Viticulture plays a key role on the Portuguese economic growth. The possibility of obtaining early predictions of viticultural parameters, such as phenology, water status, yield and potential wine characteristics, are of great value for growers, influencing the entire viticultural chain. The present study is a first approach to adapt STICS, a dynamical crop model, to the Portuguese winegrowing conditions and grapevine varieties. Several site specific parameters for climate, soil and management practices are assessed. Varietal specific parameters are measured from vineyards in the Douro and Lisboa winegrowing regions. Three of the most important varieties in the country (Aragonez, Touriga-Franca and Touriga-Nacional) are targeted for model calibration. Overall, the STICS crop model is successful in simulating yield, phenological stages and water stress, but not alcohol content. The relatively high model skill will allow improving the performance of vineyard operations and winemaking practices, namely organ