738 



Jdiirudl of AijrlcnU iirt ^ Victona. [11 Dec, 1916. 



Gyrao (1822) tells us that— 



" Tinta Amarella gives much wine; it requires strong soil. The wine made 

 from it by Srs. Villares in the course of their wino-making experiments was of 

 good flavour [gostoso) and of yellowish colour." 



Villa Maior (1865) mentions it in several well-known (^uintas, and 

 states that — 



" It is incontestably one of the sorts of best reputation on the Douro. . . . 

 It was one of those chosen to predominate at the Quinta dos Arcyprestes (Alto 

 Douro) and was preferred for the hottest situations at the Quinta do Noval." 

 Writing in 1875 he says: "It is one of the best grapes of the Douro; very 

 productive, with very tight bunches of sweet berries, for which reason the bees 

 seek them in preference to other sorts. Tinta Amarella requires to be grown on 

 strong soils in order that it may prosper." 



Sr. Duarte de Oliveira does not hold so high an opinion of it, classing 

 it essentially as a quantity variety, yielding a wine of a rather dull red 



Fig. 21. — Leaf of Tinta Amarella (about one-third natural size). 

 Photo, taken at Boa Vista, Alto Douro, Portugal, in October, 1907. 



colour, becoming an unattractive rust colour whilst still young. It is 

 a flat wine without briskness or character, either as regards bouquet or 

 flavour, and of little use for the production of dry table wines. It is 

 one of the Douro varieties which yields most juice; curiously enough, 

 the grapes seem to contain even more juice as they become overripe. 

 The fruit is rather liable to rot in a wet vintage. 



Since reconstitution, this vine has been somewhat discarded in the 

 true jjort region, but in the neighbouring district of Baixo Corgo it was 

 propagated to such an extent as to impair the quality of the wine. 



The word Amarella means in Portuguese " yellow." It appears to 

 refer to the canes, which are of a yellowish-brown colour in early winter, 



