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.
Address: Rua Antonio Candido 7, 5070-029 Alijo, Portugal, Douro Valley
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.
Several Quinta do Crasto wines, including the Crasto red, the Superior Branco and the old-vine reservas, are made without animal-derived fining and are certified vegan.
Tip: Crasto does not hold organic certification, but its core reds and whites are vegan-friendly; check the back label for the vegan mark.
Niepoort's Redoma Tinto is an organic, unfined and unfiltered Douro red made without animal-derived fining and marked vegan.
Tip: Redoma comes in red, white and rose; the unfined, unfiltered reds are the clearest expression of Niepoort's vegan, low-intervention approach.
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.
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.
