Le printemps 2025 est (enfin !) arrivé dans la Vallée du Douro!

C'est officiel, le printemps 2025 est (enfin !) arrivé dans la Vallée du Douro, et pas seulement selon nos calendriers et nos horloges, mais aussi selon les oiseaux, les abeilles, les fleurs et les arbres.

Je ne vais pas voler le spectacle vibrant de la nature à cette période de l'année avec trop de mots, et je vais laisser quelques photos récentes parler d'elles-mêmes.

Le débourrement dans nos vignobles et les premières pousses verdoyantes du printemps.

Profitez des fleurs le long de notre sentier de randonnée certifié de 4 km ; le chant joyeux des oiseaux, les vues majestueuses et un apéritif au Porto sous la terrasse de notre chambre d'hôtes, ombragée par des glycines, sont certainement gratifiants.

La récolte d'asperges sauvages sous nos oliviers pour dîner, et des bouquets de coquelicots, scilles, lupins et dent-de-lion entre les rangées de nos vignes.

Les nouveau-nés des tortues sortent de leurs nids dans nos murs de pierres sèches pour trouver leur chemin vers la rivière Tedo tandis que les salamandres tachetées s'ébattent sous les douches tièdes de la pluie printanière.

L'esplanade ombragée d'agrumes du Bistro's Terrace, recommandé par le guide Michelin, est ouverte et les beignets de morue du Chef Oscar sont plus savoureux que jamais !

Marta, notre Oenologue Résidente, prépare des échantillons de notre tunnel souterrain de barriques pour assembler un nouveau lot de Tawny 10 ans avec Jorge Alves, notre Oenologue en Chef.

Un temps magnifique et notre charmante salle de dégustation, notre B&B, notre Bistro Terrace, notre équipe Tedo souriante et nos mascottes à quatre pattes vous attendent à Quinta do Tedo.

~ Odile Bouchard

Spring 2025 has (finally!) sprung in Douro Valley

It’s official, Spring 2025 has (finally!) sprung in Douro Valley, and not just by our calendars and our clock, but also by the birds, the bees, the flowers, and the trees.

I will not steal nature’s vibrant show this time of year with too many words, and let some recent photos and captions speak for themselves.

Bud break in the vineyards, and verdant Spring growth.

Enjoy the flower power along our certified 4 km walking trail; the happy bird song, majestic views, and a Porto Cocktail under our wisteria-shaded B&B pool terrace sure are rewarding.

Harvesting wild asparagus from under our olive trees for dinner, and bouquets of poppies, squill, lupin and dandelions from between our vineyard rows.

Freshwater turtles emerge from nests in our dry rocks walls to find their way into Tedo River while spotted salamanders frolic under warm Spring rain showers. 

Michelin-recommended Bistro’s Terrace citrus shaded esplanade is open, and Chef Oscar’s codfish fritters are tastier than ever!

Marta hard at work preparing samples from our underground barrel tunnel to blend a new batch of 10 Year Tawny with head Winemaker Jorge Alves.

Fantastic weather and our charming Tasting Room, B&B, Bistro Terrace, smiling Team Tedo and pawed mascots await you at Quinta do Tedo.

~ Odile Bouchard

Techniques de taille à Quinta do Tedo

À Quinta do Tedo, nous aimons relever des défis. Certains par choix, par exemple, la conversion à la viticulture biologique certifiée (2009 et 2011), l'obtention de la certification Biosphere (2023) et, actuellement, la participation à la certification nationale de référence pour le développement durable dans le secteur viticole de Wines of Portugal.

D'autres défis auxquels nous sommes confrontés par obligation - par exemple, adapter nos techniques de viticulture pour que nos vignobles produisent le meilleur rapport quantité (ce qui n'est pas évident dans le climat rigoureux et les sols schisteux du Douro !) / qualité des raisins, et prospèrent pendant des décennies malgré le climat de plus en plus chaud et sec du Douro - un défi auquel les régions viticoles de qualité historiques du monde entier sont confrontées.

La taille est l'un des processus viticoles les plus importants par lequel nous aidons nos vignes à développer leur résistance et à produire des raisins de qualité. C'est un art qui demande de l'expérience. Essentiellement, nous examinons chaque vigne pour comprendre sa vigueur et sa santé, et nous la taillons en conséquence pour établir un équilibre entre la plante, le sol et le climat.

Notre objectif ? Cultiver des vignes qui produisent des fruits de grande qualité dans le climat méditerranéen de plus en plus sec et chaud du Douro. Pour y parvenir, nous devons faire face à trois principaux adversaires : les maladies, l'exposition extrême au soleil et la sécheresse.

Dans certains cas, nous révisons d'anciennes techniques de viticulture, par exemple la sélection massale par greffage de variétés rouges traditionnelles (et oubliées) à forte acidité dans notre parcelle de Seita Nova, une « nouvelle vieille vigne » plantée de manière plus organisée et mécanisable. Dans 8 à 10 ans, nous devrions avoir une production de raisins de qualité pour produire des vins rouges Douro DOC et des Portos naturellement frais et authentiques, préservant l'incroyable diversité de plus de 120 cépages indigènes du Douro.

Dans d'autres cas, nous testons différentes techniques de viticulture, par exemple la taille en Guyot dans nos récentes plantations de Bastardo et de Touriga Franca. Cette méthode favorise les zones de fructification plus basses, facilitant l'écoulement dans une distance réduite de l'eau et des nutriments entre les feuilles, les fruits, le tronc et les racines, afin de produire plus de raisins, sans compromettre leur qualité et en garantissant à la vigne des réserves suffisantes pour vivre longtemps.

Seita Velha est notre parcelle de 80 ans récemment acquise, non mécanisée et cultivée selon la méthode traditionnelle de la taille en gobelet. Ce système offre une plus grande couverture de feuillage pour éviter les coups de soleil, respecte les faibles rendements et les réserves d'énergie pour la longévité, et nous évite de faire de grandes coupes dans le vieux bois sain.

Nous maintenons la tradition avec la taille en Royat (ou cordon unilatéral) dans une parcelle de Sousão, en ne pratiquant que de petites coupes sur le bois d'un an afin de minimiser les grandes plaies ouvertes par lesquelles les maladies peuvent pénétrer, conduisant à des maladies du tronc comme l'Esca.

Comme vous pouvez le constater, il n'existe pas de modèle de taille « universel » pour notre magnifique mosaïque de 14 ha de vignobles âgés de 0 à 80 ans, composée de plus de 24 cépages dans différents microclimats autour de Quinta do Tedo. Et comme nous ne pouvons pas prédire ce que l'avenir nous réserve, nous devons rester vigilants et tester de nouvelles techniques, sans oublier celles qui ont été perfectionnées au fil des siècles.

Ne manquez pas la mini-série de vidéos qui sera lancée le mois prochain sur nos comptes Instagram et Facebook et qui récapitulera ces techniques de taille avec notre Technicien de Viticulture Angelo Ribeiro.

~ Odile Bouchard

Pruning techniques at Quinta do Tedo

We like to embrace challenges at Quinta do Tedo. Some by choice - for example, converting to certified organic viticulture between 2009-2011, achieving Biosphere Certification in 2023, and currently working on Wines of Portugal’s National Reference for Sustainability Certification in the Wine Sector.

Other challenges we face by obligation - for example, adapting our viticulture techniques to ensure our vineyards produce the best ratio of quantity (not a given in Douro’s harsh climate and schist soils!) to quality fruit, and thrive for decades in light of Douro’s increasingly hotter and drier climate - a  challenge historic quality wine regions around the world are facing.

Pruning is one of the most important viticulture processes by which we help our vines build resilience and produce quality fruit. It’s an art and takes experience. Essentially, we look at each vine to understand its vigor and health, and prune it accordingly to establish an equilibrium between plant, soil and climate.

Our goal? To grow vines that produce high quality fruit in Douro’s increasingly drier and hotter mediterranean climate. Three main adversaries we manage in doing so include disease, extreme sun exposure, and drought.

In some cases we revise ancient viticulture techniques - for example, grafting massal selection of traditional (and some forgotten) high acid red varieties in our Seita Nova parcel, a “new old vine” planted in a better organized and mechanizable fashion. In 8-10 years, we should have quality fruit production to produce naturally fresh and authentic Douro DOC red wines and Portos, preserving Douro’s incredible diversity of 120+ native grape varieties.

In other cases, we test different viticulture techniques - for example, Guyot pruning in our recent 2022 Bastardo and Touriga Franca plantings. This method encourages lower fruiting zones, facilitating the flow of water and nutrients less distance between leaves, fruit, trunk and roots, to produce more grapes, without jeopardizing their quality and ensuring the vine stores sufficient reserves to live many years.

In Seita Velha, our newly acquired, 80-year-old, non-mechanized traditional field blend parcel, we’re encouraging bush vine (aka goblet) training. This system provides more foliage cover to avoid sunburn, respects low yields and  energy reserves for longevity, and avoids us making large cuts to healthy living old wood.

We maintain tradition with Royat (or Unilateral Cordon) pruning in a parcel of Sousão, making only small cuts to one-year old wood to minimize large open wounds for disease to enter, leading to trunk diseases like Esca.

As you can see, there’s no “one size fits all” pruning model for our beautiful mosaic of 14 ha of 0-80 year old vineyards, composed of 24+ grape varieties growing in different microclimates around Quinta do Tedo. And as we cannot predict what the future holds, we must remain on our toes and test new techniques, without forgetting those that have been fine-tuned over centuries.

Look forward to a mini video series launching next month via our Instagram and Facebook accounts recapping these pruning techniques with our Viticulture Technician Angelo Ribeiro.

