Tinta Cao is a Portuguese Douro variety, one of the traditional port grapes, used there for structure and slow ripening. California's own data shows an odd split: it is crushed every year for all 26 vintages on record, across 15 districts, yet it has zero acres ever logged in the acreage report, meaning the state counts what wineries process from it but never counts where it is planted. That points to small amounts likely folded into other reporting categories, probably destined for port-style or other fortified blends rather than standalone varietal wine.
What kind of grape this is
- Registry name
- TINTO CAO
- Species
- VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
- Berry color
- NOIR
- Country of origin
- PORTUGAL
- Synonyms
- 8
- Approved on a US label
- Tinto cão
- FPS selections
- 5
CDFA prints it as Tinta Cao
names this grape is known by elsewhere, per VIVC
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Tinta Cao, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 0
county-years of acreage
the Grape Acreage Report has never named it in a county table
- 263
district-years of crush
15 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years
- 263
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 0
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- —
regions with a maturity date
not one of the eight cultivars with a
Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
All 15 districts on one axis →
loading crush report…
Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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