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Red grapes

Fernão Pires

	Ampelographic Characteristics Fonte: Catálogo das Castas, IVV.
	Grape characteristics
Name	Fernão Pires
Type of grape variety	White
Description	Fernão Pires is one of the most planted white grape varieties in Portugal. It is grown in the centre and south areas, especially in Bairrada (where it is known as Maria Gomes), Estremadura, Ribatejo and Setúbal. Fernão Pires is very early-ripening, which makes it one of the first Portuguese grape varieties to be harvested. Besides, as it is very sensitive to frost, it develops better in fertile soils of temperate or hot climate. This grape variety has good alcohol content and low or medium acidity, which makes the wines produced from or blended with Fernão Pires have intense floral aromas.

Budding	precocious.
Young Branch End	open. White with a carmine border. Pubescent villosity.
Young leaf	yellow with a slight carmine border. Pubescent villosity.
Flower	androgynous.
Vigour	medium to strong.
Bearing	semi-erect.
Shoots	red striations on the back, completely green on the front. Webbed villosity.
Tendrils	regular discontinuous distribution, medium to long.
Adult leaf	medium, pentagonal, with five lobes. Green upper side, soft swelling and light wrinkling. Convex, medium-sized teeth of equal width and length. Slightly open petiolar sinus with a U-shaped base. Upper lateral petiolar sinuses with V-shaped bases. Low to very low anthocyanin pigmentation. Pubescent villosity on the underside. Petiole as long as the medium main vein. Webbed villosity.
Bunch	medium. Open compactness. Peduncle of medium length and lignification.
Berry	medium, rounded. Yellowy green, medial bloom, epidermis of medium thickness. Colourless, soft and juicy pulp. Medium-length pedicel which can easily be separated.
Seeds	predominantly one or two per berry.
Stalks	circular section. Striated surface. Yellowy brown. Webbed villosity.