Graciano Sauvignon Blanc Mencia Portugal Douro

The green skinned grapes of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal had their origins in Southern France, where they are still widely grown and used for many of the excellent young and aged white wines the region is famous for. Today, however, they are grown in almost every wine producing country in the world, and are widely revered for their fresh and grassy flavors, full of tropical notes and refreshing, zesty character. Sauvignon Blanc grapes thrive best in moderate climates, and ripen relatively early in the year. This has made them a favorite for many wineries in the New World, where they can still produce healthy and high yields in the earlier part of the summer before the temperatures become too hot. Too much heat has a massively adverse effect on Sauvignon Blanc, as the grapes become dull in their flavor, and the wine produced from them loses all its unique character and high points. As such, Sauvignon Blanc farmers have had a lot of trouble from global warming and climate change, as they are being forced to harvest their crops increasingly earlier in the year when it is cool enough to do so.

Benefiting from both the hot, dry Iberian climate as well as brisk Atlantic winds, Portugal is a perfectly situated country for vineyard cultivation and wine production. With a wine making history which stretches back thousands of years, it comes as little surprise that wine plays an important role in the cultural identity and practices of the country. The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks and the Romans all had a hand in forming Portugal as an important center for wine production, and over the millennia, this resulted in each region of this beautiful part of Europe producing its own distinctive wines easily identifiable and separate from neighboring Spain's. Today, the varied terroir and climate across Portugal allows a great range of wines to be made each year, from the fresh and dry Vinho Verde wines to the famous and widely drunk fortified Port wines, and many in between.


The undisputed jewel in Portugal's crown is the beautiful wine region of Douro, located along the banks of the river from where it gets its name. The region itself is renowned around the world for its range of wonderfully aromatic fortified wines, as well as a wide variety of still red and white wines made from native grape varietals. Wineries in the Douro region utilize a huge amount of different local grapes for their characterful wines, but generally the most popular are made from Tinta Roriz, a rich and flavorful red wine grape related to Spain's flagship Tempranillo. However, there are plenty of different red and white grape varietals used in the region, all benefiting from the excellent hot weather and mineral rich terroir which characterizes the Douro valleys.