Wine in Portugal is produced from a wide variety of indigenous grapes. Port is the classic example. The long-standing tradition in the region was the planting of a field blend (many varieties all planted together). According to some authorities, well over a hundred different and very obscure varieties have been used to make Port. The vast majority, however, is made from five main grapes.
Touriga Nacional is considered the finest among them, and it is also used to produce table wine in the Douro and Dão. It gives deeply colored and tannic wines with good berry fruit character on the nose. Tinta Roriz is used for structure and length. It is the same as the Tempranillo grape of Spain, and is sometimes called Aragonez. Touriga Francesa is useful because it gives body and roundness to the blend.
Other Port grapes include Tinta Amarela, (AKA Trincadeira), Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao and several white grapes including Malvasia Fina, Rabigato, Codega, Viosinho.
In Bairrada, the Baga grape is used. This grape has a thick skin, giving wines with a rustic style, deep color and firm tannin. Another traditional variety is the Castelao Frances, also known as Periquita, widely grown in the southern region of Alentejo and gives wines with a silky texture that are softer and more aromatic than some traditional wines.
Traditional white grapes in Portugal include Alvarinho (called Albarino in Spanish), used in Vinho Verde to produce what many see as the region’s best wines. Other Vinho Verde grapes include Gouveio and Loueiro. White grapes in other regions include Arinto, Bical and Fernao Pires (AKA Maria Gomes).
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Portugal is a very diverse wine-growing region, producing the classic Port wines of the Douro as well as a large variety of table wines. The laws governing wine production are similar to those in other countries, with Denominação de Origem Controlada at the top, followed by Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada (IPR) for those wines about to be promoted, Vinho Regional, which is similar to a Vin de Pays in France, and Vinho de Mesa or table wine as the lowest level.
The northern part of the country is mountainous, and the coastal regions are cool, wet, and rainy. Further inland, the climate is hotter and drier. The southern half of the country is flatter, hotter terrain, dominated by large companies.
Port was traditionally produced by treading the grapes by foot in a stone vessel called a lagare. This helped extract color and tannin quickly before the fortification. Although the top wines are still made in this fashion, alternatives are being developed. 
The best wines are produced from several noble varieties: