The Winter was cold and dry, and although Spring brought warmer temperatures well above the long-term averages, rain was still too low. The vine cycle started about a week earlier than normal. In terms of quantity, it was a regular year, with about 3,5 tons per hectare. Summer arrived and stayed slightly cooler than it normally does, which was a great sign. The vines didn’t have plenty of water reserves, but at least July and August were not being too severe, and even more important, the overnight temperature in August was as low as 12ºC.

In September, the grapes were looking great, no diseases, no dehydration or raisins. All was in line for a good harvest, but far from fantastic. And when the rain arrived on Tuesday, September 15th and Wednesday, September 16th we immediately got very concerned. The two previous years, 2013 and 2014, were severely damaged by rain during the harvest. But surprisingly 2015 was different. The steady rain came in two days and was followed by strong winds that quickly helped to dry the grapes and leaves.

When the rain started pickers were sent home for a few days. And what happened was that the quality of the grapes improved tremendously day after day. We were very happy on Monday, September 21st when we resumed harvest and started crushing grapes again. It was amazing to see that this generous amount of rain in the middle of the harvest was changing the quality of the wines so much.

Hope you taste this story soon, in our wines. And if you want to read more about the harvest in the Douro check Graham’s blog article.

Cheers,

Claudia, Teresa and Oscar

Now that the harvest of the white grapes is over, I thought you might want to know a bit more about the most popular white grapes of the Douro. How do they look and taste like. I kindly asked the tireless and enthusiastic Tanya Garnham to photograph representative bunches to show you the on-going process. On the other hand, I researched online an accurate description about four of the most planted grapes in the Douro. On the website of the Portuguese Wine Club Co Uk there is a great description about dozens of Portuguese classic grape varieties either red and white. Here are the main four we use in our blends:

Arinto

This is a versatile grape, grown in most of Portugal’s wine regions. In the Vinho Verde area, it goes by the name of Pedernã. It makes vibrant wines with lively, refreshing acidity, often with a mineral quality, along with gentle flavours reminiscent of apple, lime and lemon. Arinto-based wines can keep well but are also delicious young. Because it keeps its acidity even in hot climates, Arinto is often added to other lower-acid white grapes to improve blends – especially in the hot Alentejo and Ribatejo. Its good acidity also makes it a great ingredient for sparkling wines.

Gouveio

This Douro grape is now planted right across Portugal and has recently become particularly popular in the Alentejo. It produces fresh, lively wines with good acidity, plenty of body, and fresh, citrus aromas, along with notes of peach and aniseed resulting in a lovely balance. It ages well in bottle. For years it was known as Verdelho in the Douro, which led to confusion, as Gouveio has nothing to do with the Verdelho of Madeira.

Malvasia Fina

This is a grape of inland northern Portugal, especially the Douro, Dão and Beira Interior. Malvasia Fina wines are subtle, not particularly intense, reasonably fresh and moderately complex. You may detect a hint of molasses, a suggestion of beeswax and nutmeg, and the wine may appear slightly smoky even if it has not been matured in wood. Generally used for blending, it also contributes to base blends for sparkling wines in cooler areas and/or when harvested early, for instance in Távora-Varosa and Lamego.

Viosinho

This grape survives for the most part scattered here and there in the old mixed white vineyards of the Douro. Traditionally, Viosinho has been an unpopular variety with growers because of its very low yields. It’s only recently that winemakers have realised what a treasure it is, as a component both in Port and in unfortified Douro white blends. It makes full-bodied but fresh, fragrant, well-balanced wines, performing best in hot, sunny climates.

Other grapes could be mentioned here, such as Códega or Rabigato. Maybe for another post!

Now that we know what each grape brings to the blend, I’ll run to the winery to see if our blends smell and taste like what we read above!

Cheers,

Oscar

Before we turned on the engine of the pick up truck that drove us to the fields, we knew that this year at the 10th of August we would find grapes with higher content of sugar than any of the previous years. Despite the cold and wet Winter, Spring arrived earlier and brought plenty of warm weather. And that means that vines started the new production cycle a few days before its normal timing. March’s bud break happened before and since then green shooting and new grapes growth has been consistent, as there was no cold temperatures to slow down the cycle.

