The Fresh White Wines from Portugal’s Alentejo

Sheep grazing in the vineyards in Alentejo photo courtesy of Comissão Vitivinícola Regional Alentejana

Alentejo is one of Portugal’s southernmost wine regions, making it one of the hottest, not only in Portugal but among wine regions throughout the world. Situated just north of the Algarve, Portugal’s only region with a Mediterranean coastline, and mostly inland from the Atlantic coast, Alentejo’s wines are typically of the bold red style one might expect in warmer-than-usual conditions. Within the last 10 years, in fact, red wines accounted for nearly 80% of production in Alentejo, the heat creating robust grape and tannin ripeness that resulted in especially powerful wines. (You can read more about the history of the region in Alentejo 101.)

It’s not news that this style of wine —big, red, full-bodied, bold, and higher ABV — is flatlining, to put it optimistically. Consumer preference is changing, with white wine consumption on the rise globally, as drinkers seek lighter, fresher options. It’s also not news that global temperatures are on the rise, a catch-22 for producers as consumers shift their wine choices to those that are usually crafted in cooler climates. Alentejo producers are also rising, though, to meet this challenge head-on, despite their own history with bold reds and despite the climatic conditions that suggests that fresh white wines would be out of their reach.

Popularity of Alentejo Wines and Meeting the Moment

Vineyard with view of the ocean photo courtesy of Comissão Vitivinícola Regional Alentejana

While wines from the Douro Valley and Vinho Verde are perhaps the most well-known Portuguese wines in the U.S., wines from Alentejo are the most popular within Portugal, which is saying something for a country that produces excellent wines from top to bottom. According to data from the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional Alentejana (CVRA) — the regulatory body for wines from Alentejo, one of every three bottles of wine consumed in Portugal is from the region. 

“Alentejo has a long history of winemaking dating back 1000 years to the Roman Empire,” says Filipe Teixeira Pinto, winemaker from Alentejo’s Herdade do Sobroso. “The ability to produce these bold, gastronomic wines in generous volumes with controlled prices and consistent quality allowed us to develop a reputation of value and trust.”

“They’re generous, fruit-forward, and easy to enjoy, which makes them very appealing across Portugal, but at the same time, there’s serious winemaking behind them,” says Joana Alonso, export sales manager for Ravasqueira. “That combination — flavor, structure, and consistency — really connects with both everyday consumers and wine enthusiasts.”

Portuguese wine consumption is also up in the U.S. in the last couple of years, due to a marketing push to create more visibility for the country’s wines, and certainly abetted by the fact that many Portuguese wines have buyer-friendly price tags, delivering tremendous value for their quality. 

Grous Winemaker Luís Duarte

This popularity and reputation, both historical and rising, is a motivating factor for Alentejo’s producers, who can’t afford not to change with the times as wine drinkers look more to the types of wine that aren’t historically associated with the region. “Consumers are looking for lighter wines with less alcohol,” says Luís Duarte, winemaker from Herdade dos Grous. “White wines are more associated with a healthy lifestyle, and as a pairing with healthy food. This is a market trend to which we are ready to respond.”

White Wines in Alentejo

Esporão white wine

To understand what producers in Alentejo are up against, as an already hot climate Alentejo is somewhat of the canary in a coal mine when it comes to climate change. “Alentejo has hot, dry summers and relatively mild winters, where rainfall is low and concentrated mostly in the winter months,” says Rui Falcão, communication manager for Esporão, one of Alentejo’s largest and most exported producers. “Climate change has amplified these conditions — we’re seeing more frequent and intense heat waves, longer dry periods, and unpredictable rainfall patterns,” he says. “This poses challenges, particularly in terms of water management and preserving freshness in the wines.”

Regardless, many Alentejo producers have increased their production of white wine, even while the climate is making it more difficult to do so. To maintain popularity and meet consumer demand, “it has been necessary to adapt the viticulture to allow the vines to cope with these changes and still maintain yields and quality,” says Teixeira Pinto. Having personally visited the region last year, every producer we visited emphasized the steady increase in white wine production. Some producers are even doing this in broader strokes. “At Grous, white varieties currently represent 27 percent of our total vineyards. Next year it will represent 37.5 percent,” says Duarte. 

Several of Alentejo’s native white grapes are particularly suited for maintaining freshness in the heat. “Antão Vaz is the region’s flagship white variety, which handles heat well, maintains acidity, and gives wines with good structure and ageing potential,” says Falcão. Roupeiro and Gouveio are other aromatic varieties the producers here mentioned, but also expect to see more from native Arinto, as well as some transplants from other countries and regions. “Arinto is the grape that, year after year, has shown better performance for its freshness and complexity,” says Duarte. “Other varieties, such as Alvarinho and Viosinho, despite not being autochthonous, have also proven to work very well in the region.” “Viognier has also shown promise on our estate,” says Alonso. “Its floral, stone fruit profile complements the local varieties and adapts surprisingly well to the heat.”

Strategies for Preserving Acidity in Alentejo’s Heat

Working in the vineyards at Grous

Obviously, for Alentejo’s producers, it’s not as simple as merely planting more white vines, even of those varieties that have proven heat resistant. As the heat index increases, there is a concerted effort across the board to employ every weapon in the arsenal in order to help those grapes preserve acidity, such as strategic harvesting, both in terms of the calendar and time of day, canopy management, and various irrigation techniques. As red vines are removed to make way for white varieties, new plantings are also an opportunity for vintners to rethink vineyard orientations. “In the new plantations we follow the orientation of the vineyards — East/West — in order to protect the plant and the fruits from the hottest time of day,” says Duarte.

Maintaining freshness in hot climate white wines not only plays out in the vineyards but the wineries also.  “We opt for gentle pressing and temperature-controlled fermentations to protect the wines' delicate aromas and structure,” says Falcão. “Some batches are also vinified and aged in concrete or larger neutral vessels, helping to maintain freshness while adding texture.” Blends are also common to take advantage of the acidity of certain varieties while capitalizing on the native grapes with the highest vineyard plantings and yields. “We blend in high-acid varieties like Arinto or Alvarinho,” says Alonso. “Some whites also benefit from lees stirring, which adds mouthfeel and complexity.

Individual winery efforts are also aided by a clearly articulated, locally administered sustainability initiative — Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP) — which is one of the most rigorous and comprehensive in Europe. One of the major goals of WASP, among many, is help increase soil health in the region, giving the area’s vines the best possible chance to protect themselves in the years to come.