Portugal
Alongside Spain, Portugal forms the other part of the Iberian Peninsula and is also an interesting wine country. Portuguese wines have their own identity due to the use of many indigenous grape varieties, which are rarely found elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, a wide variety of wine types are produced, such as sparkling fresh white wine, full-bodied sweet wine, both heavy and modern fruity red wines, and famous fortified wines like Port and Madeira. This great diversity is due to the different mesoclimates. Anyone who thinks that it is only hot and dry in Portugal is mistaken. For example, the north of Portugal has the highest rainfall in Europe.
The vineyard area is approximately 250,000 hectares; 20 percent of the agricultural population works in viticulture. Nevertheless, Portuguese viticulture is small-scale: 87 percent of farmers produce less than 100 hectoliters of wine. Nearly 40 percent of these small farmers are affiliated with a cooperative.
Portugal is a wine country with a long history. As early as 1761, the boundaries of the Port region (which is the area of the Douro Valley, in the Trás-os-Montes region) were established. In 1908, nearly thirty years before the establishment of European appellations, the first wine law was created. The wines of Douro, Vinho Verde, Dão, Bucelas, Colares, Carcavelos, Setúbal, and Madeira already received protected designations of origin at that time.
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