Blend All About Wine

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Casa Ferreirinha – History and Art
March 16, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

Founded in the eighteenth century by Bernardo Ferreira, the Casa Ferreirinha was acquired in 1987 by Sogrape. The wines produced by this house and the house itself are synonymous with history and art. An essential figure in the history of this company is, undoubtedly, Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira who, with her entrepreneurial spirit, refined the company’s formula and consolidated it.

Sogrape has been able to respect and preserve all the historical and cultural heritage that Casa Ferreirinha implies and has always kept up to the present day, but allowing the company to suit the innovation and the present. The company has several wine ranges, such as Vinha Grande, Esteva, Papa Figos, Planalto, Callabriga, Reserva Especial, Quinta da Leda, AAF and, of course, the legendary Barca Velha.

To get to know the history of this house a little better, see the video below:

Morgadio da Calçada – Unique tradition and history
March 9, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

In the late seventeenth century Jerónimo da Cunha Pimentel ordered the construction of Morgadio da Calçada House, which is located in Provesende and is one of the most ancient manor houses in this location. It opened to the public in the 90s and has played an important role in the development of the region, but without ever losing its identity.

Provesende is inserted in the Douro region (classified as World Heritage by UNESCO) and is one of six villages classified of the Douro Valley. The Morgadio da Calçada wines have Dirk van der Niepoort’s signature and are born of the green plateau which contrasts with the rest of the Douro wine region.

For a more detailed view see the video below.

Santa Vitória – Alentejo Wines
March 2, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

Located in Alentejo, just 25 Kms from Beja, close to a small Alentejo town (Santa Vitória) we can find Casa de Santa Vitória, fully integrated in an agricultural and leisure environment.

Established in 2002, Casa de Santa Vitória belongs to the Vila Galé Group and its main focus is the production and trade of Alentejo wines and olive oils. Here wines are produced by combining the most advanced vinification technologies with traditional techniques.

The vines, planted in the Herdade da Malhada in Santa Vitória, comprise 127 ha of the noblest Portuguese and French grape varieties best suited to the “terroir” of the region, namely, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Aragonês, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Alfrocheiro, Tinta Caiada, Alicante Bouschet e Baga for the reds and in paints and Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc, Viozinho, Antão Vaz, Arinto, Chardonnay for the whites.

Since the winery is surrounded by the vineyards, the grapes arrive quickly without undergoing changes and are processed immediately after their arrival.

For a more detailed view of this wine producer see the video below:

Blandy’s – Over 200 years of history
February 24, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

It’s in one of the portuguese archipelagos, specifically in Madeira, that we can find Blandy’s. It’s a secular producer of Madeira wine with over 200 years of existence, which was founded by John Blandy who arrived at this archipelago in 1808.

Here are used the most modern winemaking techniques, but without ever neglecting the old and secular traditions of Madeira wine.

The wine is aged in two stages. In the first process the wine undergoes oxidation in a warm space where the bouquets flourish and the wine transforms into Madeira wine. The second phase takes longer, lasts years. The wines are stored in a cooler place in barrels to sharpen their bouquet.

For a more detailed view of the history and wines from this company please see the video below.

Sandeman – 226 years making history
February 17, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

Sandeman‘s history began 226 years ago in 1970, when George Sandeman asked his father for a 300£ loan in order to start his trade business of Port and Sherry wines in London. When he started the business his goal was to make a moderate fortune so he could retire at the end of the century but he ended up creating one of the world’s greatest wine businesses.

Sandeman was the first company to ever brand a cask, in 1805. All barrels were then branded with the name George Sandeman & Co to assure the quality of the product. However, this brand would only be registered in 1877, just one year after the year in which it was finally possible to formally register brands.

In the video below you will find more details about this company and the celebratory wines of the 225 years of existence.

