Vineyards

Soil and Climate

Our soils are brown Mediterranean clay with a deep limestone subsoil which provides good drainage.

The climate is predominantly sunny and dry, with warm summers and cool winters, and little to no frost. The proximity of the Atlantic ocean (100km to the west) moderates our otherwise, warm Mediterranean climate. Hot summer days are regulated by cool evening Atlantic breezes. This nighttime temperature variation is important for slowing down the ripening process of the grapes, and allowing for good acid development in the berries.

The positioning of our vineyards, running in a NE-SW direction, and nestled into the Serra do Mendro hills adjacent to the North, shelters us from the predominant NW winds.

Rainfall is scarce from flowering in May through harvest in October – a grapegrowers delight! (The French would be envious!) The vines receive the moisture they need through drip irrigation, and through restricted watering, we can stress the vines to produce less fruit, with smaller berries and a thick skin. This, as we shall explain later, is what makes a good wine!

Prof. Olmo Emeritus, UC Davis

When we first arrived in Vidigueira in 1988, it was predominantly a white grape growing area, and the advice we were given was to follow the local practice. Afterall, it was explained, white grapes yielded more than red grapes, and could be sold to the local Co-op which was reknown across Portugal for it´s white wine.

Hans’ suspicion was that the warm climate was more suitable for red grape varieties, so before we started planting our first vineyards, he paid a visit to UC Davis, where he had an eye-opening meeting with Harold P. Olmo, Professor of Viticulture, Emeritus. Prof. Olmo´s advice was that if the climatic data was correct, we should only grow red wine grapes.

Grape Varieties

Now that we knew we wanted to plant red grapes, the next big question was – which ones? As our vineyards lie within the Vidigueira DOC classification (the local Appellation

Contrôlée), we consulted the list of permitted grape varieties. It contains 12 white and 9 red varieties, of which only 4 of those we thought were worth considering – Aragonez (aka Tempranillo), Trincadeira, Periquita and the ubiquitous Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then, we have changed our opinion about Periquita (it does better in the cooler coastal climate to the west of here), and have topgrafted our original 4 hectares of Periquita to Touriga Nacional.

And then there was Syrah. Through contact with a French winemaker working in

another part of Alentejo, Hans was convinced that we had an ideal climate and soil conditions for that famous Rhone variety. As it was not approved for either the DOC classification above, or the wider list of varieties permitted for making ‘Vinho Regional Alentejano’, we had to smuggle the vines in from France.

Our first ‘illegal’ vintage of Syrah in 1998, was bottled as Incógnito, and quickly earned accolades and notoriety in Portugal, and Gold and Silver Medals in London, Brussels and Bordeaux.

Vineyard

In 1991 we began planting our vineyards on the fields surrounding the monte

(farmhouse), named ‘Cortes de Cima’, ‘Chaminé de Gião’ and ‘Courela dos Pageis’. The brand names of our wines come from the parcels of land where they are planted.

By 1995, the vineyards totaled 50 hectares, all planted within a 2 km radius of the house and the winery. In 2008 this was extended to a total of 130 hectares.

The vineyard composition by grape variety is as follows:

Aragonez – 44 hectares; Syrah – 41 hectares; Trincadeira – 10 hectares; Touriga Nacional -15 hectares; Cabernet Sauvignon – 2 hectares; and white varieties – 18 hectares.

An ‘illegal’ Trellis System

Dr Richard Smart, the Aussie ‘Flying Vine Doctor’, and author of the book ‘Sunlight into

Wine’ has personally helped us to convert our traditional vineyard to a ‘New World’ raised-canopy trellis system. The aim is to increase the sunlight exposure on the grapes leading to greater concentration of color, aroma and flavor in our wines. Not only was our ‘Smart Dyson’ system the first in Portugal, it was even considered ‘illegal’. The local DOC ‘appellation’ rules call for the traditional French cordon method, that keeps the vines low to the ground.

Our trellis system is also known as the ‘up-down’ system. The canes are trained to go both upwards (which is natural) as well as downwards (more tricky) , and a very labor intensive exercise! This helps keep the women from the neighboring villages busy throughout the growing season.

The advantages are manifold. First, less spraying, as the openness of the canopy allows better air circulation around the grape bunches. This is a good natural way to combat fungus, reducing spraying with chemicals.

Another benefit is the height of the fruit zone- from 60 to 110 cm. In the hot summer months, the soil is heated up in the daytime, and takes a longtime to loose the heat during the night. As the grape bunches are hanging higher off the ground, they are able to cool down more in the summer evenings, which helps the grapes to ripen more slowly, building up the acid in the grapes.

And last but not least, the local women who help care for the vineyard love the high trellis system- imagine being able to pick grapes without the back breaking work of bending over all day long!

Integrated Protection at Cortes de Cima

What is sustainable viticulture or viticulture raisonée?

Our vineyards and olivegroves are accredited under a sustainable program called ‘Integrated Protection’. Under this program, we are required to only use ’soft’ chemicals, and only when symptoms appear – preventive spraying is not permitted. Our vineyards and olive trees are subject to spot checks for any non compliance by independent monitors.

Our ‘illegal’ Smart Dyson trellis system is also a great help in reducing chemical usage in the vineyard. The grapes are more exposed to the sun and air circulation, reducingfungus and mildew attacks naturally.

As global warming pushes temperatures up, water use is another important issue in the vineyard. We are completely self sufficient for our irrigation needs, only using water from our own reservoirs, which are replenished during the rainy winter months. Our vineyards are all irrigated following a system of ‘regulated deficit’ drip irrigation. “It´s important for grape quality to always give the vines less water than they want.” explains Hans. ” Water is a precious resource and we try to use only as much as we need.”