias. Coleção Ampelográfica Nacional: Preservação do património varietal de Vitis vinifera L. (National Ampelographic Collection: Preservation of the varietal heritage of Vitis vinifera L.). Paper given at the 9º Simpósio de Vitivinicultura do Alentejo (9th Alentejo Viticulture Symposium), Évora, Portugal on 15–17 May 2013. Available online at ResearchGate. Accessed 28 December 2020. a germplasm bank containing as many of the country's unique native varieties as have been found so far along with those varieties that have been introduced from elsewhere. The collection is located at the Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P. (National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research or INIAV) in Dois Portos, and has been described as the "national reference collection" and "in addition to its preservation aspect, also has pedagogical functions and supports national and international research."Cunha, Jorge Manuel Martins, João Brazão, Margarida Teixeira-Santos, José Eduardo Eiras-Dias, P. Fevereiro, Jose Miguel Martinez-Zapater, et al. A identidade das castas de videira portuguesas aptas à produção de vinho no contexto ibérico e europeu. O uso de marcadores moleculares do tipo SNP para a sua discriminação (The identity of Portuguese grape varieties suitable for wine production in the Iberian and European context. The use of molecular markers of the SNP type for their discrimination). Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinãria (National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research or INIAV), January/February/March 2017. pp. 18-25. Available online at . Accessed 24 December 2020.
Another of its functions was, as Eiras-Dias wrote, "to solve the problems of synonymy and homonymy spread over the different wine regions."Eiras-Dias, José Eduardo. "20 Anos de ampelográphia em Portugal" (20 Years of ampelography in Portugal). Vine to Wine Circle. Accessed 29 January 2021. The extent of this problem and its many causes have already been discussed above. Other examples given by Eiras-Dias are " CastelãoVIVC, "Castelão" (vs. Periquita, vs. Trincadeiro, vs. João de Santarém, vs. Castelão Francês) or Fernão PiresVIVC, "Fernão Pires" (vs. Maria Gomes)" with debate about the standardisation of their identity causing hot debate in the early 1980s. In his words, the widespread nature of this problem to confusion which, in turn, "had very negative effects on the knowledge and management of the rich viticultural heritage of the country."
Steps that led to the founding of CAN began in 1981 with the setting up of the Projecto Nacional de Ampelografia e Sinonímia das Variedades de Videira (National Ampelographic and Synonymous Grapevine Varieties Project or PNASVV). This just predated Portugal's accession to the European Economic Community (a precursor of the European Union (EU) into which on its establishment, EEC was absorbed) and was motivated by a need to be able to operate efficiently within the broader European context. Between PNASVV's formation and the establishment of CAN, a number of regional-based ampelographic projects began, and by the time the national collection was operating, the role and value of ampelography in the wine industry had been established. The integration of CAN with the government's legislative and administrative involvement in the wine industry was shown when CAN's listing became the core of the government's 2000 ordinance listMADRP, Ordinance No 428/2000, Diário da República n.º 163/2000, Série I-B de 2000-07-17. Accessed 26 December 2020. and later revisions including the 2017 "Catálogo Nacional de Variedades de Videira" (National Catalogue of Vine Varieties or NCVV)."Catálogo Nacional de Variedades de Videira" (National Catalogue of Vine Varieties (NCVV). Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária, Ministério da Agricultura, Florestas e Desenvolvimento Rural (Directorate-General for Food and Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development). 2017. Accessed 18 January 2021. New information from CAN continues to be provided to the government for the updating of its list, to VIVCUnder "Holding institutions (institute codes)" on VIVC listings, the code "PRT051" indicates that this variety is at "Estaçao Vitivinicola Nacional, EVN - INIAP Quinta da Almoinha", meaning that it is represented in CAN's holdings. and to the EU's certification body, the European Commission (EC).
Scientific research and the establishment of identity