Harvest 2009 Reflections

Dear all, I have received repeated requests for Quinta do Tedo’s impression of harvest 2009, so here goes after consulting Vincent and Jorge…..

Time to harvest

Harvest 2009 - Started 3 weeks earlier than normal on 25 August for some older parcels, due to a 40°C/105°F week-long heat wave combined with drying winds in August.  Luckily we had a “cooler” July than usual (with even miraculous precipitation) that allowed the younger more resistant vines to mature slowly and to not stress.  Due to 35/40% less rainfall this year we have 30/35% less fruit, with 3 positives: concentration, acidity and sugar.  2009 will be a very good Douro DOC year, too early to predict if a “classic” or “normal” Vintage year, will be very good LBV and top base for Ruby and Tawny.

Grapes in baskets

Here are Jorge's comments:

“Douro: mature, level-headed grapes, with good acidity, minerality and fragrances gave rise to grand, intensely fruited, velvety wines; silky tannins,  good structure to grow old or to be appreciated in the near years. Marvellous wines."

Port: very mature grapes; balanced, healthy, they gave rise to concentrated, rich Ports in fragrances, tastes and tannins, able to support the aging in the near decades. A special year."

Cheers! “

Gorgeous!

All in all, sounds pretty good, eh?

I wish all a happy Thanksgiving in the company of loved ones.  A glass of Quinta do Tedo port would be a dream with a piece of pumpkin, mince and apple pie!

Liquid gold

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Why foot treading?

A dear friend Francoise asked me the above, so here we go with an answer…. Since sweet port is made from partial fermentation, to save the residual sugar that comes from our grapes, the maceration that puts the juice in contact with the grape’s skin (that obtain flavor, tannins and color) is reduced to 3 or 4 days.  In this short lapse of time we need to extract as much as we can from the skin.  This is why we foot tread.   The foot treading is very soft, like a massage for the grapes; 4 hours a day with an equivalent of 1 worker per 650 kgs/1430 lbs of grapes in an open tank called a lagare.  The feet of the workers are obviously clean and disinfected, no need to worry!  Foot treading disintegrates gently all the skin and liberates all the above mentioned components of the skin.  During foot treading the foot activity does not extract only from the grape’s skin, but also from the matured brown grape pits, by rolling under the feet, that liberates a very thin skin around the pits, called by my husband “pellicule”, that is very rich in aromas and soft tannins.

Get the beat

Disco line dancing

Mechanical foot treading, on the other hand, if not properly adjusted, which is often the case, will aggressively break the pits, releasing the pit’s oil and green vegetable-like drying astringency, that will be bad for the port’s flavor.  Today none of the mechanical foot treaders can do a better job than what has been used for centuries; workers treading back and forth, sometimes to the accompaniment of an accordionist, sometimes playing games and taking a swig of port from a big carafe to pass the time away, and during this time gently extracting the components that make a world class port, as is the case at Quinta do Tedo.  Not only is our prestigious Vintage made this way, but all of our ports, due to the small dimension of our quinta and thanks to the number of workers and visitors that volunteer to foot tread.  If you have never tried, it is an unforgettable good time, let us know if you would like to come for a harvest and help out!

Somewhat serious

Let's Party!

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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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Tedo in the Vineyard

Visiting the quinta and taking in the beautiful view of the Tedo river, you may have noticed a horse grazing down by the river, undoubtedly moving his tail back and forth to keep the flies at bay, content and  oblivious to everything else except for the next mouthful.  That is our 18+ year old horse, Tedo.  Not only is he one of our loved animals here, he is an integral part of the biological viticulture practiced here at Quinta do Tedo, all linked to sustainable agriculture.  What is that all about, you may ask yourself, as I have asked myself many a time....? Let me back up 50+ years if I may, when in the shift to maximize agricultural production for the growing population and to develope big business, some not-so-friendly practices inevitably resulted: depletion of topsoil and groundwater contamination, the plight of the individual farmer unable to compete with agro-business, the exploitation of the worker in the field....a general disconnect on so many levels.  Advance 50+ years and we are all more aware of the land, and we want to leave the world a better place for future generations (ie our children), and to somehow slow down global warming and the list goes on as we make concerted efforts to become stewards of the land.   Sustainable agriculture is one answer to improving our planet and  integrates three main goals-environmental health, economic profitability and social and economic equity.   Thank goodness!

We proudly practice sustainable agriculture here at Quinta do Tedo, and are in the  3rd year of a 4-year process to convert from conventional viticulture to biological viticulture.  Biological viticulture is the application of sustainable agriculture in the vineyard, and principle goal is to find equilibrium between viticulture and the environment.  How significant are the differences between conventional and biological viticulture?  Whereas in conventional viticulture +/- 200 products can be used in the vineyard with many preventive treatments to result in a large crop, in biological viticulture we use only 5 to 6 products, (believe me, we have never used even a fraction of the 200 products when we did practice conventional viticulture!), we spray only on demand and our crop is 35% less than in conventional viticulture.  We don't use any type of herbacide, and the weeds (a positive term here, not a despised growth as in one's flower garden) must grow and are cut back after 3 to 4 weeks, because we need the roots for moisture and for erosion control.   We only use certified non-genetically modified grape vines, each time we replant a grape vine that is too old (our oldest vines are around 75 years old!).   We have 26 different grape varieties planted in our 13 hectares/29 acres of vineyard, partly out of tradition, but also in keeping with biodiversity.

