Unless you speak fluent Portuguese you will be unfamiliar with the words and descriptions you will find on their wine labels. Here are some helpful terms and designations.
Wine words
Adega Cellar
Branco White Wine
Castas Grape variety
Colheita Vintage
Garrofado na Origem Estate Bottled
Garrafeira Special reserve
Lagar Cement or marble tank used for foot-treading
Quinta Estate
Tinto Red Wine
Vinha Vineyard
Vinho espumante Sparkling wine
Uvas Grapes
Quality Denominations
DOC Denominacao de Origem Controlada. Top of the wine quality heirarchy. and roughly equivalent to French AOC and Spanish DO . There are 29 DOC's with defined geographical limits, maximum yields, recommended and permitted grape varieties and minimum alcohol levels.
IPR Indicacao de Proviencia Regulamentada. Term used for a DOC region-in-waiting, serving it's five year probationary period before it's acceptance by the authorities.
VR Vinho Regional. Roughly equivalent to French Vin de Pays and Italian Vino de Tavola. Wines made using a greater choice of grapes and vinification methods. Many producers choose to make VR rather than DOC because of this flexibilty allowing them to maximise the areas potential. As with the French and Italian wines equivalents , these can be some of the most exciting wines and should not be overlooked.
Vinho de Mesa Basic table wine or, in rare cases, a wine made from blends of grapes from different areas
And in a restaurant....
um copo de vinho por favor A glass of wine please
a lista de vinhos The wine list
Queria uma garrafa do...... I'd like a bottle of.........
saude! Cheers!
gosto I like it
nao gosto I don't like it (unlikely!)
obrigado Thankyou.
