A ripe grape can remain green
In Azal, color doesn't tell the whole story.
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Azal is a late-maturing white variety, adapted to dry and well-exposed land from the interior of the region of the Vinhos Verdes, including Basto. The technical file describes compact bunches that maintain a greenish even mature tone. Looking only at the color is not enough to decide whether the harvest time has come.
The adult leaf is rounded and thick, with regular teeth and quite pilosity on the lower face. The curl has a lateral branch, described as wing. These clues show why the description of a caste brings together leaves, curls and development phases, rather than being limited to the color of the grapes.
Azal has a long cycle: the fiche distinguishes early bloom from late maturation. One early start phase does not mean that all others also do so. The caste can be used alone or in batch wines with Arinto, Batoca and Loureiro; recognizing a variety in the landscape and knowing the composition of a wine remains different questions.
One vineyard, several clues
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Arinto and its local names
Pé de Perdiz, but in the vineyard →Cheat: other leaf and other calendar
Cheat: a variety that likes company →The role of summer in Basto
Summer also chooses grapes →
Source and context
CVRVV — Technical data sheets of the varieties Batoca and Azal
Accessed: . Editorial summary; the date of consultation is not the date of the facts.