Touriga Franca
The most planted grape in the Douro. It handles heat well and adds perfume and roundness to Port and Douro blends. Despite the name it is fully Portuguese.
Wines made with Touriga Franca
Producers to try
Taylor’s
Est. 1692One of the oldest Port houses, part of The Fladgate Partnership. Its Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior anchors famous Vintage Ports. Credited with launching the first modern Late Bottled Vintage.
Graham’s
Est. 1820A Symington family house famous for rich Vintage Ports and fine aged Tawnies. Quinta dos Malvedos is its home vineyard.
Niepoort
Est. 1842A family Port house of Dutch origin. Under Dirk Niepoort it became a pioneer of elegant dry Douro wines (Redoma, Batuta, Charme) and later expanded into Bairrada and Dão.
Ramos Pinto
Est. 1880Known for its Quinta da Ervamoira in the Côa valley and for influential 1980s research into the Douro’s best grape varieties. Also famous for its early-20th-century poster art.
Casa Ferreirinha
Est. 1751The house of A.A. Ferreira, linked to Dona Antónia Ferreira, the 19th-century businesswoman who shaped the Douro. Makes Barca Velha, first released in 1952, Portugal’s most legendary dry red. Part of Sogrape.
Quinta do Crasto
A family estate above the river known for old-vine field blends such as Vinha Maria Teresa and Vinha da Ponte, and for a famous infinity pool view of the valley.
Quinta do Vale Meão
The last great estate built by Dona Antónia Ferreira, and for decades the source of Barca Velha. Its own red is one of the Douro’s benchmarks.
Symington Family Estates
The family company behind Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s Port. It also makes Douro wines, including the good-value Altano and, with the Prats family of Bordeaux, Chryseia.
Domingos Alves de Sousa
A family estate in the Baixo Corgo whose Quinta da Gaivosa helped lead the Douro’s move from Port to unfortified wine in the early 1990s. Domingos Alves de Sousa runs it with his son Tiago, who makes the wines.