Tiago Sampaio bottles the Uivo wines with very low sulfites, around 20 ppm total for the whites, with no fining and no filtration, among the lowest in the Douro.
Tip: Because sulfites are so low, store and serve these wines cool; they reward fresh, prompt drinking.
Address: Rua Antonio Candido 7, 5070-029 Alijo, Portugal, Douro Valley
Tiago Sampaio makes the Uivo wines from high-altitude vines near Alijo with no added yeast, no fining and no filtration, a benchmark for natural wine in the Douro.
Tip: The Uivo range, from skin-contact whites to the Renegado field blend, is the place to start with natural Douro wine.
Niepoort's low-intervention Redoma reds are made organically with minimal added sulfur, unfined and unfiltered, low for a serious age-worthy Douro red.
Tip: Redoma shows that low-sulfite handling and cellar-worthy structure are not mutually exclusive; these reds age well.
Niepoort has farmed organically since 1999 and applies biodynamic practices across its Douro estates, though not all parcels are formally certified.
Tip: Niepoort applies biodynamic methods without promoting full Demeter certification; ask at the cellar which parcels are farmed biodynamically.
Vallado's Douro Superior property at Castelo Melhor has 35-plus hectares of organic vineyards, certified organic in February 2015 with effect from 2012.
Tip: The Quinta do Orgal Organic Vineyards bottling is the estate's certified-organic Douro Superior red; look for it specifically.
The Bouchard family's 18th-century estate at the meeting of the Tedo and Douro rivers grows organic grapes and runs hands-on harvest foot-treading experiences.
Tip: Combine an organic-estate visit with a September lagar foot-treading session; the family welcomes guests into the harvest.
Niepoort owns 60-plus hectares in the Douro farmed organically since 1999, many parcels certified organic, with low-intervention winemaking on old-vine field blends.
Tip: Many but not all Niepoort parcels are certified; the Bioma and Redoma bottlings come from the organic core of the estate.
Tiago Sampaio makes the Uivo wines from high-altitude vines near Alijo with no added yeast, no fining and no filtration, a benchmark for natural wine in the Douro.
Tip: The Uivo range, from skin-contact whites to the Renegado field blend, is the place to start with natural Douro wine.
