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Vinhão  
  Grape characteristics
Name Vinhão
Type of grape variety Red
Description Vinhão is mainly appreciated for its colouring qualities, since it creates deeply red coloured wines, opaque to light. It is believed to be originally from Minho, being later taken to the Douro region, where it is known as Sousão.
This grape variety has medium-sized, uniform, bluish-black berries.
In the Vinhos Verdes region, Vinhão is the most grown red grape variety.  Wines produced with this grape variety have high acidity and, sometimes, are very acidulous. In Douro, Vinhão is used mainly to colour the wine, including Port.
   
  Ampelographic Characteristics
Fonte: Catálogo das Castas, IVV.
 
Budding open, cottony, white and, in general, slightly carmine.
Young leaf brass-coloured; cottony and slightly bristly on the main veins of the down side on the blade.
Flower androgynous.
Shoots red internodes and nodes on the back side and green on the frontal side; medium anthocyanin pigmentation of the buds; erect to half-erect growth.
Tendrils discontinuous, long, webbed and very straight.
Adult leaf small to medium size, wedge-shaped, three to five lobes, dark green, flat and slightly bubbly; short to medium length teeth with rectilinear outline, sometimes with one convex and one concavous margin, clearly yellow beaks; open petiolar sinus with a V shaped base, open upper lateral sinus with a V and/or U shaped base, frequently asymmetric; very cottony and slightly bristly on the down side; pubescent petiole, shorter than the medium main vein.
Bunch medium size, sometimes small; medium compactness; long peduncle and insignificant lignification.
Berry medium size and uniform; elliptic-short, sometimes obovoid due to the berries compression; dark blue colour; with bloom, medium thick skin and apparent hilum; uncoloured, firm and little juicy pulp with a simple flavour; medium long pedicel of easy separation.
Seeds little hard tegument, predominantly three per berry; medium size, pyriform, short and little pronounced beak.
Stalks flattened cross-section, striated surface; yellow brownish colour; medium long internodes and large nodes; small, sharp and prominent buds.

 
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