The results for the pollen counting that took place during flowering showed higher than average production. We were expecting about 20% more of grapes to be harvested from our vineyards. However, the very dry Spring and Summer dropped this forecast because, due to the lack of water in the soil, berries are not as big as in other years. They are actually, quite small. So, this harvest we may have more berries but they are certainly smaller resulting in what we expect to be a similar vintage to the average in terms of quantity.

In terms of quality, things are showing very good. There are no deceases, berries are small which will bring concentration and tannins. In terms of colour, the pigmentation is still low, so we will need to wait several days to see how easily the skin will release the colour to the wine, and this is a critical point to achieve the best quality – Vintage Year – in 2015.

In terms of acidity, the cold nights have been helping to keep the figures at acceptable levels, freshness of the grapes has not been affected by the hot weather.

We don’t know yet when start the harvest. But by looking at the sugar level and day we started in the previous year, we can say that it shall be in early September:

• 2007 10.49%, September 19th
• 2009 11.86%, September 14th
• 2010 10.05%, September 18th
• 2011 12.07%, September 12th
• 2012 9.13%, September 28th
• 2013 10.9%, September 23rd
• 2014 11.2%, September 8th
• 2015 12.38%, ?

This being said, when we returned home after the visit to Quinta Vale d’Agodinho there were shy smiles on our faces. The picture is quite fine, but we still have in mind that the odds of the two previous harvests were changed during the harvest by several days of intense rain. And this year it can happen the same. But if it doesn’t, then start finding some room in your cellar, you will want to stock up on this vintage’s Port!

Oscar

When someone asks a winemaker (one that knows where the grapes are coming from) why his wines taste a particular way, they will generally say that the wine reflects the provenience of the grapes. We all say that terroir is key to make the wines taste the way they do. The influence of the soil, age of the vines, vine training, productivity, protection from winds, vine density, sun exposure, rainfall level, and so on, all influence the quality of the grapes in various ways. But for those that know the Douro, location can sometimes be confusing. The Douro valley, extends for over 100km, 250.000 hectares, elevating from 50 to 1000 meters. As Paul Symington recently mentioned in a conference, the Douro vineyards alone is equivalent to approx. 40% of the total area of vines planted in Germany. That’s a lot of vines! Not only that, but the microclimates are numerous! The location of the vineyard, its elevation, rainfall level, average temperature and sun orientation make it close to impossible to pinpoint exactly what factor influences a wine’s flavor, and in the end, quality. Some weeks ago, on an ADVID seminar, I came across several maps of the Douro elaborated by Gregory Jones from South Oregon University. I put two very interesting maps from Jones in this article so we can all see how temperatures and rain influence the different locations of the Douro. There are a couple of things we can conclude:

– as the elevation rises, temperatures drop and average rainfall level goes up

– temperatures rise and rain drops as we move away from the coast, this is, as we move West to East;

Now the question is, how can you feel these changes in temperature and rainfall in the wine? I might suggest the following:

– the closer to the basin of the Douro, and farther East the vineyard is, the more concentration and well ripened flavors you’ll find in the wine – not to mention, more tannins and longer aging potential.

– the higher elevation, you’ll find greater freshness, elegance and lighter wines, which are ready to drink young.

But maybe I’m crazy? Just maybe you’ve found a wine that doesn’t follow this pattern at all? If so, share it with us! Let us know if you disagree with something I wrote or disagree entirely. We all learn from discussions, so never be shy to ask the winemaker where the grapes are coming from. It’s the best way to understand the wines you drink.

Oscar

It is getting more and more popular in organic farmed vineyards to have cover cropping systems. These crops may help vines to better develop in a sustainable way. But that would be a topic for another post.

Today I want to talk about those random weeds that show up in our vineyards. We hate to have them in our vineyards. Well, let me explain, we love to have weeds in the vineyards, as long as they are in the right location. We don’t like to see them underneath the vines as they are hard to cut, compete in terms of water and nutrients with the vines and reduce ventilation. However, we love when they are in between two lines of vines: they create a habitat for beneficial insect as well as for wild life.

