Wine Life - