Grapes: Avesso, Alvarinho and Arinto
Region: Vinho Verde, Portugal
Vintage: 2024
Viticulture: Certified Organic
Soils: Granite
Vinification: The grapes were harvested by hand, sorted, destemmed and macerated on the skins for a few hours before pressing with a gentle pneumatic press. The wine was fermented with native yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel vats
Aging: 6 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Small amount before bottling
Notes from the Importer: Casa do Arrabalde is located in the Baião subregion of Vinho Verde, close to the border with the Douro region. Founded several generations ago, the farm’s 5 hectares of vines were planted in 1991 by current proprietor Alexandre Gomes and his wife, Dialina. The parcels, nestled among fruit and walnut trees, the family has farmed the vines with limited treatments and no herbicides since the beginning, converting everything to organics by 2019. The soils are well-drained granite and the relatively high altitude (490 meters) and the winds off the foothills of the Serra do Marão mountains lend lift to the wines and help protect from mildew. The estate is planted to the local varieties Avesso, Arinto, and Alvarinho - Avesso is particularly suited to this southern area of Vinho Verde.
As the vines grew older and the quality of the wines became evident, Alexandre also purchased two other properties in the area, Quinta dos Espinhosos and Quinta de Santa Teresa. Today, the winery is located at Quinta de Santa Teresa, though the wines from each property are vinified separately. In the cellar, the grapes are hand sorted, destemmed, fermented with native yeasts and aged in stainless-steel tanks. The goal is to make transparent, fresh wines of place that emphasize the finesse and quality of the fruit.