So, where does our beloved Tedo fit into the biological viticulture picture that we boast?   Simply put, Tedo eats the weeds, and in his manure are the weeds' seeds that reseed in the vineyards, that nurture the soil, that result in healthy grape vines and reduced soil erosion.  Instead of 5 to 6 types of weeds in conventional viticulture we have 40+ different types of weeds, that Tedo helps us to proliferate, simply by munching so contentedly day in and day out.  Some of the weeds of the leguminosae (pea) family, via symbiosis, incorporate atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, further enhancing soil quality and reducing erosion. Since Quinta do Tedo is dry farmed (no irrigation here) and not mechanized (too steep are the terraces and also out of philosophy) Tedo also pulls the plow in the winter months, when we apply organic-based fertilizer.

Not so bad of a life for a horse, eh?  Viva Tedo!

PS  Thanks Gretchen for the photo...

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Replanting the vines, one at a time

Visitors at Quinta do Tedo usually start a tour under the welcome shade of the beech trees, with an exquisite view of our vineyards by the Tedo river.  Some have asked why portions of the terraced vineyard in the distance look “spotty”, when compared to other portions that are “thriving”…..are these vines unhealthy?  Not at all the case and I would like to explain why. Our established terraced vineyards are planted very closely together – 1.6 meters between rows, 1.6 meters trellised in height and 1.1 to 1.2 meters between each vine.  We do not want the vine’s vegetation to be vigorous and to overlap from one vine to the next.  We maximize the number of vines per hectare to create competition between the vines, to actually stress the vines to produce less but more concentrated juice (less is better!).  This high density plantation is more expensive to plant and to maintain because there are more vines, more rows of wire support, more labor for pruning, etc.  Since we do not use heavy machinery in our vineyards that would destroy the beautiful stone wall terraces (we have our faithful horse Tedo to do the plowing), we replant by hand, and even more, only the missing plant and not the whole row.

These “spotty” areas in this terraced vineyard in question are of vines that range from 40 to 60 years in age, with recently planted vines starting to establish, thus the “spottiness”.  We even have some 85-year old vines in our highly-acclaimed Savedra parcel, that produce grapes of intense and very concentrated flavor, only in very small quantities.  Our vineyards are a remarkable mix of 18 different varieties, that is the tradition in this part of the world.

No instant gratification here in our replanting process!  When the old vine is no longer bearing fruit and shows a lack of vigor, we pull out the vine and inspect the root (that are sometimes as much as 5 meters deep but we pull out only 1 meter), to understand the reason it stopped bearing fruit ---mold, virus or just age.  If there is mold or infection we add a calculated amount of organic-based disinfectant to the hole where the vine was.  We let the hole lay fallow for one winter, to let nature’s rain cleanse the hole, and then we replant with American root stock.  After 2 to 3 years, when the rootstock is established and vigorous we graft 1 of our quinta’s 18 varieties, selected by enologue Jorge Alves, onto the rootstock.   This way we control our traditional grape blend that is what makes our port and wines flavor constant from year to year.  We start to pick the grapes after 3 to 4 years.  Total turn around is 6 to 7 years, and that is patience for you!

By opting  for the “slow road” to replanting, we preserve the historic terraces and walls, and use minimal disinfectant only when needed to keep the resulting run off into our water table and into the Tedo as pure as possible, keeping in tune with biological viticulture.   We are looking for quality here not quantity, and actually we are legally limited by the Douro appellation to produce only 5500 liters/hectare or about 3 tons/acre.  So we can have these old vines, up to 85 years, to balance with the more vigorous young vines.  So, these “spotty-looking” vineyards are keeping with our philosophy here at Quinta do Tedo – less is better, take care of the land and respect tradition, to create beautifully crafted ports and wines.  As my husband Vincent has reminded me time and time again “Rome was not built in a day”…….

2 comments need to be added here referring to past blogs.  I thank once again Peggy, entrepreneurial owner of St. Helena Olive Oil Company, for nudging me to start a blog (and actually unbeknowngst to me setting it up for me).  Also, thanks to winemaker and buddy Francoise, for enlightening me that “biological viticulture” is synonomous with “organic”.

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Welcome to Kay's Blog

19 years ago Vincent and I had the (outlandish) and romantic idea to purchase a ruin of an agricultural estate on the Douro River, having fallen in love with the dramatic beauty while hiking in the region and afterwards searching for a place to produce our own wine.  Vincent is Burgundian and wanted to sow his oats elsewhere than France, I am Californian and at the time was terribly in love with Italy, so my Latin lover/husband made sure I was not too close to the country that I so passionately loved, and  voila` we landed in Portugal.  The wildest ideas oftentimes turn into solid reality, if you are ready to pull up your sleeves and work on something that is yours.  I still feel like a "pioneer" with all of the challenges, sometimes  bittersweet,  in something that at times resembles the Wild West, but today I am smitten by Portugal and the Douro Valley...the physical landscape, the people, the lifestyle and the potential to make world-class fortified and table wines, namely Port and Douro D.O.C. red table wine.

With a very  dedicated work force, we have  Jorge Alves, talented winemaker and general manager bar none; assistant winemaker with ditto great talent and drive Hugo Fonseca; dynamic and very congenial tour guide Monia; cook Adelaide, who puts some of the most savory delicious rustic food I've tasted on the table for our work staff and for us; vineyard manager Joaquim and crew who labor in the vineyard and make our viticultural success possible; our horse, Tedo, named logically after the river Tedo, who is the only thing that we have even close to mechanization in the vineyard; and our bird logo, in reverence to the migratory bird oenanthe leucurus, that vagabonds like us with purpose between continents, and sings the song of  Quinta do Tedo.  My blog will be a link  for you to understand us more, and to share with you what is happening at our quinta and in the Douro Valley, from what makes our wine so outstanding to travel tips, to recipes, to humorous (now but not then) vignettes re: our experiences thus far and, with that said, bem-vindo a Quinta do Tedo!

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