Every birth has a story and we don’t know when Soalheiro’s started. It was once the name of an agricultural plot, due to the generous sun exposure, where in 1974 was planted the first continuous Alvarinho vineyard in Melgaço. 40 years ago, more precisely on 20-3-82, the first Alvarinho brand in Melgaço was born, Soalheiro.
The date written on the first label, the signatures of the whole family, a birth that could have happened earlier: the tap in the barrel was not well closed during the night and the wine was gone.
The following year, a new attempt and it was bottled. Since 1982, family members, neighbours and over 150 families of grape growers have joined together, the family is now a team and the will repeated every single year. On March 20, 1982 we bottled our first bottle and today we begin the celebrations of our 40 years.
Our wines
We didn’t hesitate when we had to decide on a starting point. We had to go back to the origin, to the first bottle, to the first label. History is written over time and ours is written in each harvest.
They are all different and it is from this diversity that these 40 years were made and, therefore, we chose two very different harvests to create the four wines that celebrate these four decades:
2015 L15
A cold year in our territory, a fresh and vibrant Alvarinho. Seven years in stainless steel vats with the fine lees of each new harvest.
2015 L1518
A cold vintage blended with 15% of a warm vintage, a fresh and round Alvarinho with a winery secret.
2018 L1815
A warm vintage blended with 15% of a cold vintage, a full bodied and vibrant Alvarinho with a winery secret.
2018 L18
A warm year in our territory, a persistent and wide Alvarinho. Four years in stainless steel vats with no intervention.
Herbal Tea from our Vineyards
The beginning of Soalheiro will always be Alvarinho, our history being inseparable from this place, which gave rise to it. It was from this passion for the Territory and the knowledge we have been acquiring, from the study of the unique conditions for the planting of aromatic herbs, that we decided to start producing herbal teas, honoring a long-standing tradition in the region, with the creation of The Pur Terroir Herbal Teas.
Now, on the occasion of our 40th birthday, we have closed a cycle and launched Herbal Tea From Our Vineyards. It all starts in the vineyard and the vineyard is also everything that surrounds it. It was from this idea that we started to produce the herbal tea.
A fusion of Alvarinho grape skin and seeds, Alvarinho vine leaves, Rosemary, rose petals, Spearmint, Lemon balm, as well as Strawberry Fields Globe Amaranth and Globe Amaranth petals – the essence of our vines in a teacup.
They are 1982 herbal teas, a limited edition that begins and ends with our history, preserved in a bag that is also an innovation, made with our fabric produced with residues from the Alvarinho harvest.
Today, we sit at the table to celebrate as a family, at a Sunday lunch. But today, it’s only the first toast.
Thank you for being part of our history.
May there be many more to come!
