Touriga Francesa (or Touriga Franca) is one of the major
grape varieties
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 ...
used to produce
port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
. Touriga Francesa is lighter and more perfumed than
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the D ...
, adding finesse to the wine. Touriga Francesa has been described by
Jancis Robinson as playing
" Cabernet Franc to Touriga Nacional’s
Cabernet Sauvignon".
[J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 216 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ] It is a cross of two other indigenous Portuguese wine grape varieties
Mourisco tinto and
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the D ...
.
Touriga Francesa is quite similar to Touriga Nacional, needing harsh conditions to keep
vigor
Vigor or vigour may refer to:
Companies
* Vigor S.A., a Brazilian food company
* Vigor Industrial, an American shipbuilding, ship repair, and industrial service provider in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska
** Vigor Shipyards, four shipyards in Was ...
down as it gets on the steep arid slopes of the
Douro
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 o ...
. It is usually
trained low to the ground under one of the
Royat systems.
Yields are medium (1,5 kg/vine), not as bad as Touriga Nacional.
Wine regions
*In
Australia, there have been experimental plantings of the grape in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and other areas for port style wines.
*In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, Touriga Francesa is the fifth most planted grape, with 7,440 hectares. It plays an important part in
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
blends. Like Nacional, the variety is increasingly being used for unfortified red wine in the Douro and in the
Dão.
Synonyms
Albino de Souza, Esgana Cão, Rifete, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Franca, Touriga Francesca.
See also
*
List of Port wine grapes
According to the Method of Punctuation of the Plots of Land of Vineyards of the Region of Douro (decree nº 413/2001), there were 30 recommended and 82 permitted grape varieties in Port wine production. The quality and characteristics of each grap ...
*
List of Portuguese grape varieties
References
External links
Instituto dos Vinho do Douro e PortoVinha online{{Wines
Red wine grape varieties
Portuguese wine