1. How did your career journey begin?
My career journey began in 1989. I started as an intern at Sogrape while I was taking a higher education course in Marketing Management in Porto. In 1991, I joined Cristiano VanZellar at Quinta do Noval, where I worked until the last day before the company was sold to Axa Millesime. While at Nova, I had the chance to travel the world and learn about the wine business, and meet importers, partners, and international wine critics.
From 1992 until 1994, I completed a professional certificate in Marketing & Communication at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
2. What is the most rewarding aspect of your profession?
I must say that the most rewarding aspect is to host our business partners in the Douro and to have the chance to share with them our history, tradition, and passion for this amazing and unique wine region.
Another rewarding aspect was to have the opportunity to travel the world and to meet so many different cultures while promoting and selling our wines (57 countries in total).
3. Can you describe the philosophy of your domain and how it influences the wines you produce?
We are a family-owned business with the sixth generation already alive.
Work reflects the passion for what we do, the level of excellence with which we are committed, and the permanent challenge of ensuring a balance between tradition (respect for the past) and innovation (anticipating the future).
Our philosophy is to produce world-class wines in a responsible, sustainable, and inspiring way, respecting our history, tradition, and passion for the Douro region.
4. What do you believe is the most challenging aspect of winemaking?
Douro is the biggest mountain viticulture region in the world.
With vineyards growing at river level against 600 meters of latitude, with different sun exposures, soils, and so many indigenous varieties to play with, we usually say that we are looking at a big puzzle. The most challenging aspect of winemaking is to understand the complexity of the region and to achieve consistency in quality vintage after vintage.
With over 200 hectares of vineyards in 3 different properties in the Douro, this is only possible due to a team of exceptional professionals, both in terms of vineyard management and oenology, that allow us to achieve these results. But we still have a great deal of work ahead, and the potential is truly immense.
5. Do you have a favorite grape variety to work with? What makes it special to you?
Touriga Nacional is the flagship variety for Portugal.
Although we have so many different varieties to choose from, I must say that the most fascinating aspect is to play with our old vines, such as Vinha Maria Teresa where we have identified 54 different native Port varieties in this centenary plot planted by my great-grandfather. These old vines have always been the backbone for the production of our Ports, but in recent years, they have shown an enormous potential for the production of high-quality dry wines. It is fascinating and special to play with these field blends and understand their true potential, also for dry wines.
6. Can you share a memorable vintage or wine you are particularly proud of?
Our first dry wines were produced in 1994 (Quinta do Crasto Douro Red and Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines).
I have three vintages on my top list: 2001, 2011, and 2017.
2017 is a memorable vintage. It will go down in history as one of the earliest harvests in the history of the Douro Valley. We started on August 8th with the white grapes, and on August 18th, the first red grapes were picked.
The harvest finished on September 19th, which never happened before.
Warm days combined with cool nights yielded the perfect balance and a smooth harvest.
For our super-premium wines from 2017, we are looking into an enormous aging potential in the bottle. Time will tell if I’m right.
7. What makes your region and vineyard unique compared to others?
Everything in the Douro is unique. Our climate (9 months of winter / 3 months of hell), the terroir with vineyards growing at river level against 600 plus meters of altitude, different sun exposures, different soils (transition from shist to granite as you go up the mountain) and more than 60 native grape varieties to play with aligned with over 300 years of history and tradition and all the wild nature surrounding us makes this region unique.
In my opinion, the Douro region is where one can find the ultimate expression of microclimate and terroir.
8. If you could make wine anywhere in the world, outside your current region, where would it be and why?
Although I am not officially a winemaker, I would choose Margaret River.
I have been surfing for the last 48 years of my life, and it must be a great feeling to be catching some epic waves, watching your vineyards while on the water.
