PLEASE NOTE: This is the BETA version (test phase) of this portal. Please help by notifying us of any errors you may find.
The Vine to Wine Circle portal seeks to document the glorious history of this vast treasure, and to give information on the Iberian varietal gene pool and how it has adapted to the terroir of the Iberian Peninsula.

Portugal and Spain form a single, independent gene pool. Wild grapevines survived the last glaciation in refugia on the Iberian Peninsula from which were later derived the Spanish and Portuguese grapevine varieties of today.

With accession to the European Union, Spain and Portugal received considerable financial assistance for research in order to improve the quality of their wines. Specific focus was given to investigating indigenous grapevine varieties and maximising their terroir-specific potential.

With more than 500 officially certified grapevine varieties, the Iberian Peninsula is the viticultural region with the greatest biodiversity in terms of its grapevine varieties adapted to a hot to warm climate.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the factors of environmental influence vary from Galicia and the Vinho Verde Region, of cool maritime climate, to wine-growing zones 800 feet above sea level in Castilla-Leon, to the semi-arid and hot Alentejo, La Mancha and Andalusia.

The correct type of harvest depends on the type of wine required, which depends on the temperature at the time of harvest and on the method of harvest (whether mechanized or by hand).

Regional influences on the specific properties of many regional and reference varieties have to be adjusted by controlling the fermentation and storage temperature using both modern and traditional cellar technologies. The individual oenological secrets of Portuguese and Spanish cellar masters guarantee the high quality and wide variety of wines destined for the various market segments.

Quality in the wine glass is what counts! The wines of the Iberian Peninsula are gaining increasingly favourable recognition not only from our customers but also at international competitions where they receive prizes for high quality.

PLEASE NOTE: This is the BETA version (test phase) of this portal. Please help by notifying us of any errors you may find. Thank you.
Next stop, the World! This is the Iberian wine marketing slogan. Because it has its own indigenous grapevine varieties as well as a diversity of terroir (up to about 1,000 metres above sea level), the wealth of different wine types the Iberian Peninsula has to offer has aroused the curiosity of wine drinkers on all five continents.

This portal – the “Vine to Wine Circle” – has been based on the book, O Grande Livro das Castas, which was awarded the prize for “best publication in its category” by the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin, OIV, (Paris) in 2010.