Though tiny, Portugal produces wines in every one of its provinces. And without a coastal mountain range to block breezes, these wines are the definition of freshness. I’ve long touted Portuguese wines for value: higher quality and lower prices, red wines as well as white. When the pricing starts low, potential tariff add-ons aren’t so onerous. And I’m not only talking about familiar regions such as Alentejo or Vinhos Verdes – which, by the way, produce finer red and white wines now than you might have remembered. 
In recent decades, Portugal has seen a notable escalation in wine quality. Younger people have returned to the land, bringing energy to their vineyards, as well as a new commitment to healthy, sustainable values for the grapes and vineyards, and the people who work with them. Tourism has responded and grown, and there are currently plenty of wine tourism routes, along with attractive hotels often converted from historic buildings.
Portugal’s white wines tend to be crisp but fruity, and not sweet. The red wines are structured and bolder. In both cases, you can find blends of indigenous and international grapes as well as single-variety wines. And espumante [sparkling] wines are appearing on the market, sometimes intriguingly made with native Portuguese grapes.
Of course certain areas produce more pricy, well-crafted, long-ageing wines, notably the Douro in the north, where Port originated centuries ago. Now Port producers are also making excellent dry wines from the same vineyards – not inexpensively, as you might guess when you see the vertical hillsides they’re working on. Dry or fortified, the Douro wines are exceptional and well worth it. 
The Portuguese themselves are the highest per capita consumers of wines in the world. That’s due to lifestyle—drinking wine with food, always—as well as cost. I also learned that Portugal is the 9th largest exporter of wines, and the 10th largest wine producer in Europe. Notes on excellent wines I tasted at a recent Wines of Portugal seminar are below. Note that some lovely white wines are in the $10 range, while the beautiful reds start around $50. It’s difficult to think of another country whose wines I’d recommend at these price points.
WHITE
2023 Aveleda Solos de Granito, Vinho Verde. With aromas of grassy fields, this wine is refreshing on the palate. Streaks of salinity and lemon shine through the end-palate and finish. As the name says, these grapes are grown on granitic soils. (Around $18)
2023 Quinta do Pinto Estate Collection, Lisboa. An impressive blend of many grapes, both Portuguese and international: Fernão Pires (20%), Viosinho (20%), Chardonnay (20%), Arinto (15%), Roussanne (15%), Chenin Blanc (10%). The wine has lovely bright fruit, a medium body and longish finish. (Around $10)
2022 Boas Quintas ‘Quinta da Fonte do Ouro’ Encruzado, Dão Nobre. This wine carries the highest (nobre/noble) designation for the region, and is made solely with the native encruzado grape. It is soft, mild and appealing, with lively acidity that begs for the next sip, and the next bite of food. (Around $10)
RED
2022 Wine & Soul Pintas Tinto, Porto e Douro. Made in a traditional style using all the different grapes (40, in this case) that are planted in a 92-year-old vineyard. The wine has vivid fruit aromas, dark red fruit on the palate—and tannins that remind us to cellar this for a few more years before optimal drinking. (Around $116)
2018 Quinta do Crasto, Tinta Roriz, Porto e Douro. An extremely polished wine, a pleasure to drink. Intense, with plum and other dark fruit, as well as notes of baking spices. Made only with tempranillo [tinta roriz] grapes from the top vineyards on this estate. Stellar. (Around $56)
2018 Julio Bastos, Dona Maria Gran Reserva, Alentejo. Last year, this was the Portuguese top “Wine of the Year” and the style reflects its national appeal. Interestingly, the grapes are foot-trodden, not pressed by machine. The wine is produced solely with alicante bouschet grapes; it’s mild and sweet on the palate with big red fruit lingering through the finish. (Around $49)
DESSERT
2010 Casa Ermelinda Freitas Moscatel Roxo de Setubal Superior. This traditionally grand dessert wine is made with a grape rarely seen these days: red moscatel. The wine has lightly floral aromas and stunning flavors of figs and honey, yet is not overly sweet. It spends at least six years in the barrel at a relatively high temperature (80 F) to give it anoxidized quality reminiscent of Port or Madeira. (Around $43)
