WINEMAKING PROCESS

Our own vineyards and long-term agreements with local producers contribute to form a total of 600 hectares. The viticulture department of each region where we are present is responsible for the vineyards throughout its cycle: searching for unique terroirs, selecting the best grape varieties, pruning and following up sanitary conditions of the vines. As the harvest approaches, winemakers together with the viticulture team set the beginning date based on the random collection of grape samples in the vineyards and lab analysis.

This is our favorite time of the year. In the four different regions where we are present, we choose to pick the grapes early in the morning to preserve the freshness of the fruit. Most of the grapes are harvested manually to small cases of 15 kg passing by a first selection in the vineyard and bunches that are not in perfect conditions are not harvested. Typically, in our group, harvest begins in the Alentejo region in early August and ends in the Douro, by mid-October.

The grapes are transported in the tractor trailers in small 15 kg cases, assuring that they are received in perfect conditions at the winery. Sometimes, we cool down the grapes in a cold chamber to preserve the fruit aromas and start extracting some of the desired constituents.

Our grapes are always carefully chosen, and this is why we make a first selection in the vineyards followed by a second selection of bunches in a sorting table at the winery.

For the red grapes we make long macerations with temperature control to extract all the flavor from the skins.

Our way of making wines is special. We ferment the grapes in marble lagares (marble troughs) to produce most of our red wines. We believe that in the lagares the extraction is much smoother due to the larger contact area of the must with the grape skins Fermentation is then finished in oak barrels or in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, depending on the desired profile of the wine.

Ageing is one of the big secrets in the creation of a wine, and so a wine cellar is always a magical space. In our cellars the wines are aged in small 300 liters barrels of French, American and Hungarian oak, resting prior to bottling. The time required for ageing in the barrels varies according to the character and profile desired for each wine.

It is true that most blends are made during the harvest. However, for the most special wines, it is common to take a longer time to realize their full potential. In these cases, it is only after several team tastings that we decide the final blend, never giving in to the temptation to increase volume. 

It is made when the winemaker decides that the wine is ready to go to the bottle. In our group, the wines from the four regions where we are present are bottled at Vila Santa Winery, in Estremoz. Our bottling line is equipped with the latest technology and guarantees the quality of all our products.

Knowing that the quality of wines benefits from bottle ageing, in 2017 we decided to increase our warehouse. This gives us the time needed for the evolution of wine in the bottle, being only released in the market when ready to be enjoyed.