Grapes
Alfrocheiro
Profile
Maria da Graça is a lively, unbound wine influenced by the freshness of the calcareous-clay soils and the dominant Northwest Atlantic coastal winds. It celebrates the knowledge and wisdom passed down from generation to generation. The wine grapes Alfrocheiro and Alicante Bouchet, ideally suited for the region, were harvested in late September. In this wine, we sought to express in a natural way the characteristics that the wine variety Alfrocheiro bestows to a place, the S. Mateus farm, showcasing how sophisticated the region of Bairrada can be.
We felt that the wines from Bairrada and Vinhos Verdes materialised that living nature, whilst at the same time being complex and mutating constantly. The wine varieties are not that crucial, because we believe that they should serve wine, not the opposite. What really matters is their quality, how well they adapt to the climate and the types of wines envisioned. This is why our wines are local, authentic, and amicable. They showcase the nature of wines, of soils, the climate and local knowledge. The regions of Bairrada and Vinhos Verdes are among the most prestigious wine-producing regions in Portugal.
Bairrada “is a small wine patch, covering a few municipalities from the regions of Aveiro and Coimbra”, framed by the astonishing highlands of Caramulo and Buçaco, to the east, and the valiant Atlantic Ocean, to the west.
In S. Mateus and Valdazar, at the heart of Bairrada, and in the mythical Quinta dos Cozinheiros, next to Figueira da Foz, 7 km from the sea, we found vines well adapted to the soil and climate. Seeded in the right places, the vineyards take advantage of its clay-limestone, sandy soil, giving way to fresh but fleshy and aerated, very unique wines. Our grapes are planted in a biologic manner and produced in an integrated fashion, protecting the biodiversity of the region.