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THE RIVER DOURO NEAR THE
MOUTH OF THE RIVER COA
high levels of consumption in Portugal are also due to tourism, because drinking
wine in Portugal is not that expensive. In Lisbon it’s a little more expensive now
due to tourism, but if you drive just half an hour inland and drink wine in a
restaurant, you can get a good wine for 15 or 20 euros, and that does not exist
elsewhere in Europe or the world. If you go to a small town near Lisbon or Oporto
and you go to a nice restaurant, people are surprised by the prices and drink a lot.
G & G: Is this why the wines are successful?
F. F.: Yes, that’s why the total consumption in Portugal is very high. When you
divide that between 10 million Portuguese people, you get a very high per capita
consumption level, but it’s not just the Portuguese drinking the wine.
G & G: What is the main message Wines of Portugal delivers?
F. F.: Our main message is that Portugal is truly a world of difference. Every
part of the country has a wine region and we have good wines in every region
of Portugal, which normally does not exist in other countries. There is huge
diversity. If you go to Vinho Verde, it’s a cool area with granite soils and high
rainfall. It is more suited to white wines. Then you drive an hour to the Douro
Valley, where the soils are schist, it is very hot, very dry, and the focus is more
on red wines. If you go down to Dao, everything changes again. So there’s huge
diversity in a very small country. There is also a great number of native grape
varieties, which makes a difference. In a very small country we can produce all
styles of wine, we have different terroirs and native grape varieties, so this is
truly a world of difference.
36 SPRING 2024 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE