Caíño blanco or Cainho branco is a white

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese wine Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfami ...

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 in northwest Spain and northern Portugal in a stretch of area between

Vinho Verde Vinho Verde () (literally 'green wine') refers to Portuguese wine that originated in the historic Minho province in the far north of the country. The modern-day 'Vinho Verde' region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho provi ...

and the '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO) of

Rías Baixas The Rías Baixas (Galician language, Galician for "Lower Rias") are a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They are the Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ria de Ponteved ...

. The grape is often confused for Albariño and in Vinho Verde it is sometimes known under the name ''Alvarinhão'' (a synonym shared with another Portuguese grape,

Fernão Pires Fernão Pires is a white Portuguese wine grape grown throughout Portugal, especially in the Tejo and Bairrada Bairrada is a Portuguese wine region located in the Beira Litoral Province. The region has Portugal's highest wine classification as a ...

). While DNA profiling conducted in the early 21st century has shown that the two grapes are distinct varieties, the evidence has suggested that Caíño blanco maybe an offspring of Albariño from a natural crossing with the red Portuguese wine grape Azal tinto (also known as Caíño Bravo).J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 148-149 Allen Lane 2012

History

Ampelographer Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...

s believe that Caíño blanco is native to the northwest

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and was likely the result of a natural crossing between Albariño and Azal tinto. Caíño blanco has been growing in the

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

of Galicia and northern Portugal since at least 1722 when it was first mentioned so the crossing between Albariño and Azal tinto would have had to occur sometime before the 18th century. Swiss geneticist

José Vouillamoz 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 ...

notes that the DNA evidence linking Caíño blanco to Albariño and Azal tinto is based on analysis of only 27

genetic marker A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome that can be used to identify individuals or species. It can be described as a variation (which may arise due to mutation or alteration in the genomic loci) that can be ...

s and that the Caiño family of grapes (which includes Caiño tinto, Caiño Bravo/Azal tinto, Caiño Berzal, Caiño Frexio and Caiño Redondo) has a very complex genetic history which would require more analysis in order to confirm Caíño blanco's origins.

Viticulture

Caíño blanco is a mid to late ripening grape variety that also buds early to midway through the budding period for grapevines. The grape is susceptible to the

viticultural hazards This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' Am ...

of both

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and

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, a ...

Wine regions

In 2008 there were of Caíño blanco growing in Spain, virtually all of it in the northwest Spanish wine region of Galicia where the grape is a permitted variety in the Rías Baixas and Monterrei DOs. In Rías Baixas, most of the plantings of Caíño blanco are found in the O Rosal area in the

province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, ...

where it is often blended with Albariño. Across the border in Portugal there were of the grape in cultivation as of 2010.

Styles

According to

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Jancis Robinson, Caíño blanco tends to produce wines of high

alcohol levels Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

with zesty

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...

and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

notes.

Synonyms

Over the years, Caíño blanco has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Alvarinhão, Cainho, Cainho branco, Cainho de Moreira (in Vinho Verde), Caino blanco, Caíño branco (in Galicia and Portugal), Caino branco and Caino de Moreira.

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)
Caíño blanco
'' Accessed: May 28th, 2013

References

Spanish wine Grape varieties of Spain White wine grape varieties {{wine-grape-stub