Who would have thought that a country with the geographical size of Portugal could have so many ‘terroirs’ for the production of great wines? A multiplicity of soils and sun exposure, of maritime and continental profiles, faced with challenging factors such as mountain viticulture or the combination of hundreds of native grape varieties. The world is discovering them and what about you, dear reader, have you engaged already in this discovery?

Revista de Vinhos is the leading wine magazine in Portugal and recently selected “The Best of the Year 2020” in wine and gastronomy. And it shares here an article that highlights some of the major qualities attributes of Portugal in the wine sector, along with a selection of ten truly irresistible proposals.

We grew accustomed to hearing that one day we would be in the top mind of global critics and that it would not take long until we would be discovered. What the hell, we of all people, the oldest nation in Europe, where vine and wine culture is even older, we are still waiting in line…

The truth is that Portugal’s time in the world of wine seems to have finally come. The top international experts praise our wines and those who closely follow the benchmark projects and see new protagonists appear do realize that this kind of positive revolution is daily, permanent and there is no turning back.

The adventures of a new generation of winegrowers and oenologists, which strongly emerged in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, were key to this impulse. Aside from the knowledge they have gathered, this generation travelled and experienced other realities, engaging often in grape harvesting, in some of the most distant regions or most famous regions in the world. And upon each return, they brought something new.

A new generation followed, equally brilliant but with an additional need to experiment, often reviving the art and craft of the past to show what the present or even the future might hold. From this permanent dialogue, a continuous trial/error process and increased energy for Portuguese wine emerged, and today goes incredibly farther and stronger when it comes to making themselves known in the world.

We have great fortified wines (Port Wine, Madeira Wine, Muscatel and Carcavelos), but also great sparkling wines, both wine and red. We have more than 250 native varieties that represent a true hymn to diversity and Atlantic regions and other, of both continental and Mediterranean profile. We have mountain and precision viticulture, amphora wine and signature wine cellars, wines of immediate appeal and many others, with a remarkable storage capacity – it is worth mentioning that few producing countries can pride themselves on having wines with such a good ageing capacity. And above all, we have an incredibly dynamic sector, committed to spreading the quality of what we do across different foreign markets.

The editors of Essência do Vinho, Nuno Botelho and Nuno Pires, with the winners of the “Tribute Prize” awared by Revista de Vinhos – António and Roberto Guedes, from Aveleda.

In a very difficult year like 2020, Portuguese wine exports grew by 5.3% in volume (3.2 ML) and 3.2% in value (€ 846 million). Third markets (including the United Kingdom now) witnessed increases of 23.6% in volume, 25.5% in value and 1.5% in the average price per litre. Exports to non-EU markets had positive performances, particularly in Brazil, with increases in volume (26.5%) and value (23.5%). The target of reaching € 1 billion of exports in 2023/2024 remains.

In the short term, with the expected return to relative normality, these figures will certainly help the positive growth curve go up, not least because Portugal’s international projection also benefits wine and vice versa.

In Portugal, Revista de Vinhos reports on the sector’s evolution every month, sharing news, vertical tasting, stories, interviews and food and wine harmonisations with its readers. In Brazil, GULA magazine returned to the newsstands, bringing wine and gastronomy back to the spotlight. Every day, on our social media and information portals, news are shared with our followers. Magazines held by Essência do Vinho, such as Revista de Vinhos and GULA, stand out as the main group specialized in communication and dissemination of wine and gastronomy from Portuguese-speaking countries.

Recently, in the scope of the “Best of the Year 2020” awards in wine and gastronomy, Revista de Vinhos selected the “TOP 30 Excellence”, a restricted selection of some of the current best Portuguese wines, which marked yet another intense year of tasting thousands of references. An eclectic selection of 10 of these wines followed, representing different regions and of an even greater multiplicity of styles and approaches.