Northern Portugal explained. Port, dry reds and a treasure trove of native grapes.

Three regions along the Douro

Portugal sits in the southwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, between the Atlantic and Spain. Its northern wine regions lie on either side of the Douro river: from north to south, Vinho Verde, the Douro Valley and Dão. A new generation of winemakers combines modern technology and tradition to make authentic, age-worthy wines from a huge range of indigenous grapes.

Susie's best memory of her first trip to the region is not a red wine but a Port and tonic: white Port, tonic water, ice and a twist of lemon.

The Douro: Port and dry wines

The Douro Valley is a spectacular mountainous region with vines on steep slopes of schist. The west has a milder climate with more rain, while the inland east is hot and arid. Over 90 varieties are planted, but the key reds are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão, and Port is almost always a blend. Vineyards are rated from A to F, and in the past wine was carried downriver to the Port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia on traditional rabelo boats.

Port divides into Ruby styles (Ruby, Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage), aged briefly in large wood and then in bottle, and Tawny styles, aged longer in casks for nutty, oxidative flavors, including 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old tawnies and single-vintage Colheita. Today many producers keep their best grapes for dry red and white table wines, where the challenge is not ripeness but balance and freshness.

Vinho Verde and Dão

Vinho Verde, between the Douro and the Minho, is Portugal's largest appellation and its wettest region. It is traditionally known for light, zesty whites with a slight spritz, but quality-focused growers now make more concentrated wines. Grapes include floral Loureiro, at home in the rainy Lima valley, steely Trajadura, mineral Arinto, creamy Avesso and fine, mineral Alvarinho. In Monção and Melgaço, sheltered by mountains, Alvarinho is fuller, riper and more intense than Spain's Albariño from the Atlantic-facing Rías Baixas.

Dão, south of the Douro, has vineyards at 200 to 800 meters, where a wide day-night range gives freshness and structure. White Encruzado is easily oxidized but, with lees contact and barrel aging, makes complex wines. Jaen, known in Galicia as Mencía, is the most planted red, though blends dominate.

The experiment: how Port is made

Using blueberries in place of grapes, Susie and Fredrik act out Port production: crushing in lagares to extract color fast, starting fermentation, then adding grape spirit (aguardente) partway through to stop it, leaving a sweet wine of around 19 to 20% alcohol.

They then follow the wine into the barrel. Ruby styles spend only a short time in wood, while Late Bottled Vintage is made in years that are not declared as vintage and is bottled after a longer stay in cask than Vintage Port. Tawnies spend years in barrel, and an age statement such as 30 years old is an average of the blended wines. Finally the hosts pour a Ruby and a Tawny side by side so you can see the difference in color.

Food pairings and blind tastings

The hosts taste an unfiltered Loureiro fermented in beeswax-lined amphora, and a Soalheiro Alvarinho from Monção e Melgaço with razor clams cooked with ginger, lemongrass and lime. Later a spiced roast beef with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika is matched with a powerful red. Find out why lime and wine acidity do not clash.

Two blind tastings test the hosts on a complex white and a deep red. Watch how they reason through the clues, a method that helps you prepare for WSET Level 3.