Niepoort Vinhos

Portugal

May 31

If one had to pick the winemaker that has had the greatest impact on not only Douro wines, but Portuguese wines in general, it would be Dirk Niepoort. Easily one of the world’s top winemakers, Dirk’s insight extends beyond soils, grapes and blends, and into humans, predicting and driving the wines that today’s wine lovers, of all ages and backgrounds, are interested in drinking.

While upholding his family’s history in Port wine, dating back to 1842, this fifth generation Niepoort has led the path for future generations to follow in both dry and Port wines. Independent, low-interventionist winemaking (biodynamic practices since 2012), earlier picking times, and clever marketing has created fresh wines both inside and outside of the bottle. There is little Dirk’s ceaseless mind hasn’t touched: natural, sparkling, and highly experimental wine, the latter category being labelled either as ‘undrinkable’, or ‘incredible’ by well-known wine critics. The soft-spoken Dirk deftly combines tradition with innovation, equally using granite lagares and ancient autochthonous grapes alongside sharp social media, alliances with artists, and collaborations with other winemakers around the world (including our own Suertes del Marqués from Tenerife), through his Niepoort Projectos projects, and the natural, smashable, NAT’Cool! wines.

See which wines are currently available in LCBO stores here.