The Arinto grape variety gives rise to vibrant wines, with high acidity, intense and refreshing power, and good aging potential. One of the most planted grape varieties in Portugal, it is versatile and distinctive. Arinto is considered by many people as the greatest Portuguese white grape variety.
Arinto is found almost everywhere in Portugal. It is currently the third most planted white grape variety in the country, with 5,7780 hectares, equivalent to 3% of the total vineyard area. By itself or in blends, it assumes the role of acidic backbone in many white wines, its name being increasingly featured on wine labels.
It is in the Minho region, under the name Pedernã, followed by Alentejo where the largest areas of this grape variety are planted. For many it is the great Portuguese white grape variety.
History
The renowned oenologist and great connoisseur of Arinto, Osvaldo Amado goes even further "Of the five best white grape varieties in the world, three are Portuguese. The foreign ones are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and the Portuguese ones are Encruzado, Alvarinho and Arinto."
In the same vein, by the end of the 19th century, Bernardino Camilo Cincinato da Costa (1866-1930), professor, leading agronomist and author of the indispensable work "O Portugal Vinícola: Studies on the Ampelography and Oenological Value of Portugal's Main Grape Varieties (1900)" wrote "Arinto is one of Portugal's most remarkable grape varieties."
According to Professor Virgílio Loureiro, in Guia Repsol 2002/2003 Os Melhores Vinhos de Portugal, "Arinto is a genuinely Portuguese grape variety, with long traditions, already known to the monks who were farmers at the Alcobaça Monastery", and according to the same author, Vicêncio Alarte already described Arinto in 1712, in the first treatise on viticulture written in Portugal in the following terms: "the Arinto grapes are of excellent quality, because they are good to eat, make the best wine, and are so strong that they resist all weather conditions." This description is so current and accurate that it could easily come from an article written today.
Characteristics
Genetic studies suggest that the grape variety has been established for the longest time in the Oeste region, suggesting that this is its birthplace, especially in the Demarcated Region of Bucelas. Later, it expanded to the remaining regions where it is currently grown.
Arinto is a vigorous variety with great vegetative expression, a characteristic that requires adjusted pruning depending where it's planted. In fertile soils, long or mixed pruning might be needed. In less fertile soils, mixed or short pruning might be a better approach. Arinto produces low yields, with small berries and not many bunches per vine, but of good size.
Since Arinto is found in so many places, it is easy to imagine that it adapts to a variety of conditions without much difficulty. However, its sensitivity to rot, requires cultivation in more open spaces, with good ventilation, or on the slopes.
Terroir
In terms of soil, it adapts easily to all terrains and with good results, but it is in limestone soils, deep, moist, and well drained, where it produces the most distinctive wines.
Very close to Lisbon, in the Demarcated Region of Bucelas, with clay-limestone soils containing marine sediments, Arinto takes advantage of the Atlantic influence and the climatic contrasts of humid and misty mornings followed by sunny afternoons. This conditions allow Arinto to reach a perfect balance between acidity, sugar content and aromatic complexity, and give the wines from Bucelas a very strong identity, and over time, great prestige.
António Augusto de Aguiar (1838-1887), a professor, scientist, and politician responsible for many improvements to the Portuguese wine said: "the aristocratic wine of Bucelas fills the winegrower with pride, and constitutes the glory of his land."
Other limestone soils good for Arinto are found in the region of Bairrada and some areas in Tejo. Farther north, in Minho, Arinto is called "Pedernã" and it is usually found in granite soils. In the Douro, it is grown at higher altitudes, in soils of transition from schist to granite. In Alentejo, with its diverse geology, it is present all over.
Profile
Arinto produces vibrant wines, with high acidity as it's main feature, intensely refreshing, and with good aging potential. Firm acidity is the key feature of Arinto. A balance between a ripeness of 12% alcohol content with 6 gr/liter of acidity is fairly usual. It is precisely its ability to obtain natural acidity, that gives Arinto the main role of enhancing wine blends in many Portuguese regions, especially in warmer ones, where acidity is harder to achieve.
Do not expect Arinto wines to conquer by their aromatic intensity or exuberance. On the contrary, these wines are usually reserved and discreet with notes of green apple, lime, lemon and, not infrequently, a slight vegetable profile. If fermented at lower temperatures and with the appropriate yeasts, it might offer more tropical notes. When fermented with indigenous yeasts at not too low temperatures, it provides a greater sense of place, and a more delicate and intriguing minerality.
In Minho, as Pedernã, it reaches its best in the more inland areas. Citrusy fruits, ripe apple and pear, and some floral notes stand out. With good acidity (as always), but not as "sharp" as in Bucelas, the harmonious profile includes a light saline touch, that acquires some notes of peach jam with aging.
Versatility
Oenological versatility is another of Arinto's many talents. In other words, this grape can successfully deal with many different interpretations. It can produce a whole range, from light wines with a youthful character to more refined and complex wines, which can be made with fermentation or barrel aging, turning them richer, with more texture and volume. Arinto wines using oak barrels are being increasingly used. The tendency is for used and larger barrels, between 300 and 500 liters, so that the wines can offer their best expression of their terroir.
Arinto makes also the perfect base for sparkling wines given its high acidity and aromatic restraint. But wait, there's more! In the boldest display of polyvalence, it can also produce dessert wines either as "late harvest" or "fortified" wines.
When it comes to ageing, Arinto wines stand shoulder to shoulder with the best Portuguese wines. After decades in the bottle, the wines gain notes of orange peel, lemon curd, dried fruit, butterscotch, dehydrated ginger, honey, chipped stone, and lovely kerosene notes that can shame some of the best white Burgundies.
Pairings
What about food? Thanks for asking.
Arinto wines pair beautifully with grilled fish (ideally with with herbs and lemon butter), sushi, chicken salads, Poke bowls, and with the delicious Pataniscas de Bacalhau.
But perhaps the ultimate partner for Arinto is the sublime alliance of sea, lemon and coriander that make the famous Portuguese dish "Amêijoas Bolhão Pato"
High quality, uniqueness, versatility, and great aging potential are unquestionable features of the Arinto grape. And that is why it is considered by many people the great Portuguese white grape.
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