Quinta de Santiago
Alvarinho with a Soul: Joana Santiago crafts expressive, mineral-driven wines in Monção e Melgaço, Portugal’s premier zone for Alvarinho.
Family Legacy, Fresh Vision: Reviving her grandfather’s vineyard, Joana brings a bold, modern approach to a traditional region.
Collaborating with a Master: Since 2022, Joana has worked with acclaimed winemaker Nuno Mira do Ó to fine-tune her terroir-focused philosophy.
Pushing Boundaries with SOU: Her joint project with Nuno explores Alvarinho’s age-worthy, textural potential through low-intervention winemaking.
Quinta de Santiago – A Modern Voice for Alvarinho in Monção e Melgaço
At the northern edge of Portugal, where granite soils meet cool Atlantic winds and the Spanish border is just a stone’s throw away, Joana Santiago is leading a small revolution. Her family estate, Quinta de Santiago, sits in Monção e Melgaço, the historic heartland of Alvarinho, and is helping redefine what this noble white grape can be when treated with care, patience, and vision.
The story began in 2009, when Joana’s family revived the quinta that her grandfather had tended for decades. Originally growers selling grapes to others, the family made a bold shift toward estate bottling, and Joana, leaving behind a career in law, took the reins. From the start, she insisted on doing things differently: working with lower yields, hand-harvesting, and minimalist winemaking to express the vineyard’s natural character.
The estate is small, with just 7 hectares of vines, but the conditions are exceptional, granitic soils, strong diurnal shifts, and steady maritime breezes that preserve acidity and freshness. Farming is sustainable, and Joana is deeply committed to biodiversity and soil health, often experimenting with cover crops and low-impact practices that respect the land her grandfather once walked.
Since 2022, Joana has been working closely with Nuno Mira do Ó, one of Portugal’s most respected wine consultants and a leading figure in terroir-driven winemaking. With his background across regions like Dão, Bairrada, and Alentejo, Nuno brings a refined sense of precision and restraint that aligns seamlessly with Joana’s vision. Their collaboration builds on a shared philosophy: that wines should express origin, not winemaking tricks.
Joana’s wines are about tension, minerality, and elegance, a far cry from the tropical, mass-produced versions of Alvarinho that once dominated the market. Her flagship Alvarinho is a pure, bright expression of the region, while SOU, the joint project with Nuno Mira do Ó, explores the more structured, contemplative side of the grape. Made with native yeasts, gentle maceration, and extended aging on lees, SOU shows just how deep and age-worthy Alvarinho can be when given the chance.
What makes Joana Santiago stand out isn’t just her skill, but her spirit: fearless, curious, and always looking for the next layer of truth in her wines. Quinta de Santiago is not just preserving the legacy of Alvarinho, it’s pushing it forward with energy and purpose, showing the world that this corner of Portugal has much more to say.