Terrantez (also known as ''Cascal'' Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC)
Terrantez
'' Accessed: August 16th, 2012) is a white Portuguese wine grape variety that was once widely used on the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

to make the sweet

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

for which the island is known. Today, the variety is nearly

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

on the island.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 184 Oxford University Press 1996 There are still some limited plantings in the

Minho Province Minho () was a former province in Portugal, established in 1936 and dissolved in 1976. It consisted of 23 municipalities, with its capital in the city of Braga. Today, the area would include the districts of Braga and Viana do Castelo. Minho has ...

where, as ''Cascal'', is a permitted blending variety with Alvarinho and other grapes in the Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) wine Vinho Verde. As ''Terrantez'' the grape is permitted in several of the '' Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada'' (IPR) regions of the Azores including Biscoitos IPR on Terceira Island, Graciosa IPR on the white island of Graciosa and Pico IPR on Pico Island.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 330-333 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Regions

Terrantez is a low yielding vine that is most widely associated with the wines of Madeira though its use in the wine and presence on the island has been slowly fading. Some plantings of the variety can still be found in the Azores, the Portuguese island chain located northwest of Madeira in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. There is also some plantings of in the Minho province on the Portuguese mainland though ampelographer

Paul Truel Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

has speculated that the mainland variety (known most often as ''Cascal'') may actually be a different variety, though this has not been conclusively determined.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 266 Harcourt Books 2001

Wine styles

Terrantez has the potential to make rich full-bodied wines with highly perfumed bouquet. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, in older bottles of Madeira Terrantez has shown an ability to age well in developing wines with long finishes and layers of complexity.

Synonyms and other varieties

In addition to Cascal, Terrantez has been known under a variety of a

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

including: Morrao, Murrao, Pe de Perdiz, Pe de Perdrix, Pied de Perdix and Terrantes. Several other white Portuguese grape varieties share synonyms with Terrantez and may be related though there is not yet any conclusive evidence. These include Folgasao which has the synonyms of ''Terrantez da Madeira'' and ''Terrantez de Madere'' and Donzelinho Branco which has the synonym of ''Terrantez'' and ''Terrantes''. The Portuguese red grape Alicante Bouschet also shares the ''Pe de Perdiz'' synonym with Terrantez and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

grape Malbec is also known as ''Pied de Perdix''. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC)
Malbec
' Accessed: August 16th, 2012

References

{{authority control White wine grape varieties