Francisco van der Niepoort came to Portugal from Holland in 1842, with the aim of embarking upon the port trade. Francisco wouldn't have dared to dream that his great-great-grandson Dirk would make Niepoort into one of the best-known names and most internationally renowned wine producers. Together with his sister Verena, Dirk represents the fifth generation of Niepoorts; he is a wine-fanatic like very few in the entire world. Not only in that he has developed the port wines of his family to classic status, but he also felt obliged to follow his own passion and produce dry table wines. What began as an experiment one that many folks characterised as 'undrinkable' laid the groundwork whereby he became the pathfinder not only for the Douro, but for Portugal as a nation. Dirk was born in 1964 to a traditional Port family that has been in business since 1842. The first wine Dirk participated in making was the Niepoort Vintage Porto of 1987. At the time, the family owned no vineyards, and had to source all its wine and grapes from other growers. Since then, he took over the management of the winery and set to purchasing top, old-vine, steep vineyards to secure top quality grapes. He also started a project of making dry wines, from these prized, generally north-facing vineyards. The Niepoort house still keeps a complete line-up of Porto wines, ranging from Tawny to Colheita and Garrafeira (a tawny aged in 10L glass bottles, that only Niepoort makes), and from Ruby to Vintage. The dry wines, which now make up about 75% of the winery's production, include whites Redoma and Redoma Reserva, and reds Vertente, Redoma, Batuta, and Charmes. Today, the Niepoort family owns 80 HA of vines in the Douro, all farmed organically. They also have purchased some truly amazing, old vine vineyards in Bairrada, Dao and Vinho Verde. Dirk also now has vineyards in the Mosel in Germany, which he vinifies with his two sons.Wine & Spirits magazine named Dirk as one of 50 'Most Influential Winemakers of 2004,' saying that 'what sets Niepoort apart is his skill at building networks, pathways of communication. Over the last ten years, the Douro may have produced an increasing range of great table wine, but the wines have remained a Portuguese phenomenon. Niepoort has actively worked to raise their visibility, helping Joao Roseira of Quinta do Infantado to establish the annual Dao-Douro tasting, an event that brings together all the best winemakers of the two regions to taste each other's new vintage.'Despite his varied projects...Niepoort never seems particularly stressed. His eye is still on his Niepoort wines, which only seem to get better....Dirk Niepoort has not only transformed his family's company, he's helped transform the region and the way the world thinks about wine.' Furthermore, the same magazine named Niepoort 'Winery of the Year.' Ray Isle wrote, '[Niepoort's] wines, while being some of the best the Douro has to offer, unfortunately haven't gotten as much attention in the US as they deserve in part because quantities are so extraordinarily limited. But make no mistake: this is remarkable juice.'
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