Herdade de Vale Barqueiros
February 10, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

A few kilometers from Alter do Chão we find Herdade de Vale Barqueiros. With an area of around 800 ha it was founded in 1853 and belongs to Comendador Vasco Faria’s family. At the moment it has 368 ha of olive grove and 122 ha of vineyards, in which are mainly planted the grape varieties as Arinto, Fernão Pires and Antão Vaz in the whites and Aragonês, Trincadeira and Touriga Nacional in the reds. But they also bet on the international grape varieties such as the Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and the Cabarnet Sauvignon.

This Herdade also holds 140 ha of cork oak and stone pine, 2 dams, 3 ponds, a hunting area, a sport fishing club and has its own winery where the wine is produced making use of the most modern technologies without ever neglecting the tradition and the knowledge acquired over the more than 25 years producing “Vale Barqueiros” wines. Since 2010, Joachim Roque is the one in charge of the oenology and seeks together with his team to create personalized wines with above-average quality that reveal this estate’s “terroir”.

To get to know more details about this estate see the video below:

Quinta do Vallado
February 3, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

It’s one of the oldest and most famous Quintas in the Douro Valley. Built in 1716 it was owned by Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and remains until today in the family. We’re talking about Quinta do Vallado, close to Peso da Régua in the riverbanks of the Corgo river.

In 1993, at a time when the direction was already in charge of Guilherme Álvares Ribeiro and his wife Maria Antónia Ferreira the company decided to expand its area of activity by doing production, bottling and trading with its own brand. Up until then and for 200 years Quinta do Vallado had as its main activity the production of Port wines that were then sold under the name Casa Ferreira, which also belonged to the family.

Nowadays Quinta do Vallado has 70 hectares of planted vineyard 20 of which are vines with over 80 years and the remaining 50 with vines from 11 to 18 years old. The most prevalent grape varieties planted here are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Barroca, Tinta Amarela e Sousão for the reds and Viosinho, Rabigato, Moscatel, Verdelho (Gouveio) e Arinto for the whites.

Finished in 2009 both the new winery and cellar have the most advance tecnhology and na architecture of quality, which make the Quinta a fantastic space and one of the places to visit in the Douro Valley (Baixo Corgo).

More recently Quinta do Vallado has opened the doors of another estate located in Douro Superior (Foz Côa). The Quinta do Orgal (river house), which has magnificent facilities and views over the river – see here what we’re talking about.

For a more detailed vision check the video below and Sarah Ahmed’s previous article about this Quinta.

Herdade das Servas – Winemaking tradition
January 28, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

Winemaking is in the Serrano Mira family’s blood. The maternal great-grandfather of the Mira brothers that currently run Herdade das Servas was one of the founding members of Adega Cooperativa de Borba CRL and their paternal grandfather founded one of the first private individual companies of wine producing in Alentejo.

Located in Estremoz, this estate in Alentejo has 220 hectares of vineyard, which are split into four vines: Azinhal, Judia, Clérigo and Servas. Here we can find 13 red grape varieties and 9 white grape varieties.

The wines are aged in French and American oak barrels from some of the best international coopers. With a restaurant with capacity for 80 people, fit for business meetings, social get-togethers, etc, Herdade das Servas is also a place dedicated to wine tourism. It’s one of the oldest wine producing  families of Alentejo and opens the doors to share the tradition and experience of the winemaking processes of their wines with a guided tour to the Herdade’s winery, cellar, vineyard and gardens.

To know more about this estate watch the video below and read João Barbosa’s previously published text here.

Murganheira – Sparkling wines of great quality
January 21, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Olga Cardoso | Translation Bruno Ferreira

The Caves da Murganheira are located in the Távora-Varosa region, where the Douro and Beira regions meet. These fertile lands of the Varosa Valley combine excellent climatic and geological conditions which are favorable to the creation of wines of superior quality, basis of the best Portuguese sparkling wines.

It was founded over 60 years ago and possesses 30 heactares of own vineyard but controls and monitors over 1000 hectares of associated grape suppliers.

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Vineyards – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

The care over the vineyard is huge and is at the hand of very experienced professionals whose knowledge origin is probably from the medieval wisdom of Cistercian Monks.

