You’ve heard the story of Vicentino…now enjoy a tour around the new winery.
Every week when we launch a new episode of the podcast we will be putting out a midweek deeper dive into one aspect: the winery, the winemaker or the story.
Episode 1 is just down the road from our new home on this wild Alentejo west coast and they’ve just built a huge new winery to produce and showcase their wines.
We followed their progress - we captured the moment when their roof went on in May 2023.
The building was finished just in time for the 2023 harvest and general manager of Vicentino Wines, Filipe Caetano, pulled out the first wine to be bottled at the new winery.
“This is a wine made with Arinto and it is unfiltered - so that’s the first one,” he grinned - the bottle was still waiting for its label.
“It’s from one of our ranges of wines, which is the Naked range, which is wines with the lowest intervention possible.”
The head winemaker is Bernardo Cabral who also consults with other wineries and is known for his winemaking on Pico island in the Açores.
The resident assistant winemaker is Ana Rita Bouça, and having worked in the Açores and in New Zealand, is excited about the saltiness of Vicentino wines.
“I fell in love for salty wines when I was working at Pico,” Ana Rita said.
“Always in my life I have been very close to the ocean. So for me the proximity to the ocean is very important.”
Little expense has been spared in the new winery with concrete tulips, stainless steel tanks and lines of wooden barrels.
“The purpose is really to allow to give all the conditions to the winemakers team to deliver the best wines possible,” said Filipe who took us down into the cellar which is partly built underground to expose the bedrock.
Please let us know what you think about our Bonus Episode - deep dives into a winery may not be for everyone, so feel free to pass over these additional updates and make sure you listen in every weekend when new episodes drop.
And here is Episode 1 for you to enjoy, in case you haven’t heard it yet.
And if you’d like to get hold of some Vicentino wines to try, the easiest way is to come and see us here in the Valley of the Stars…and to visit Vicentino.
But while you wait, it is available in the UK at the moment through Vindependents - here’s the link.
See you next time, when we’re heading deep into traditional Alentejo wine country to visit the legendary Esporão winery.
A&A x
BONUS EPISODE: Vicentino