Two wines, a red and a white, were among the highlights of the Open Door (Porta Aberta) event which was held at the Quinta dos Vales wine estate in Estômbar, Lagoa last Sunday, April 7.
Despite the rainy weather, the event attracted over 1,500 people.
“Those who like this concept and want to get to know our novelties always end up coming,” said winemaker Marta Rosa, adding that visitors during the morning were mostly foreigners although many Portuguese visited the estate in the afternoon.
One of the wines in focus was the Grace Verdelho white 2018 which, “despite not being new, has resulted in an excellent wine,” Michael Stock, one of the people in charge of the estate, told Barlaventonewspaper.
“It aged for four months in a Hungarian oak barrel. It is a very fresh wine, fruity and with a pleasant finish. Its short ageing process, which was carried out intentionally in a Hungarian barrel instead of a French one, did not affect the wine too much,” said Marta Rosa, one of the estate’s winemakers.
The other wine Quinta dos Vales is especially proud of is the Grace Vineyard 2013 red.
“It is a wine that aged for 12 months in new and used French barrels and which, despite only having a 13% alcohol level, is very complex, with a lot of fruit, spices and a pleasant, soft finish,” the winemaker said.
Michael Stock also said that the winery’s Syrah grape promises to be a success, although it has yet to be tasted by the public.
“We will have red, rosé and white monovarietals. What’s interesting is that from a red grape we can create a red, rosé or even white wine. We will be able to showcase the diversity that the grape provides by transforming it in different ways.”
Stock also revealed that the new Dialog Syrah Blanc de Noir 2018 and the Syrah Rosé 2018 will be showcased this year.
Quinta dos Vales is also delighted about last year’s harvest, which it says is of “much higher quality” when compared to 2017, and is already making preparations for this year’s harvest.
Meantime, the estate has hailed the success of a project launched last year which allows aspiring winemakers to create their own wine.
German hotel manager Peter Wein was the first client. “He has three vineyard plots with white grapes and has already produced his first three wines,” Stock explained.
The second client is a Swiss woman who has “rented one plot and bought another two this year. She is 100% involved in the production of the wine and during the harvest joins the team at 6am,” Stock said.
Quinta dos Vales has also begun the expansion of its accommodation facilities in the northern section of the estate which is expected to help bolster this project even more.
