Posted by Paula Maia under Wine
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Quinta do Crasto sits atop one of the thousand mountains that shape the Douro valley, facing the Douro river and surrounded by the never ending rows of Schist terraced vineyards. I never imagined it to be this beautiful. I supposed no one would, for its magic really kicks in once you are there. If I were Buddha, I probably would’ve sought enlightenment under a Crasto’s Maria Teresa old vine- preferably sipping it too to aid the process.
Viticulture in the Douro date back thousand of years, with the first trade being documented in 1367. In the 18th century, Marques do Pombal- he was the equivalent of a prime minister today- demarcated the winemaking region with 335 stone markers carryring the Feitoria designation, which guaranteed the best quality wine and the only one allowed to be exported to England. One of these marks, called marco pombalino, still stand right at Quinta do Crasto.
Another old tradition still found at Quinta do Crasto is the foot treading method in granite tanks, called lagares. Believe it or not, this old vinification technique is the best way to extract color and tannins from the grapes, assuring a great ageing potential. It seems like anyone could do it, but it’s actually hard work and those guys stay in there for at least 4 hours in a scientific sequence before they can take a break. How’s that for a work out?
Summer in Brazil is what any normal human being dreams of. Lucky for me, I can always go home in the summer and experience household names such as Carnival, Ipanema, Caipirinha, Samba, and much more. More happens to be WINE, of course. Brazil has been making wine since the 1600′s and is now a solid producer of beautiful Sparkling wines. One of the most important wine region in Brazil is the Vale dos Vinhedos, in Bento Goncalves, located less than 200km north of Porto Alegre.
Settled around 1875 by Italian immigrants who came mostly from the Trento and the Veneto regions, the valley has a range of features that distinguishes it from all the other regions. Up in the mountains, it is surrounded by the towns of Bento Gonçalves – Brazilian Capital of Wine, Garibaldi – National Capital of Sparkling Wine and Monte Belo do Sul, known for its stunning natural landscape that changes in each season.
We spent a long weekend visiting the most prominent wineries of the valley, including Miolo, Casa Valduga and the prestigious, but small, Cave de Amadeu. On my next posts I will feature these wineries alone, while here I am posting impressions of the valley in general and other places of interest we visited in the area.
Tags: Bento Goncalves, Braz, Brazil, Caipirinha, Carnival, Casa Valduga, Cave de Amadeu, Espumante, Garibaldi, Ipanema, Miolo, Monte Belo do Sul, Port, Porto Alegre, Samba, Sparkling Wine, Trento, Vale dos Vinhedos, Veneto
