Soalheiro’s wines are born in small plots scattered around Monção and Melgaço. For some years now, Soalheiro has been making several harvests and it is this diversity that brings the balance and consistency that we seek in the winery and that we want for our wines.
Alvarinho From The Valley, From The Mountain And From Old Vines
All of the plots in the Soalheiro Viticulturists’ Club are located and characterised so that each specific harvest is marked as carefully as possible. The characterisation of the plots reflects the way we interpret the territory, the result of innovation and the knowledge we have built up over the years. Alvarinho was born in the valley, but the focus on high-altitude Alvarinho has led to more winegrowers planting vines higher and higher up the slopes of the mountains that demarcate Monção and Melgaço. From our First Vineyard we also set out to study, preserve and valorise old vines. In the vineyard and in the winery, this characterisation is already clear – Alvarinho from the valley, Alttitude Alvarinho and Alvarinho from Old Vines.
The fact that we have several different harvests means that we have the diversity to fine-tune the profile of the Clássico, but it also leads us to discover and perfect new profiles, such as Primeiras Vinhas, Granit and the others that we continue to look for each year, based on what our knowledge of the place, each winegrower and each plot shows us.
The Earliest Alvarinho Harvests Ever At Soalheiro
This year we started harvesting Alvarinho on August the 23rd – never in 40 years we have started harvesting so early. Each year has specific characteristics and we have to adapt, always with the same philosophy: to make wines that reflect the territory, with elegance and precision.
The Soalheiro team monitors maturation in plots throughout the territory and it is from this work that the first dates are set.
We believe that change is the only way to maintain tradition and create new ones. If the year anticipates the vineyard, we anticipate the harvest.
Wines Made By Many Hands
Each vineyard plot tells the story of one of the 180 families who are part of the Viticulturists’ Club and who dedicate themselves to Alvarinho at the end of the day and at weekends, earning a supplementary income.
Today, Soalheiro wines are made by many hands in these small vineyard plots, treated like gardens, which from above look like a patchwork quilt.
