Doña Blanca (Spanish "White Lady", also known as Dona Branca in Portuguese) is a white

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

that is grown primarily in the northwest

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

region of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and throughout

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

from the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

northward. The variety is a permitted grape in the Spanish '' Denominación de Origens'' (DOs) of

Valdeorras Valdeorras is a comarca in the Galician Province of Ourense Ourense (in Spanish, ''Orense'') is a Spanish province, in the southeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra to the west, ...

and

Monterrei Monterrei ( es, Monterrey, label= Castilian) is a municipality located in the Province of Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain. Monterrey is well known for its Castle, built in the 10th century. The Mexican city of Monterrey was nam ...

in Galicia and

Bierzo El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a '' comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital. The territory of El Bierzo includes ...

in nearby Castile and León. In Spain, the variety is known as Doña Blanca (except in Valdeorras, where it is primarily known as Valenciana), while in Portugal it goes mainly by the name Doña Branca. The grapes have thick skins, which do well in the wet

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

, but it can also impart some astringency and slight bitterness even with the briefest of

skin contact Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape—tannins, coloring agents (anthocyanins) and flavor compounds—are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. To macerate is to soften by soaking ...

during production due to the high proportion of polyphenols in the skin.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 64 Oxford University Press 1996

Synonyms

Various synonyms have been used to describe Doña Blanca and its wines including Alvaro de Soire, Alvaro de Sousa, Boal, Boal Cachudo, Colhao de Gallo, Dame Blanche, Doña Branca, Graciolo, Graciosa, Graziolo, Malvasia Branca, Malvasia Grosso, Moza Fresca, Santo Estevao, Valenciana, Voal Cachudo and Voal Esparrapado.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doña Blanca Spanish wine Grape varieties of Spain White wine grape varieties