Portuguese types of wine can be divided into nine distinct types: red wine, white wine, rose wine, sparkling wine, fortified wine, volcanic wine, amphora wine, orange wine, and fino sherry wine. A type of wine is defined by the characteristics of the grapes from which it is made (white or red) as well as the winemaking and maturing processes used.
Most of the alternative vinification processes for white, red and rose wine are old methodologies that for reasons of climate, transport or even by accident (in the case of sparkling wine) were implemented and progressively adapted until they became a distinct type of wine.
These types of wines are also typical of certain regions, as is the case of sparkling wine in the Champagne region in France where it takes the name of vin pétillant (sparkling wine), the amphora wine typical of the Alentejo, the fino sherry wine typical of the Jerez region in Spain.
Red wine is fermented from red grape varieties, leading to wines with a ruby violet colour, of higher or lower intensity, with a more or less prominent texture depending on the concentration and type of tannins. The colour and texture of red wine are extracted from the skins and seeds during fermentation and post fermentation maceration.
Learn more about our red wineWhite wine is produced by off-skins fermentation of white grapes (without the juice coming into contact with the skins), and is typically characterised by fruity and floral aromas and a good acidity and elegance.
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Rose wine is a wine made with red grapes. The intensity of the colour depends entirely on the contact time of the skins with the liquid, since the grapes’ colour comes from the skin. Rose wine can be fruity or floral and has good acidity and a weak structure due to the short contact time with the skins containing the grapes’ tannins.
Learn more about our rose wineSparkling wine is a type of wine that goes through two alcoholic fermentation processes. The first alcoholic fermentation in sparkling wine takes place in stainless steel tanks, tuns or barrels and the second fermentation takes place inside the bottle (traditional method) or in vats.
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Fortified wine is a wine with a high alcoholic content and which has generally been fortified (addition of grape brandy). There may be several categories depending on the amount of final sugar, the region, and the grape variety used to produce the fortified wine. The most well-known fortified wines are port wine, madeira wine, pico wine and moscatel wine.
Learn more about our fortified wineVolcanic wine is a wine resulting from the fermentation of grapes from volcanic soils.
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Amphora wine is a wine traditionally made with or without fermentation on skins, from white or red grapes, in clay containers called talhas or amphorae.
Learn more about our amphora wineOrange wine is a type of white wine in which fermentation of the grape juice occurs in contact with the skins and seeds. Fermentation on skins is the basis of orange wine production.
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Fino sherry wine is a wine whose maturing is carried out under a layer of yeasts, known as “Veil of Flor". This “veil of flor” floats on the surface of the wine, creating a white layer that veils the wine from contact with oxygen.
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