Long known for its fortified wines, Portugal also has table wines that are worth knowing. The monitoring system here is called Denominacao de Origem Controlada. It was established in 1756 to protect the Port growing areas and was later extended to all wine growing regions.

The main regions/wines that you should know about are :

Vinho Verde. Literally means "green wine". Its green only in the metaphorical sense; its drunk young. The region is the largest demarcated wine making region in Portugal and though there are both red and white wines, the white is exported more.

Near the town of Coimbra are the two wine making regions of Dao and Bairrada. Dao produces some good red wine. It has taken Bairrada two centuries to recover from its vineyards being pulled out by order of the Prime Minister, the Marquis of Pombal (the man who is more famous for re-building Lisbon after the earthquake). Modern winemaking methods have been adopted and a lot of good red wine seems to be flowing out.