Their names are Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves. Upon completion of their Master’s degrees in Oenology at Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), both Frederico and Ricardo consolidated their training in countries such as Australia, United States of America, South Africa, France, Germany and Spain. This experience brought to them the much-needed know-how, currently used to mark their history and attain their own chapter on the Portuguese Viticulture.
By April of 2017, Arribas Wine Company was founded. Throughout the first year, they have explored a one-hectare vineyard. By 2018, the massive growth of this company witnessed a production of over three thousand wine bottles, as a result of its vineyard expansion to ten hectares.
This would be followed by the assembly of over two thousand bottles of a magnificent white wine, making use of the abundance and variety of old castes within the region, providing a taste of adventure. For the Red wines, the predominant castes were Tinta Gorda, Bastardo, Rufete, Tinta Francisca and the Alvarilhão. The white wines were mostly produced by castes such as Malvasia, Verdelho, Posto Branco and Bastardo Branco. This was a Winehouse in progress at Bemposta, doing things the right the way, typical from someone with the know-how and confidence to make the project run.
The first productions had France and the United Kingdom in mind. Nowadays, Portugal has surrendered to the charms of “Saroto”. This creation is now an integral part of some of the most prestigious national restaurant’s wine list. The wine is soft and fresh, produced with the tradition and the heritage of the old ways, displaying a lively, open and distinct red color, exhibiting its youth. The tasting reveals fresh fruits and hints of chipped stone. A red of few extractions, good acidity, elegance, this is a superb wine which will satisfy everyone.
To both producers, which always praised and valued the quality and the character of the Douro old vines, this was also a sentimental win. It is a patrimony that both Frederico and Ricardo wish, with all their strength, to preserve. If wines like Saroto are an indication of it, it certainly looks like this mission will be easier than it seems.
