Quinta de Vale de Pios - Pios Branco 2021

Cambrian vertical black schist soils with high pH and extraordinary availability of minerals and drainage.

Joaquim farms without certification, but is essentially organic. Douro is an extremely easy place to farm organically due to its dry climate. It receives just 6 inches of rain per year, making it the driest region in Portugal. Manual harvest, manual sorting. Spontaneous fermentation in steel tanks. In tank battonage.

Joaquim is a one man team planting, tending to, harvesting, and vinifying the wines in his tiny cellar about 10km west of the Spanish border in the “hamlet” of Barca d’Alva. This region is particularly inhospitable to farming-only 6 inches of rain per year give this essentially desert climate the ability to grow only grapes, olives, and an assortment of shrubs. The soil is a veritable mosaic of broken quartz, granite, shale, and clay with temperatures peaking well over 105 degrees daily in the summer. The night time temperatures drop to the upper 50s and provide a great level of freshness and acidity to the grapes. The winery is located in a bird sanctuary of the Douro National Park. It is a habitat for many local birds. When you stand in the vineyards, you can hear nothing but the chirping of birds (translated in Portuguese as pios) which gives the winery its name.

Shrimp, Lobster, Bacon-wrapped scallops, Sturgeon, Vol au Vent, Cod, Baccalao

• Portuguese, Brazilian, Belgian, French, Cantonese