Bucking Brancos from the Douro

Of all the things I came across in the Douro Valley in Portugal recently – luxury yachts, gigantic ants, pink port, infinity pools – an abundance of delicious white wines was by far the least expected, yet there are evidently many wineries in this traditionally red-blooded region now producing them.

Virtually everything you hear about this bakehouse of a region relates to black grapes. Port remains paramount, but tinto table wines get close attention, with producers such as Niepoort, Quinta do Crasto and Chryseia crafting everything from heavyweight cuvées selling for upwards of £50 to good-value offerings such as...