Port anD the Douro 83alvarelhão
In the mid-nineteenth century, Joseph James Forrester lavished praise on Alvarelhão, a
variety formerly much planted on the altos (high plateau) north of the Douro. It may have
been suitable for his brand of unfortified Port wine but it has certainly fallen from favour
today. There were two varieties of Alvarelhão, distinguished by Villa Maior as Pé Roxo
(‘purple foot’) or Pé de Perdiz (‘partridge foot’) and Pé Branco (‘white foot’) or Pé Verde
(‘green foot’). Evidently the Pé Roxo was considered superior. The distinction seems to have
been lost, for the Alvarelhão planted around Vila Real and Trás-os-Montes today produces
light, pale red wines that represent something of a transition between Vinho Verde and the
Douro. Mateus Rosé, which used to be sourced entirely from this area, contained a high
percentage of Alvarelhão. The grape has fallen from favour although it still exists in old
mixed vineyards north of the Douro. Alvarelhão is thought to be the same as Brancelho that
is sometimes grown for red Vinho Verde.
Bastardo
There are two officially recognised grapes in Portugal both sharing the name Bastardo:
Bastardo Tinto and Bastardo Roxo. The latter, one suspects, is probably the Bastardinho
(‘little bastard’) that used to be planted on the Setúbal Peninsula and is now all but
extinct. Bastardo Tinto is a vigorous, early-ripening variety that was favoured by growers
in the Douro and Dão prior to phylloxera where it was often planted alongside Alvarelhão
(q.v.). Bastardo’s virtues must have made it popular with growers but it was almost lost to
phylloxera. According to Cincinnato da Costa it ripened as early as June and the intensely
sweet grapes were eaten during the popular festival of São João (25 June). Small amounts of
Bastardo remain today in old mixed vineyards in the Douro, where its main characteristics
seem to be high levels of sugar and low acidity. It produces wine with a pale red colour that
fades to onion skin within two years, making it the ideal grape for inexpensive tawny Port.
Bastardo is extremely susceptible to rot in wet weather. Bastardo was also grown on Madeira
where it remains an officially ‘recommended’ variety for fortified wine but seems to have
retreated to the nearby island of Porto Santo.
cornifesto
Once favoured by growers on the north side of the Douro, this vigorous, productive
variety is now found only in old interplanted vineyards throughout Trás-os-Montes where
it produces light, inconsequential red wines. The popularity of Cornifesto in the wake of
phylloxera was probably due to its resistance to disease, especially oidium and anthracnose.
(tinta de) Barca
Officially known as Barca, this unfashionable grape is almost totally confined to the hot
country of the Douro Superior where it is still usually referred to as Tinta de Barca. It
produces a distinctive, concentrated style of wine and makes up around 25 per cent of the
vinha velha (old vines) at Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas. There is also a large amount among