The importance and caracteristics of the first ones in the north of the coutry, lead to this classification.

But, with Portugal's admission to EEC, this classification had to fit in those that are in force in that organization.

So, there are considered the following kinds of wine:
Dinner wines: all the wines with a source in recommended castes obeying to certain analytic characteristics.
They may have the geographic provenance indication if the same can not be confused with any VQPRD. Dinner wines loose the right to this denomination if they proceed from lots.

- VQPRD:"Quality Wine Produced in a Delimited Region".
These are high quality wines, of limited number, obtained from castes reported in an approved list and which exclusive source must be grapes produced in a fixed region.

They must obey to rules and characteristics such as colour, limpidity, scent and taste.

The VQPRD have to mention this characteristic in the label but it can be changed to an equivalent as: RD "Delimited Region".

- Regional Wines: these are tipycal local wines that don't reach the VQPRD classification.

- Caste Wines: these wines obey to the following conditions: their caste of administrative unit where the grape-gathering takes place; the wine must have at least 80% of this caste; the caste must be decisive in the wine character; the wine must be designated by a geographic denomination that
can not be confused with a VQPRD.

Although the oldest RD "Delimited Region" is a Portuguese one, (Porto- wine Region- 1756) Portugal only recently generalized the denomination of other quality wine-growing regions.

- IPR: Indication of Regulated Provenance"

-In 1988 and 1989 some zones were delimited, when technical studies concluded they were suitable to produce wines to fit the VQPRD rank, after a period of transition, but having to satisfy the dispositions of each zone statutes and fill completely the requirements of wines in general, and specifically this category.

In each region there's a Viticultural Commission whose ability is to attribute the categories of VQPRD, Regional Wine and Caste Wine.

Next we'll see the different wine-growing regions and respective characteristics.

The constante development of wine-growing activity shows new products every day.

In this report, the lack of some products is not due to any selective judgement but only the ignorance of it's existance.