Sousao is not a teinturier variety

douro portugal

Sousao is not a teinturier variety

Sousao

OK, a bit of geeky viticultural stuff.

I’d always been told that Portuguese variety Sousao was a teinturier: a grape with coloured flesh. Normally red grapes have all their pigment in the skins and the flesh is transparent. With teinturier varieties, of which there are very few, the flesh is also coloured. They make incredibly dark coloured wines.

Alicante Bouschet

Sousao also makes dark coloured wines. Also known as Vinhao (in Vinho Verde), it’s an interesting variety, but I can confirm from first hand experience it isn’t a teinturier. It just has highly pigmented skins that give up their colour easily.

Sousao

Pictured here are Sousao and Alicante Bouschet (the most famous teinturier variety, grown widely in the Alentejo and southern France). You can see the difference.

Alicante Bouschet
6 Comments on Sousao is not a teinturier varietyTagged ,
wine journalist and flavour obsessive

6 thoughts on “Sousao is not a teinturier variety

  1. It strikes me if it is as simple as taking a grape and squeezing it, why were you always told Sousao was a teinturier variety? Perhaps those people were confusing it with another variety?

  2. Thanks, useful information. We should add the Norton grape, the true American grape to the number of grapes having red flesh and producing red juice.

    thegrumpynortonian

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