Portugal benefits from the diversity, versatility and potential of its grape varieties.
There are around 250 autochthonous and most do not exist in other regions of the world, making Portuguese wines distinct and unique because they represent the quality and personality of the grape varieties with which they were produced.
In the middle of the last century, New World producers launched a marketing strategy to compete with Europe, putting the name of the grape varieties on labels. With this change, the consumer began to identify with the style of each wine.
Blend
In Portuguese, blended wines, in French, assemblage. These are the terms used to designate a wine produced from the mixture of two or more different grape varieties, each one with its own personality.
It is usually made in the vineyard, but it can be made separately, depending on the state of maturation of each variety, and at the end of fermentation, the oenologist decides the final blend.
According to the traditional view, this mixture is more beneficial, both in production logistics and in minimizing risks. It helps to perfect and create dimensions, improve aromas, colour, texture or body, making the wine more balanced and complex.
A white wine with little aroma or lack of acidity, is blended to add acidity and aromatic richness that it lacks.
Varietal
It is a wine that has in its composition, 100% of a variety or the predominance of this one. The legislation of each country and of each region, determines the minimum percentage that each wine must have. However, wines called monovarietal or single grape variety are made with 100% of a single grape variety.
In Portugal there are regions that live off the strength of such rich grape varieties and work very well on their own.
What is important for us is to taste different wines and discover which of the classifications is more interesting.
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