A new Convivium of Slow Food in Portugal

Last Saturday we have been in the presentation of a new Convivium of Slow Food in Portugal, in the small village of Maçussa (in Ribatejo, near Cartaxo). The leader of the Convivium of Ribatejo and Oeste is Adolfo Henriques (in the picture talking about the goals of this group), producer of a delicious"Chévre" (in Granja dos Moinhos) and owner of the restaurant "O Baile", in Maçussa. To know more about Slow Food, take a look in the website www.slowfood.com .

O lagar

For the first time, we did several "lagares" in the Douro, the most part with Touriga Franca, one of my favorite grapes from the Douro wines. One of them already finished the fermentation. My son António came with me to see the work in the "lagares". These pictures have been done in the first "pisa" (to tread on the grapes with the feet) of one of the "lagares", called "corte do lagar". Fernando, Tiago, Bruno and Fernando are the 4 boys who normally do this work, at the end of the day, after the school.


















Dão vs Douro







This is the vineyard of Vale da Sobreira, one of my favoured in Mouraz. Sometimes I think if I like more the Dão or the Douro. Maybe my heart slams more for the Dão. It's true that the Douro is very dramatic, dazzling, spectacular, but the Dão it's mysterious and have a more discreet beauty, with the pines and eucalyptuses forest (the dark and magic forest surrouding the vines as my son says, where we can find dwarfs and elfs). That's why the wines from the Dão are the most interesting wines in the world...




Saturday, the 3rd October

Today was the last day of the harvest in the Dão. A sunny day with 26º, a beautiful blue sky, the perfect day to finish. António, the father of António, with almost 87 years old, had came to pick up the grapes of Touriga-Nacional in Vale da Sobreira vineyard.

More about the harvest

The harvest continues in the Dão. Yesterday, in the vineyard of Tonda, António was picking up 200 fruits of different grapes to see if they are already perfect to be collected.

Silver Medal / Decanter World Wine Awards 2009

CASA de MOURAZ, Dão DOC 2007: " Excellent complexity and intense red fruit aromas. Strong body and good acidity. Elegant, persistent finish." in Decanter, October 2009

Silver Medal / Decanter World Wine Awards 2009

CASA de MOURAZ Private Selection, Dão DOC 2006: "Tight nose with underlying new oak, then a big, ripe, firm fruit palate, some chocolate notes and ripe tannins. Good length- needs time." in Decanter, October 2009.

Harvest in the Douro

At home now, after 3 days doing the harvest in the Douro. At the same time, António continues the harvest in the Dão. My son António came with me, 3 days climbing and climbing, and doing naps under the shadows of the olive trees and making picnics...
































Uma parte da história, por António Lopes Ribeiro

Nasci em Dezembro de 1970, numa casa de granito construída pelo meu pai, António Ribeiro, num terreno herdado pela minha mãe, Maria Fernanda, outrora pertença do meu avô que por sua vez o tinha recebido do meu bisavô. A pedra utilizada na sua construção foi, ela própria, arrancada nesse terreno. Segundo conta o meu pai, hoje com mais de 80 anos, a casa e os armazéns demoraram dois anos a construir. De uma terra inóspita e praticamente inculta nasceu uma bela construção e vários terraços perfeitamente aráveis, onde viria a nascer a vinha do Outeiro. Conta também que, nesse ano, em virtude da grande preocupação com a obra, perdeu praticamente toda a colheita de vinho...

Mesmo assim ainda teve tempo para plantar uma nova vinha. Nasci sobre uma adega, com cubas de betão, lagar e tonéis. Em Dezembro os vinhos ainda se ajeitavam no interior do vasilhame e os seus aromas atravessavam o tabuado que separava a adega do meu quarto. Sou o quarto filho, irmão de Adriano, Hélder e Jorge.