Churchill's Estates 'Contexto Branco', Douro, Portugal 2024
Founded in 1981 by Johnny Graham — youngest son of the Graham port family, who launched the first new Port house in half a century and named it for his wife, Caroline Churchill. Churchill's made its name on a drier, fresher, personal style of Port before expanding into still Douro wines around the 1999 purchase of Quinta da Gricha, a Grade-A estate in the Cima Corgo. Since 2002, Johnny has worked alongside winemaker Ricardo Pinto Nunes, marrying the discipline of vintage-Port making with the experimental energy of the modern Douro. Contexto is the house's fresh, accessible expression of the region's white grapes.
- WINEMAKER: John "Johnny" Graham, founder, with Ricardo Pinto Nunes as head winemaker across Churchill's portfolio
- VARIETY: Rabigato and Viosinho
- FARMING: Sustainable, certified by the SATIVA institute
- TERROIR: Cima Corgo, the classic heart of the Douro DOC, on schist soils in a hot continental climate tempered by altitude and river exposure. These native white varieties hold acidity and salinity in the region's heat, giving the freshness that defines the style.
- VINIFICATION & AGING: Stainless steel
- TASTING NOTES: Rounder grapefruit and red apple lifted by a light saline edge. Moderate acidity carries a delicate apple-blossom finish — easy-drinking, balanced, charming.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled white fish, fresh shellfish, salads, and sushi.
Churchill's Estates 'Contexto Branco', Douro, Portugal 2024
Founded in 1981 by Johnny Graham — youngest son of the Graham port family, who launched the first new Port house in half a century and named it for his wife, Caroline Churchill. Churchill's made its name on a drier, fresher, personal style of Port before expanding into still Douro wines around the 1999 purchase of Quinta da Gricha, a Grade-A estate in the Cima Corgo. Since 2002, Johnny has worked alongside winemaker Ricardo Pinto Nunes, marrying the discipline of vintage-Port making with the experimental energy of the modern Douro. Contexto is the house's fresh, accessible expression of the region's white grapes.
- WINEMAKER: John "Johnny" Graham, founder, with Ricardo Pinto Nunes as head winemaker across Churchill's portfolio
- VARIETY: Rabigato and Viosinho
- FARMING: Sustainable, certified by the SATIVA institute
- TERROIR: Cima Corgo, the classic heart of the Douro DOC, on schist soils in a hot continental climate tempered by altitude and river exposure. These native white varieties hold acidity and salinity in the region's heat, giving the freshness that defines the style.
- VINIFICATION & AGING: Stainless steel
- TASTING NOTES: Rounder grapefruit and red apple lifted by a light saline edge. Moderate acidity carries a delicate apple-blossom finish — easy-drinking, balanced, charming.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled white fish, fresh shellfish, salads, and sushi.