~ Odile Bouchard

"Weather cycle normal" = 3 months of winter and 9 months of inferno!

According to winemaker Jorge "weather cycle normal" so far for 2014, as I inquired about the 3 July rainfall of a whopping 4.3 cm/1.75 in when the average for July is 1.2 cm/½ in for the whole month.  Could this support the climatic changes in the Douro region, as in the rest of the world?  Perhaps the extreme rain on this one day, but so far precipitation and temperature are within 30-year average parameters.

All the same, there are walls to repair; impossible to hold the rain’s hammering intensity on 1 day.  Portuguese tradition says "the more you lose walls the more wine you will make", at least that is comforting.  Every year there are walls to repair, we have 4 km/2.4 miles total of traditional dry walls on our property of 14 hectares/34 acres, and this is a good time to repair.  The soil is dry and light and consequently easier to work.  The jugs of fresh diluted wine,  nestled in the soil, are always helpful to the workers.

The 3.22 hectares/8 acres of replanted vineyards are thriving after the 2012 planting.  Here are photos of  2012 and 2014.  As much as we wanted to maintain the old vines, they were just not producing – due to age and the more rock vs less soil in thèse terraced vineyards.

Too early to predict 2014’s quality, the grapes are turning color and are healthy and following the normal ripening phase.  Vincent tells me that according to vigneron tradition "the hidden quality of the coming harvest is always better than the previous one" - is that a Burgundian saying?  Towards the end of August, when we sample on a daily basis for sugar content, is when we can confidently predict the quality of the approaching harvest.

This marks the first year that I can spend more time at the quinta, instead of a month here and there. I am now an "empty nester", as my 3 children are off to their post-highschool studies. The Quinta, the Douro region and Portugal continue to captivate me.  Seems to captivate others as well, as evidenced by the visitors at the quinta, enjoying the dramatic beauty and traditions of the Douro and, of course, the quality port, Douro Doc wine and olive oil that Quinta do Tedo produces.

Vine survival at Quinta do Tedo

The definition of weather in the Douro valley is “3 months of winter and 9 months of hell” (!), to describe the short winters and the intense heat and drought the rest of the year. At Quinta do Tedo we dry farm* and, with annual rainfall being 50cm or 19.5in, the maximum amount of rain needs to be saved for the vine’s survival.  At Quinta do Tedo we achieve this, thanks largely to our schist soil and terraced vineyards supported by our beautiful stone walls. Our vineyards are classified “A”, Douro D.O.C. appellation’s most prestigious rating on a scale of A to F, equivalent to Grand Cru in Burgundy (my husband keeps me abreast of the similarities between Burgundy and the Douro!).  Schist soil is de rigueur for the best Port, and simply put is flaky decomposed slate.  Our vineyard’s 20-30cm/8-12” schist topsoil, with a smattering of rocks, blankets the deeper slate layers growing obliquely down to the earth’s center.  This powdery topsoil acts like a sponge during the short and intense winter rains, allowing the rain to slowly descend between the schist and slate layers to the water table.  The ancestors of Quinta do Tedo, to prevent erosion during the rainy season, used extracted schist rocks to build strong wide and high “dry” walls (no cement to reinforce).  These walls allow for the rainwater to gently seep down from one terrace to the next, replenishing a water table that plays such a vital role in the vine’s survival.

The vine’s roots grow deep down between the cracked slate to access the water table’s humidity.  Some of our older vines go down as far as 25m/80ft!  It is during the intense and long hot summer months that the water table comes to the vine’s rescue, and the humidity pushes upwards through the slate’s crevices, a respite to the vine’s thirst, explaining how our vineyards can possibly survive and even remain green in the Douro, without rain for months at a time and when sweltering temperatures over 40C/105F can be routine in the summer.

In the past 15 years many traditional stone walls have been torn down and replaced by “patamares”, the wall-less wide terraces put in by enormous earth- moving caterpillars, that were largely funded by the World Bank after Portugal’s entrance in 1986 to the EEC, in hopes to find a mechanized and cost-effective way to “tame” the challenging steepness of the Douro. No thought was given to the resulting erosion that is found today in many of these patamares vineyards.  At Quinta do Tedo we continue to rely on our 4 km/2.4 miles in total length of traditional stone walls, that need an upkeep of 300m/930ft in manual labor every year.  Oftentimes traditional ways survive for a reason and cannot be replaced by modern practices introduced by man’s hunger for fast return on investment.   Our vines know how to survive in the infernal conditions that Mother Nature can stow upon us, and thanks to her we have the ingredients to make world-class port and wine.

*Dry farm means no irrigation.  Vineyard irrigation is illegal in the Douro, as in other prestigious European appellations, except to establish new vines for the first 3 years.  At Quinta do Tedo we practice “emergency on-demand” manual watering, only during the hottest summer days for our young vines until  they are established.

PS Thanks Gretchen for the photo!

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