Murganheira is a company with a family basis. It was acquired by Orlando Lourenço in the mid-80’s and is now led by his sons Miguel and Herlander. The winemaking direction is also at the hands of a family member – his daughter in law Marta Lourenço.

It has a very well-equipped winery where strict winemaking processes are put in place, according to ancestral techniques that are permanently being perfected.

In addition to Caves da Murganheira the company also possesses Caves da Raposeira and the Tapada do Chaves property in Alentejo.

Murganheira’s sparkling wines age in their blue granite cellars, which provide a perfect environment for the wine’s evolution and guarantees all the authenticity that the brand got their consumers used to.

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The cellars – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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The Cellars – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

There’s also place for the “Degorgement á la Volée”, which is the culmination of this whole process of preparation of sparkling wines of exceptional quality.

Murganheira’s fame is associated with quality but is also one of the domestic producers with a better graphic image, which is reflected in advertising campaigns, creative packaging and beautiful space for reception and tasting.

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The Tasting Room – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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The Tasting Room – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

Their sparkling wines are separated into 3 categories or groups named special, classic and gastronomic, and all of them possess an excellent quality-price relation.

Elegant and full of character, Murganheira sparkling wines are produced based on the following grape varieties: Malvasia Fina, Gouveio Real, Cerceal, Chardonnay, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Pinot Noir.

Talking about all of them would be a herculean task and not suitable for the cyber world so I selected the four that surprised me the most.

MURGANHEIRA CHARDONNAY BRUTO 2008

Golden color and elegant perlage. Refined aroma with complexity, showing jam fruit, biscuit, flowers, in a tone that immediately shows empathy. In the mouth is creamy with good volume, soft and unctuous, very textured with a large and pleasant finish. A fine sparkling wine.

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Murganheira Chardonnay Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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Murganheira Único Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

MURGANHEIRA ÚNICO BRUTO 2008

This sparkling wine is made from the grape variety Sauvignon Blanc and shows itslef very delicate in the nose with the grape variety a little bit hidden at first. In the mouth the grape variety appears with its vegetal flavors. Evident are also fruits like passion fruit and apricot as well as vanilla notes. Very balanced and concentrated this sparkling wine has a truly captivating mousse.

MURGANHEIRA CZAR CUVÉE ROSÉ BRUTO 2008

Salmon color with a nose marked by subtle aromas of red fruits joined by slightly smoked and resinous notes. The mouth is amazingly elegant and passionate with a very delicate mousse and the Pinot touches come with delicacy and sofistication. Murganheira Czar is a sparkling wine of outstanding quality.

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Murganheira Czar Cuvée Rosé Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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Murganheira Vintage Bruto 2006 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

MURGANHEIRA VINTAGE BRUTO 2006

Truly remarkable, it shows a nose marked by the Pinot Noir red fruits together with citric, biscuit and fine spices aromas. The mouth is colossally elegant. Engaging mousse and perfect acidity. All very delicate with tremendous glow and class. A world class Portuguese sparkling wine.

I strongly advise those who enjoy sparkling wines to get a deeper knowledge over the Murganheira‘s range. Their entry range have the capability of give great pleasure and the top-end range are remarkable sparkling wines full of finesse and category. Sparkling wines of superior quality.

To get to know Murganheira‘s universe better see here the company’s institutional video.

Quinta da Murta – A place to uncover
January 20, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by

Text Bruno Mendes

Just 25km northeast of Lisbon we can find Quinta da Murta. It’s a remote and protected area with a great diversity of flora and fauna located in Bucelas, in between limestone hills in the Lusitanic Basin.

Their wines are made in a natural way and maturated on full lees with “batonnage” and bottled at Quinta da Murta facilities.

Here we can find an events hall, a modern winery and cellar, a tasting room, a villa with a pool complemented with its amazing exterior deck that provides a beautiful view of the valley and its limestone cliffs and can hold up 300 guests which makes it a perfect venue for any kind of events, be it big or small.

Quinta da Murta is a beautiful place waiting for you! Check out all of this and much more on the video below.