The most interesting part about the article is to understand what the weeds we have growing in the vineyards tell us about the soil. So here are some examples of weeds we have and what they say about our soil:

By knowing the weeds we have in our vineyards we can correct the necessities that our vines have. And by doing that, we can also reduce the weed population itself, and thus reducing the necessity of cutting the weeds or using herbicides.

If you know what the presence of other weeds mean to a vineyards, please share it here.

Oscar

• Rainy season with precipitation spread during the months of Winter and Spring; we had regular rainfall in pretty much all months so far which means better penetration and irrigation of the soil;
• Cold Winter with sporadic snow;
• Smaller crop forecasted – large quantities of grapes never help quality – low temperatures and humidity during flowering this year has reduced the number of fertilised berries and thus the overall quantity of grapes;

In terms of quantity we expect to have pretty much the same quantity as in 2013, and in general, I guess there will be no major fluctuations in terms of the whole Douro valley. In terms of Port, the total amount to be produced was not yet disclosed by the IVDP – Port and Douro Wines Institute, but our guess is that it will be in line with last year’s 100.000 pipes of must (which is slightly more that 62 million liters of Port) set to 105.000 pipes of must.

However, there are always setbacks for those working on a business that depends so much on nature. The main problem would be related with temperature: a long period of well below or well above the average temperatures could spoil the crop. In the case of the former it would mean full ripeness of the grapes wouldn’t be achieved or if the latter happens could mean sun burned grapes or severe water stress of the vine. If temperatures follow a normal pattern and if we have some rain showers in August then we will have hopefully have a very good reason to smile.

Cheers,

Oscar

I have to confess that I have been hiding precious information from you. Not intentionally, but just today realized I have never talked about a special project that kept us busy for a couple of years. There it goes without more delay, we are converting a parcel of vineyards to organic farming! That parcel is around 5 hectares of vines located in Quinta da Trovisca. After a period of three years in conversion, this is, this is after 2015 we will be harvesting organic grapes which we plan to use to produce both Port and Douro wines.

The organic passion in the family goes back to 2006, when my father, Oscar Quevedo – from whom I get the name from, started producing organic olive oil in Valongo dos Azeites, a village 10km south of our winery. It took 7 years but eventually we dare to convert vines to organic farming. There are plenty of additional work on organic farming when compared to regular managed vineyards. One of those extra works is related to floor management. On the video above we can see weeds being removed by hand/hoe over the line where vines are planted. In between the lines we will let weeds grow a bit more and then we will use a tractor to cut them.

Hope to see you soon,

Oscar

We are now getting to the most critical phase in our works at Quinta da Alegria. After opening the terraces and removing the stones, it finally came the moment to plant the grafted vines in the soil. In the area we are working now, on the top of the property, we are planting Tinta Amarela vines. I guess the first question is why did we decide to plant Tinta Amarela on the top? The reason for that is because this variety is very sensitive to humidity and hot temperatures. After flowering it can quickly be affected by mildew and powder mildew if there is a little bit of humidity and temperatures are in the 22º – 25º C range. The best location for Tinta Amarela is in areas with lower humidity, windy and where temperatures are not too high during the Summer.

To plant the vines the first step is to draw a line along the terrace, with 50cm to the external edge. Then, we use an iron stick to open a 80cm-deep hole. After this we place the young vine in the hole and use water to immediately irrigate and close the hole. The distance between vines is of 80cm.

My sister Cláudia made a video with all these steps. Who knows if one day it won’t help you to become a vine grower in the Douro. If you have any questions, please let us know.

Oscar

In this photo we can see the trench created to incorporate the stones, within the red line. The new terraces just finished are located to the left of the blue line, and the land where we still have to delineate the terraces are to the right of the yellow line.

With temperatures warming up and with the risk of frost dropping, we are now planting the young vines. So soon we will have a video for you to see the vines planting at Quinta da Alegria.

Do you have any comments?

Oscar

The other side of the coin is that we couldn’t work as many days as necessary in the vineyards because of the rain. So the works are running a little bit late, as pruning is just now about to finish. After that we still have to crush the old vine shooting, left from pruning, which is what Paulo is doing on the green tractor.

Soon a new grape cycle will start with the first shooting coming out. No rush, nature leads the pace, but I have to confess that the prospect of a great harvest is exciting us.

Let us know your questions and comments.

Oscar