NV Churchill's - White Port

Churchill's was founded in 1981 by John "Johnny" Graham, who named the company after his wife, Caroline Churchill, since he could no longer trade under the Graham name after his family sold their historic Port house to the Symington family a decade earlier. It was the first new Port company to be established in fifty years, and Graham built it into a small, independently minded house known for distinctive, small-batch wines aimed largely at the British market. In 1999, after losing access to a longtime grape source, Churchill's purchased its own vineyards, Quinta da Gricha and Quinto do Rio, in the Cima Corgo and Torto valley, giving the house full control over its fruit for the first time.

This dry white Port is made from traditional Douro white varieties, primarily Malvasia Fina, Códega, Rabigato, and Viosinho. The grapes are foot trodden in granite lagares, then fermented at controlled temperatures, with grape spirit added once the desired balance of sugar and alcohol is reached. The wine then rests in oak vats for roughly a decade, taking on its deep golden color and mellow, nutty character.

The wine shows a golden hue with an orange edge, and its nose combines toasted nuts, caramel, and dried fruit with a hint of sage. On the palate it is fresh and complex, dry rather than sweet, with a long, peppery finish. Serve it chilled as an aperitif, in a Porto Tonico, or alongside a firm sheep's milk cheese.