# Created on 08/01/2024 9:45:45 AM

Touriga Nacional In Australia

In Australia this variety is normally referred to just as 'Touriga'.  There are about 70 Australian producers making wine from this variety, therefore it is one of the top ten alternative red wines.  Touriga Franca is rare or perhaps absent from Australia.

Terraced vineyards on Douro River in Portugal, the Home of Touriga NacionalTerraced vineyards on Douro River in Portugal, the home of Touriga Nacional

Port wine on the decline

Touriga Nacional is best known as a variety for producing Port and port-style wines, but it is increasingly used to make table wines.

In Portugal's Douro Valley Touriga Nacional, along with Touriga Franca, Tinto Cao and Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) are commonly blended to make port wine.  There are many other minor varieties used as well but these are main ones.

Only wines produced in Portugal are now permitted to be called Port. In the rest of the world similar wines are still produced under a variety of names, often including the word "fortified".

Port and other fortified red wines have declined markedly in popularity over recent decades and many vineyards which used to make Port and "Port" are used for table wines/

Touriga in Australia

In Australia the variety that is usually called Touriga is nearly always Touriga Nacional. There is another variety named Touriga Francesa, which is grown by Grey Sands Winery in Northern Tasmania's Tamar Valley.

In California wineries are more likely to be referring to  Touriga Francesa when they talk about Touriga.

Touriga was, and still is,  used in Australia to make fortified wines. But Touriga also makes good table wines, either as a varietal or as a blending partner with other red varieties such as Tempranillo.

The strong perfumed flavours and firm tannins of Touriga can be captured in table wines. The Portuguese use it for this purpose in several DOC regions, most often blended with other varieties.

Many of the Australian wineries listed below use Touriga mostly in blends to make table wines. Yarra Yering have made a Touriga dominant blend for many years under the label Dry Red No 3. This is a top end wine retailing at up to $100.

  • 919 Wines Riverland
  • Amelia Park Margaret River
  • Angas & Bremer Langhorne Creek
  • Atwills Wine Adelaide Hills
  • Bailey's of Glenrowan Glenrowan
  • Ballinaclash Hilltops
  • Battle of Bosworth Wines McLaren Vale
  • Berg Herring McLaren Vale
  • Big Easy Radio McLaren Vale
  • Black and Ginger Grampians
  • Brookland Valley Margaret River
  • Burge Family Winemakers Barossa Valley
  • Chambers Rosewood Rutherglen
  • Cherabino Margaret River
  • Coates Wines McLaren Vale
  • Collector Wines Canberra
  • Craft vs Science Barossa Valley
  • Cragg Cru McLaren Vale
  • Dalwood Hunter Valley
  • De Iuliis Hunter Valley
  • Dell'uva Wines  Barossa Valley
  • Dewey Station Barossa Valley
  • Dogrock Winery Pyrenees
  • Domaine De Binet Hunter Valley
  • Dune McLaren Vale
  • First Drop Barossa Valley
  • Five O’Clock Somewhere McLaren Vale
  • Flowstone Margaret River
  • Frankland Estate Frankland River
  • Fyffe Field North East Victoria
  • Gapsted Wines Alpine Valleys
  • Grey Sands Northern Tasmania
  • Hancock and Hancock McLaren Vale
  • Harris Organic Wines Swan Valley
  • Heirloom Vineyards McLaren Vale
  • Hesketh Wines Barossa Valley
  • Heslop Wines Mudgee
  • Hither and Yon McLaren Vale
  • In Praise of Shadows McLaren Vale
  • Ironcloud Geographe
  • Ivybrook Farm McLaren Vale
  • Jericho Adelaide Hills
  • Jilly Wines New England
  • Kaesler Barossa Valley
  • Koomilya McLaren Vale
  • L A S Vino Margaret River
  • Lenton Brae Margaret River
  • LS Merchants Margaret River
  • Mansfield Wines Mudgee
  • Maxwell Wines McLaren Vale
  • Mazza Geographe
  • McWilliams Riverina
  • Mount Majura Canberra
  • Mount Pleasant Hunter Valley
  • Myattsfield Vineyard and Winery Perth Hills
  • New Era Adelaide Hills
  • Obsession Wines Tumbarumba
  • Old Mill Estate Langhorne Creek
  • Old Plains Adelaide Plains
  • Olive Farm Wines Swan Valley
  • Olive Hills Estate Rutherglen
  • Olivers Taranga McLaren Vale
  • Paulmara Estate Barossa Valley
  • Peel Estate Peel
  • Pennyweight Winery Beechworth
  • Piano Piano Beechworth
  • Piggs Peake Winery Hunter Valley
  • Pondalowie Bendigo
  • Quattro Mano Barossa Valley
  • Quid Pro Quo Hunter Valley
  • Red Edge Heathcote
  • Ricca Terra Riverland
  • Salena Estate Riverland
  • Saltfleet McLaren Vale
  • SC Pannell McLaren Vale
  • Seppeltsfield Barossa Valley
  • Sevenhill Wines Clare Valley
  • Sittella Swan Valley
  • St Hallett Barossa Valley
  • Stanton and Killeen Wines Rutherglen
  • Surveyor's Hill Winery Canberra
  • Tapestry McLaren Vale
  • Three Dark Horses McLaren Vale
  • Toppers Mountain New England
  • Tscharke Barossa Valley
  • Varney Wines McLaren Vale
  • Vino Volta Swan Valley
  • Vinterloper Adelaide Hills
  • Whispering Brook Hunter Valley
  • Whitches Falls Queensland Zone
  • Windsors Edge Hunter Valley
  • Wirra Wirra McLaren Vale
  • Woodonga Hill Hilltops
  • Yarra Yering Yarra Valley
Updated on 21 June 2023

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