As a result of our recent trip to Portugal, we figured the best way to start off the month is by offering a basic road map to Portuguese wine. We have given you several articles in the past on the grape varietals, the Portuguese wine label and some specific wineries, but as a result of this trip, we are interested in describing the Portuguese wine demarcation in layman’s terms.

Portugal’s wine demarcation is laid out in a similar manner as the Spanish system, divided by quality wines, regional wines and table wines. Put side by side, both country’s wine demarcations look like this:

Quality Wines:

Spain: 67 quality wine regions
Portugal: 33 quality wine regions

Regional Wines:

Spain: approximately 8 wine regions
Portugal: 11 wine regions

Table Wines

For all wines that don’t fall into either of the two categories above are listed as a Table Wine in both Spain and Portugal.

One can safely say that both Spain’s and Portugal’s wine demarcation system are generally the same. The one difference being the way in which we relate to them. When we shop for wines in Spain, we can assume that a demarcated Quality Wine (example: DO Rioja) will be the best way to search for a good wine. This is why Catavino has spent so much time doing profiles on each of the 67 Spanish Quality Wine Demarcations (or DO), and not on Spain’s Regional Wine Demarcations. In Portugal, we have recently learned that most people talk about their wines in relation to the Portuguese Regional Wine Demarcation. Therefore, we feel that for the month of August, we will do our best to break down each of the 11 Portuguese Wine Regions by Tasting Notes, Bodega Profiles, Regional Profiles and Grape Profiles. Although I doubt we will …