Rufete is a red Spanish/ Portuguese wine

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

that is grown primarily used in port wine production in the Douro region of Portugal. It is also grown up along the

Duero The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

basin across the border in the Spanish province of

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

and can be found in the

Dão DOC Dão is a Portuguese wine region situated in the Região Demarcada do Dão with the Dão-Lafões sub region of the Centro, Portugal. It is one of the oldest established wine regions in Portugal. Dão wine is produced in a mountainous region with a ...

of Portugal where the variety is known as ''Tinta Pinheira''.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 161 Oxford University Press 1996

Wine regions

While the grape is mostly associated with the

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

production of the Douro, it can also be found in other smaller Portuguese and

Spanish wine regions The mainstream quality wine regions in Spain are referred to as '' denominaciones de origen protegidas (DOP)'' (similar to the French Appellations) and the wine they produce is regulated for quality according to specific laws, and in compliance ...

such as the Arribes '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO) right along the Portugal/Spanish border in Castile and León and the

Castelo Rodrigo The Castle of Castelo Rodrigo ( pt, Castelo de Castelo Rodrigo) is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Castelo Rodrigo in the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, district of Guarda. History It is believed that the castle was fou ...

, Cova da Beira and Pinhel wine regions located within the larger

Beiras Beira () was one of the six traditional provinces or ''comarcas'' of Portugal. The territorial extension is different from that of the area called ''the Beiras'', which refers to three provinces of 1936, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa and Beira Lit ...

''Vinho Regional'' (VR) in Portugal. T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 330-333 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Viticulture and wine styles

Rufete is known to be an early ripening vine that can produce light bodied wines that are risk of oxidizing easily if anaerobic

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

techniques are not used.

Synonyms

Over the years Rufete has been known under a variety of synonyms including Penamacor, Pennamaior, Pinot Aigret, Preto Rifete, Rifete, Riffete, Rofete, Rosete, Rosette, Ruceta, Rufeta, Rupeti Berra, Tinta Carvalha and Tinta Pinheira.

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

(VIVC)
Rufete
' Accessed: August 17th, 2012

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties