Roy Hersh also writes a monthly newsletter for its subscribers. One of the topics of the newsletter is “A Question for the Trade”, which, as the name says, is a question from Roy or the FTLOP fun to the Port Wine Producers. For the December edition, Roy also invited Quevedo to participate, and we are very proud for this first collaboration in Roy’s newsletter. Well, I would like to suggest you to visit the web, participate in their forum and subscribe Roy’s newsletter. Especially for Port Wine lovers, the newsletter and the forum deserve to be read.

Oscar Quevedo

This year the harvest started on the 8th of September, which was not really early when compared with last years’ dates. But as this year the ripening was quite irregular, indeed an atypical year, we decided to start the harvest with lower sugar content. As we had posted at that time, we started in Douro Superior - Quinta das Olgas with Bé of between 12,6º and 13,4º. Quinta da Alegria finished a couple of days after, on the 13th of September and 3 days later we started to harvest in Quinta Vale D’Agodinho. At that time the Bé of this vineyard was similar to those of the previous vineyards.

After we had finished the harvest in Quinta Vale D’Agodinho we stopped for 10 days. We restarted on October 6th in the vineyards located at around 620 meters above the sea level, close to S. João da Pesqueira. Also these vineyards suffered from the low temperatures of the Summer, which did not allow very high sugar concentration, Grapes arrived at the winery with around Bé of 12,0º and 12,5º. Well, the good part is that we got wines with very fruity flavours, low pH and high total acidity. In spite of all ripening difficulties, the color obtained was quite good.

We had decided to harvest the Quinta da Trovisca after all our vineyard have been harvested. This vineyard is located at around 550 meters above the sea level and as a classification of B by the IVDP. Leaving it to the end of the harvest, this is mid October is a quite risky decision because an abundant rain previous to the harvest could had harmed the grapes. In Quinta da Trovisca we have all the grapes divided by varietal (which is not traditional in Douro) - touriga nacional, touriga franca, tinta roriz and sousão. And it came up to be a good decision to leave it to mid October. We got a very good color and an unique flavour, not yet smelt during all this vintage.

Thus, I can say it was a log harvest but it was not a worn out vintage. The breaks in the reception of grapes left us some time to work on other stuff. And we can say that the quality was good. However we have to wait for the evolution of the wines to figure out if they turn up excellent.

Now is time to reflect, to reorganize and come back to the routine. The Christmas is coming and as the tradition says, in the Christmas Eve we must all have a bottle of Port to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is time to send our bottles to those who want to celebrate with Quevedo!

Come back soon,

Claúdia Quevedo

1. When the grape truck breaks down on a rainy day

2. The cigarette smoke from a winery worker while unloading grapes

3. Finding the scissors stuck in the gears of the destemmer after being hidden in the box of harvested grapes

4. Cell phone falling into the fermentation vat

5. Someone diving into the lagar

6. A little hole in a barrel

7. Ridiculously small glasses to taste wine

8. Cork vendors

9. Capping the bottle without a cork

10. Men and woman wearing strong perfume at a wine tasting

What you would add?

Quinta das Olgas - old vines

Five days later than in 2007, we have started harvesting in Quinta da Alegria and Quinta das Olgas, in the regions of Cima-Corgo and Douro Superior. The yield has been higher compared to last years’ production and our estimate for the other vineyards is a productivity of almost 3.5 tns/hectare.

The Bé is 13.8º in Quinta da Alegria and 13.4º in Quinta das Olgas, lower than last year due not only to the higher yield but also to the rain of the last week. Yesterday we started harvesting the younger vines of Quinta das Olgas and we got a Bé. of 12.9º in the Touriga Nacional varietal. 

The weather is quite uncertain and rain is expected for Thurdsay. If this forecast doesn’t come true, we should finish the harvest of these two vineyards on September 11th.

Cheers,

Óscar Quevedo

Ripening Control

The vintage is close and ripening control is very important to define the date of the harvest and to define the order that different fields should be harvest within the same vineyard.

We were carrying out ripening controls in Quinta da Alegria (up Cima-Corgo) on August 29th and in Quinta das Olgas (Douro Superior) on September 2nd. On the top of Quinta da Alegria the grapes were with 11,5º Bé; the bottom part was with 12,1º Bé. Last year on August 23rd we got 12,5º Bé in the upper side and 12,8º Bé in the bottom part. In Quinta das Olgas we carried out the ripening control on September 2nd. The field Vale do Nedo was with 13,0º Bé, Barroso 13,2º Bé and Olgas with 11,7º Bé. On 2007 the control was done on August 30th and Vale do Nedo was with 12,4º Bé, Barroso with 13,1º Bé and Olgas with 12,0º Bé.

Last year ripening was pretty much advanced in Quinta da Alegria. This year weather is quite irregular and even yesterday rained a bit in S. João da Pesqueira and the forecast for the next two days is also rain. We have to hold on and keep doing ripening control to define a more accurate date for the beginning of the harvest.

In 2007 we started the harvest in Quinta das Olgas and Quinta da Alegria on September 3rd. We collected both at the same time because ripening were quite similar in both and we also had a lot of employees available as we were at the beginning of September and almost no one was harvesting. Grapes came to the winery with good sugar content and good acidity, so we could get balanced must. Grapes from Quinta das Olgas was between 13,5º Bé and 14º Bé and grapes from Quinta da Alegria between 13,0º Bé and 13,8º Bé.

This year is different, lets wait 3 or 4 more days, keep doing ripening controls and pray for better weather!

I will keep you up-to-date.

Cláudia Quevedo

Color Changing in Quinta Vale D'Agodinho

Hello, I am Cláudia Quevedo and I want to talk to you about the color change of the grapes. This phase is a beautiful moment for both, vines and farmers. The vineyards become all coloured- from the green of the leaves to the blackish of the grapes- and farmers feel closer the hustle and bustle of the harvest. Therefore, all the preparations must be done so that when the magic moment arrives, all is ready.

Here in  the Quevedo vines, the color change arrived a couple of weeks ago to the following vineyards: Vale D’Agodinho, Alegria and Olgas. Quinta da Trovisca, which is a little bit higher than the others is starting to get colour, especially the castes Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. The Tinta Roriz is a little bit delayed and the Sousão, which is always late, starts to show its first coloured berries.

Regarding the upper vineyards, close to the winery in S. João da Pesqueira, the colour change it is starting to show up.

This year, in general the maturation process is a little bit delayed. Our prevision is to start the harvest the first days of September, depending on the temperatures in the vineyards near the Douro river. Anyway, we will start this week to check the maturation levels of the berries, that will end with the harvest.

In the winery we are already preparing the equipment for the great moment: now we are washing and disinfecting the cubes, vats, tanks, pumps, mix pumps, the crusher, de-stemmer, press, filters, etc. Everything must shine and work perfectly for the harvest so next week we are going to check every single machine in the winery.

While we are getting everything ready to receive the little princesses of the Douro, the vines are also preparing themselves to give excellent wines. For now, the weather is on our side and we hope it stays like this until the great moment.

Cláudia Quevedo

Sunrise in Quevedo vineyards

We have finally finished the redesign of our web site and have set up our blog! Now we are the first Port Wine company blogging!

The last few months have been quite busy. At first, we wanted to remodel our web. We wanted to present a new image, to communicate with a younger public of Port lovers. We had our target well defined. The strategy was drawn and it was coherent with our philosophy.

Suddenly we were confronted with the possibility of launching a blog at the same time we redesigned our web. We would not just present the wines but also the people who are behind Quevedo. It would be a permanent compromise involving all the team. It was like signing a document where we would accept to have always not just the doors of the winery open, but we would also be the hosts of the winery-visit tour to our guests and show each one of the places where Quevedo comes from. And we would like to listen to and answer the questions and comments our visitors would have. We would like to let you know what we do in our busy time, like during the vintage in the heart of the Douro or during the other days of the year. Yes, we decided to accept!

Many are those who know Port Wine and drink it often, but there are many more who want to taste it for the first time and judge themselves whether Port deserves the importance the world gives to it. We are talking about a wine with more than 300 years of history and it is time to know more. We will share with you our passion fort Port and we hope to learn from you as well. Let’s go!

Óscar Quevedo

Quevedo Winery

The Quevedo cellar is located in S. João da Pesqueira, a small town in the heart of Douro Valley. Its 8000 square meters with a single mission: to pour the richness of the vineyards in each bottle.

After being picked manually, the grapes are brought in small containers to the cellar. There they are warmly received and checked in order to determine its temperature, acidity, colour and its baumé. Separated from the stalk and softly smashed, the grapes are placed in bins where they begin the process of fermentation. So natural yeasts transform the sugar of the grapes into alcohol. When producing port fermentation is interrupted with the addition of brandy and so Porto Quevedo is born.

The optimal environment for the aging process of the wine is a dimly-hit cask-room with a carefully controlled temperature.

This ambience allows for the ageing of the best Porto Quevedo.

Philosophy

It is a long and uncertain road from the selection of the land up to the glass of wine at home or in a table of a restaurant. Due to the family tradition of wine production, the first part was not a problem: our family already had much experience in the cultivation and winemaking of the grapes. What were missing was the marketing, selling the bottled wine it produced; and many years had gone when it finally was possible. Maybe it was our great grandfather Raul`s phrase what fed these concerns: “Table wine (not port) just brings consumption”.

Some more steps were needed to close the cycle with which our father dreamt about: “From the vine to the glass”. Historically, Port marketing has been directed to a consumer with more than 50 years old, and all the communication was coherent with this profile. But on the other hand, the thirty years-old consumer has been forgotten and Quevedo wanted to find him.

So it was needed to create a brand suitable for the wines we produce and for the customer we want to communicate with. A genuine wine made for modern customers, who drink Port naturally and relaxed: actually an “easy-drinking” Port.

At the end it was easier than it seamed; after all the product was genuine and the one who tasted it felt in love with the Quevedo’s nectar. And it is in this genuineness of our wines that Quevedo’s success stands.

And if the customer wants to drink our Port at 55º, with ice or even White Port with soda, we will not say no. On the contrary, because if there is Port for all occasions, Quevedo just has to figure them out!

Winery

In 1991 Quevedo was created as a brand of Port, following the passionate dedication of the previous generations. The grand parents of our parents had already been dedicated to the production of wine. The vineyards of our mother’s family, the Morais Fernandes, were located in Linhares de Ansiães, in the Carrazeda district, on the right bank of the Douro River. The main property of the family is Quinta da Alegria, crossed by the Douro railroad and with a station with the same name as the vineyard, Alegria. From our father’s, the production of the family Costa was located in Valongo dos Azeites, in S. João da Pesqueira, place known not just for the olive oil (azeite) which gives the name but also for the fresh flavour of its dry white wine.

At the end of the 70’s, Beatriz Morais Fernandes and Óscar Quevedo decided to live and work in S. João Pesqueira: Beatriz was a doctor in the Health Care Centre and Óscar was a lawyer and administrator of the Registry Office. Then, keeping a close contact with the growing and production of wine, they fell in love with these arts. During the 80’s they increased the production area and at the beginning of the 90’s they built the winery which is currently the headquarters of Quevedo. So, in the middle 90’s the family did not only produce but also bottled and marketed its wines. And it did not stop here; it also started to open its doors to those who wanted to know and to discover the wines by the Quevedo’s perspective.

In order to assure the best grapes year after year, we started to extend our vineyards up to the 100 ha, as we currently cultivate in the rough sub-regions of Cima-Corgo and Douro-Superior, where the Douro traditional varieties prevail; and to honour its incomparable taste, we enlarged our winery and wine cellar, under the control of the winemaker of the family, Cláudia.

The results are wines with the flavour of the schist where they were born, with the sun that matured them and with the love with which they were cared.

With over a century of a dedicated life to the wine, Quevedo is much more than a brand, is a family who lives for the wine and is proud to offer to the world the best that Douro has.