Niepoort Alonso Quijano

Niepoort Alonso Quijano is a DOC Douro red wine coupage made with Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela and other varieties produced by the prestigious Niepoort winery.

Niepoort was founded in 1842 and is currently run by the fifth generation of the family it is named after. They use traditional Portuguese techniques such as grape treading, fermentation in cement tanks or aging in pipes, 550-litre port-aging barrels, whilst also using new technologies that ensure the grapes are handled with care. The winery has vineyards in different locations, some with strains that are over 100 years old, and an aging room in the town of Vila Nova de Gaia. 

The Niepoort Alonso Quijano vines are aged between 10 and 40 years, they are planted at an altitude of 100 to 400 metres above sea level in soils that are mainly shale, a metamorphic laminar rock formed though subjecting clay to high pressure. They are trained using the Guyot and Cordon de Royat systems and the planting density is 4,000 plants per hectare. The harvest is carried out manually to be able to select the clusters in the field and to ensure the grapes reach the winery in the best possible condition.

Once in the winery, the Niepoort Alonso Quijano ferments in stainless steel tanks and once alcoholic fermentation has finished, it undergoes malolactic fermentation partly in tanks (80%) and partly in barrels (20%). Finally, the wine ages in these containers for about 12 months.

Niepoort Alonso Quijano is an accessible and pleasant wine illustrated by Daniel Torres, the Spanish artist who is responsible for the Rocco Vargas comic.