White Wines in Portugal and in the World

As is well known, in the last years the consumption and production of white wines has increased significantly globally. This is illustrated by the International Organisation of Grape and Wine’s report drawn up at the end of 2023, which compiles data collected between 2000 and 2021. On the other hand, red wines have declined, most evident in the major European producers – France and Italy – although balanced out by countries such as Argentina, South Africa, Australia and Chile.

This increase in the production and consumption of white wines is undoubtedly linked to changes in consumer taste, first and foremost the search for a greater freshness that white wine usually offers compared to red wine. However, other factors must also be taken into account, such as the greater technical knowledge applied in the vineyard and winery by winegrowers and winemakers, as well as the existence of more and better technology, especially in refrigeration, which has made it possible to produce high-quality white wines.

In a deliberate avoidance of too technical a discourse, it is a known fact that the production of whiter wines is more demanding compared to red wines. Among other things, whites are more sensitive to oxidation, mainly because white grapes, compared to red grapes, have a lower level of anthocyanins, pigments that, as well as providing colour, help preserve the wine. It is also a fact that, in the past, some white wines oxidised quickly, leading producers and consumers to prefer ‘new’ wines that had to be drunk in a short space of time. Nowadays, however, and largely due to the spread of the aforementioned new technological means, it is possible to produce long-lasting whites that evolve marvellously within the bottle. This significant rise in the quality of white wines has also helped to disassociate white wine from the summer period. Although summer is still the time of year when white wines are most consumed, it is becoming more and more common to hear about ‘winter whites’, i.e. wines with greater complexity and structure, sometimes with fermentation and/or ageing in barrels, which harmonise better with the ‘heavier’ and more intense foods of the colder seasons.

Portugal is no exception in this growth in the production and consumption of white wines and has done so, fortunately, based on national grape varieties and respecting regional traditions. In this respect, it’s inevitable to mention the Vinho Verde Region (RVV), which since the 1990s has given great importance to white wines, to values that today must be close to 80 per cent of total production. It wasn’t so long ago that the region’s ‘noble’ wine was red, produced from grape varieties such as Vinhão, Alvarelhão, Amaral and Rabo d’Ovelha, among others.  Today, that prominent role is occupied by white counterparts such as Azal, Avesso, Loureiro and Alvarinho, and with great success, as the migration of indigenous grape varieties from Vinho Verde to other demarcated regions seems to prove.

At Quinta Raza, this transition began at the beginning of the 1990s, when Diogo Teixeira Coelho carried out an extensive reorganisation of the vineyard, changing and giving priority to white varieties over reds, in preparation for the years to come. It was in white wines that RVV in general and, Quinta da Raza in particular, discovered or found all its potential and room for growth. The climate, the grape varieties, the type of soils, and the cultural practices, in other words, the terroir, is ideal for producing exceptional white wines, with different profiles, from those endowed with a contagious natural freshness to the more complex and structured ones where, although they don’t lack freshness either, we find other nuances, from minerality, ageing potential or gastronomic vocation.

At Quinta da Raza you will find white wines for all tastes and different profiles. Our ranges – Raza, Raza Nat, Dom Diogo, Quinta da Raza, Special Editions – seek, on the one hand, to highlight the full potential and scope of the RVV (and, in particular, of the Basto sub-region) and, on the other to satisfy the palates of our different consumers.

In our white wine portfolio, you’ll find a range of profiles from the most commonly associated with Vinho Verde – fresh, highly fruity and slightly fizzy – represented by the Dom Diogo Arinto and Dom Diogo Azal single varietals and the Raza White and Quinta da Raza Alvarinho-Trajadura blends, to the drier, more mineral wines, and with ageing potential, such as Quinta da Raza Avesso, Quinta da Raza Alvarinho and Quinta da Raza Vineyards Collection Vinha de Lamelas, and even those that combine these latter characteristics with the benefits of barrel ageing, as shown by Quinta da Raza Avesso-Alvarinho and Quinta da Raza Family Collection nº2. Not forgetting, of course, our Nat range, where Raza Pet Nat White  shines, with its pleasant natural gas, and Raza Curtimenta, with great structure and delicious notes of spices and grapefruit. A more than honourable mention goes to our highly gastronomic sparkling wine, Quinta da Raza Espumante Bruto Natural 2019.

With all this, we don’t want to marginalise rosé wines or red wines either. Anyone who has never enjoyed the wonderful colours and vibrant aromas of Raza Rosé, Raza Pet Nat Rosé and Dom Diogo Padeiro, or who has never paired a delicacy from Minho’s regional cuisine with a Dom Diogo Vinhão, is missing out on a truly unique experience. After all, as someone once said ‘there’s a vinho verde for every moment’; team up with one or more good mates and celebrate!

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