Producer: Arribas Wine Company
Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves have been making wine in Bemposta, Mogadouro since 2017 after stumbling across some unkempt old field blend vineyards. They brokered responsibility for the plots in exchange for grapes and have now extended their production beyond Bemposta, which has no white wine vineyards. Busy exploring the different soils, altitudes, aspects and interrogating grapes of uncertain identity, their range is broadening in representation of what the region has to offer.
They aim to produce authentic wines based on regional varieties, old vineyards, traditional techniques, and a degree of innovation. They are Arribas Wine Company, so-called because they feel a greater connection to the Spanish DOC of Arribes on the opposite banks of the river Douro than to Trás-os-montes’ Planalto Mirandês sub-region, where they are based. This owing to their vineyards being located on steeply raked granite boulder-strewn hills where they ripen more slowly, not the planalto (plateau). Arribas also mentors and assists the people who want to make wine within the area. Their most noteworthy initiative is called the PROJECT BELFO. The word ‘Belfo’ is slang for someone that speaks with their mouth full, which is a feeling they aim to provoke each year. With this initiative, they partner with others locally to promote what else their community has to offer.
Grapes: Tinta Gorda, Tinta Serrana, Rufete, Alvarelhão, Afrocheiro, Verdelho
Place: Douro, Portugal
2021
Arribas Wine Company – Red
PRODUCER
Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves have been making wine in Bemposta, Mogadouro since 2017 after stumbling across some unkempt old field blend vineyards. They brokered responsibility for the plots in exchange for grapes and have now extended their production beyond Bemposta, which has no white wine vineyards. Busy exploring the different soils, altitudes, aspects and interrogating grapes of uncertain identity, their range is broadening in representation of what the region has to offer.
They aim to produce authentic wines based on regional varieties, old vineyards, traditional techniques, and a degree of innovation. They are Arribas Wine Company, so-called because they feel a greater connection to the Spanish DOC of Arribes on the opposite banks of the river Douro than to Trás-os-montes’ Planalto Mirandês sub-region, where they are based. This owing to their vineyards being located on steeply raked granite boulder-strewn hills where they ripen more slowly, not the planalto (plateau). Arribas also mentors and assists the people who want to make wine within the area. Their most noteworthy initiative is called the PROJECT BELFO. The word ‘Belfo’ is slang for someone that speaks with their mouth full, which is a feeling they aim to provoke each year. With this initiative, they partner with others locally to promote what else their community has to offer.