Verdelho is the only white variety we currently grow, but I have ambitions to plant a couple more in the coming years. This grape ripens early while retaining high levels of natural acidity. It has lemony flavors that turn to banana peels as it gets riper. Has an unusual oblong shape to the berry and yields a moderate crop. We’ve used it in three wines over the years – our dry crisp Verdelho table wine, a white port, and our aged Madeira-style Verdelho Ports.
Bastardo is the Portuguese synonym for Trousseau, a French variety from the Jura region in eastern France that showed up in Portugal in the 1600’s. My dad read somewhere or made it up, that a French Duke married off his bastard son to a Portuguese princess. Upon arriving in France, the bastard did not like the local wines so he had French grapevine cuttings sent from France to grow in Portugal. As the dockhands were unloading the vines, one asked the other, “What are these?” “The Bastard’s grapes!” was the response. Whether that story is true or not, one thing is for certain, Bastardo is a real bastard of a grape to grow. A thin-skinned variety with tight clusters, uneven ripening, quick to rot and the birds love to eat it. A variety few farmers would choose to plant, but my dad did, believing his best ports always had a touch of Bastardo. Equally crazy, foolish, or rebellious, I doubled down on Bastardo, tripling our planted acres.
Portugal is famous for its grape names, some of which are downright entertaining. Tinta Cão means “red dog,” but even better is Esgana Cão, the “dog strangler,” a nod to its searing acidity. Not to be outdone, Rabigato translates to “cat’s tail,” named for its elongated clusters. We’ve grown Tinta Cão since the beginning, though I’ll admit it’s probably my least favorite variety. It’s almost entirely reserved for our vintage Port blend, typically making up 8–12%. The vine is vigorous, with shoots that grow every which way, and while it yields moderately, it ripens with ease. In the blend, it contributes delicate floral and spicy notes.
Touriga Nacional is Portugal’s most celebrated red grape, prized for its deep color, intense aromas, and powerful structure. Small, thick-skinned berries produce wines with concentrated flavors of dark fruit, violets, and spice, balanced by firm tannins and vibrant acidity. Alvarelhao, the variety my dad original planted, was appropriately reclassified as Touriga Nacional once DNA testing became available. It’s a beautiful low yielding and late ripening fragrant grape that does exceptionally well in our vineyard. We use the variety in all sorts of wines. Table wines include our Iberian Rose, Touriga Nacional, and in our new Iberian Red. And it’s always the most significant component in our Vintage Port.
I’m not exactly sure if we have this variety. When they changed the name of Alvarelhao to Touriga Nacional, I asked UC Davis what was the “Touriga” they gave us back in 1980. They told me they didn’t have a Touriga. Either way, in our vineyard, it’s similar to our Touriga Nacional, but slightly different. A little bit more fragrant and fruitier and ripens slightly different. It has always been a key component in our port blends.
Souzao is prized for its incredible dark color and bracing acidity. Very much an heirloom variety with low yields that begins to shut down around 22-23 brix. Either way, I love the variety. The off-the-charts natural acidity is critical to our port wines – the acidity balances out the sweetness avoiding the syrupy taste you get in many ports. And the color is amazing…darker than Petite Sirah, its stains everything in the winery. And it has the most distinctive smell at the crusher…like a bowl of ripe berries. Additionally, we occasionally make a dry table wine from the variety.
Tinta Roriz is the Portuguese synonym for Tempranillo, and one of a few non-native varieties approved for premium port production. The grape is native to the Duero River basin in Spain (upriver from Portugal’s Duoro) where it is called Tempranillo or Tinta del Pais. It’s believed to have been used in port production from the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. We first planted it in 1998 and have since expanded to three separate blocks. It does extremely well in our vineyard producing beautiful looking, disease-free fruit, that ripens early yielding delicious mouthcoating wines. It’s prized for its tannins and lends chocolate flavors to our port blends.
