Collection: Doña Blanca

Doña Blanca is a white grape variety with roots in northwestern Iberia, a region that spans both Spain and Portugal. It is precisely across that border that you encounter the variety under different names. In Portugal it is known as Síria, and in the Spanish appellation Valdeorras it is called Valenciana. That tells you something about a grape that for many years lived a quiet life as a local speciality, but which today is being taken more seriously as a promising native white variety for northwestern Spain.

The grape is grown above all in Valdeorras and in Bierzo, and it is moreover permitted in appellations such as Monterrei and Ribeira Sacra. At Copenhagen Wine our Doña Blanca comes from Spain, and specifically from Ribeira Sacra, a region known for its steep slate and granite terraces along the rivers. This is where you will find the bottles we carry of this variety.

Doña Blanca appears both as a single variety and in blends, where it is often joined by Godello or Albariño in white wine production. It is worth knowing that the grape's aromatic expression has historically required a helping hand. Through clonal selection, careful vineyard work and improvements in the cellar, producers have worked to lift both aroma and quality, and that has made the variety considerably more interesting than before.

One example of this experimental approach can be found at Quinta de Muradella in Monterrei, where they have worked with flor formation on Doña Blanca. That points to a variety that is not only about immediate freshness, but also holds the potential for more complex and personal expressions in the right hands.

If you feel like exploring northwestern Spain's white wines beyond the better-known names, Doña Blanca is a fine place to begin. It gives you an insight into a region where local grapes and skilled producers are rediscovering one another, and where provenance and craft weigh more heavily than the big headlines.