We’re referring to the new white wines from the region, because the region is most famously known for being a producer of Port wine – a fortified red wine.

The first non-fortified Douro wine was produced back in 1952 and was named Barca, but the heavy leaning on making high quality red table wines didn’t really exist till the last decade or so.

Now there’s a different story being told in the region, with a few producers starting to make white wine from the local grapes. One has to keep in mind that only eight percent of all grape plantings in the region are white, and even so the bulk of them is used to produce whitep ort.

Those who have tried to develop an elegant white point to the soil, the terroir, as the reason behind the creation of a unique taste; the forty degree Centigrade summer temperatures aren’t a bad thing either.

The mineral blend of elements also points towards creating a crisp white blend from the local grapes, which contrasts with the traditionally rich and tannic red wines that are the trademark of the region.

One of the white wine producers is the Dutch-born Dirk Niepoort who owns the noted Tiara. Jorge Moreira is also in the white wine field who says that there is a definite increase in the interest toward producing whites and admits freely that he is trying to produce a sparkling white. He owns the Poeira label and has planted up the white grape alvarinho on a one hectare area of his highest and shadiest slopes.

The British couple who leads Romaneria agree with the two saying that white wines are capable of expressing the terroir more than the red, and that one can taste stones in the wine, and thanks to the very hot climate the wines have never had to be acidified.