Dona Niza’s white wine – Portugal Resident

This lively branco, with light notes of passion fruit, lemon peel, ripe pineapple, and a kiss of Algerian flor de sal, is Dona Niza Crato Branco.

A gift to all of us wine drinkers searching for that Portuguese white you can sip before dinner without food or out on a terrace while taking in the view of the sea, yet still offers a perfect companion to your grilled fish or piri-piri chicken.

This wine comes from a family project in the Algarve, created by João Raposo, and is rooted in a deep connection to family, the land, and the local wine tradition. 

This boutique adega produces just 8,000 bottles each year, with a singular focus on two traditional Portuguese white grape varieties: Crato Branco (Síria, Roupeiro, Uva Gorda), a variety with a long history specifically here in the Algarve, and Arinto, a renowned Portuguese variety planted throughout the country. In my opinion, this focus and specificity have indeed led to laser-like precision and perfection in all of their white wines.

Dona Niza is located at the top of Monte do Lobo in Carvoeiro. These two extraordinary grapes undeniably express the terroir of the place: the clay-limestone soil and the tangible proximity to the sea at just 1000 meters away. The vista over the Atlantic from the vineyard, across the Barrocal to the protective, picturesque Serra de Monchique is spectacular.

Together, the natural interplay of all these elements creates a unique tapestry essential to making award-winning wine with an authentic Algarve character. While interviewing João Raposo, I asked why only white grapes. João said: “The Algarve wants white wines! Here in Lagoa, these grapes are always the best, top!” Indeed!

The project’s name is inspired by his mother, Dionísia (a feminine form of Dionysios, derived from the Greek god of wine). Growing up, João said that friends, family, and locals called her ‘Dona Niza’ out of endearment. After realizing how much he loved this new passion project and the care and devotion it required, he was reminded of his love for his mother, and the name of the wine was born.

Born and raised in Lagoa, João Raposo remembers his grandparents’ vines and the weekends he spent running through the rows. When João was old enough, he decided to work the harvest season at the Adega de Lagoa – one of Portugal’s oldest and most historic cooperatives in the Algarve at the time.

Working the harvest, in the lab, taking measurements of the must, fascinated to see which grape had higher alcohol content, he began to understand the entire winemaking process from the first pick during harvest to seeing the wine in a bottle. The dream of someday making his own wine was planted.

Monte do Lobo, in João’s words, “is the perfect location, a good place to live and grow wine.” On the same land where Crato Branco was planted by his grandfather in his childhood, João decided to replant this vibrant variety. On the land he inherited from his grandmother right next door, originally planted as a field blend, Arinto is now planted.

The whole estate is situated right at the gates of Praia do Carvoeiro, a unique microclimate that revels from May to October, in a cooling marine layer (camada marinha). This layer caresses and cools the vineyards three times a year, slowly creeping up from the sea to settle on the grapes in the early morning, preserving freshness, cooling the grapes from the hot Algarvian sun, extending the ripening process and then burning off to let the grapes continue to bask in the sunshine.

The vineyards’ care is made with great attention to sustainability and a passionate aversion to herbicides. They are never used in the vines. 

Each year, the harvest, or vindima (in Portuguese), occurs from mid to late August and is handpicked to capture the grapes at the razor’s edge of phenolic ripeness and at their freshest. 

To oversee the winemaking process, João has brought in a local winemaker, João Marques, an oenologist based here in Portugal’s Algarve region, specifically associated with Herdade dos Seromenhos, in Luz.

The winemaking is simple, with the focus remaining on what the vineyard offers each year. The crunchy and juicy Crato is fermented, then rests in Inox, while the Arinto rests on its lees for three months with some bâtonnage used during élevage in Inox. 

The beautifully crafted design and marketing behind Dona Niza is João himself. With a desire to oversee every stage of the process, from vineyard planting and harvest to distribution, João has a particular professional talent with 40 years of owning his own business in Lagoa, specializing in design, advertising, and sign-making.

Currently, you can find Dona Niza wines in many restaurants throughout the Algarve, specifically Mosto and Vila Joya Sea, where I currently work! Because the wines are limited, João sells them only to two supermarkets: Intermarché and Apolónia. With just eight years of existence, Dona Niza is the only vineyard in Carvoeiro and the smallest producer in the Algarve, yet it has already won several medals in wine competitions. A wine to drink now and to lay down for years to come. I, for one, look forward to seeing how these vines and wines evolve in the future.

I first tried Dona Niza Crato Branco when I first moved here six years ago. I bought a bottle at Intermarché in Lagos. It was on fire! Then I had the pleasure of meeting João at a wine fair in Albufeira a few years later, and then again just this last year.

Last year, I had the courage to ask a few questions and express my love for his Crato Branco, and João said he preferred the Arinto. This surprised me. I’m not sure why. But then he said: “People are trying them, and I think it’s funny because some people like the Crato, and others like the Arinto a lot. They like one or the other. They don’t say they’re both ‘more or less’.” 

I put it to you to try both and decide for yourself whether you are a Crato Branco fan or an Arinto fan, and let me know!

Read more from Candace Olsen’s about wine: Dry farming. Going back to basics or An ode to Sémillon!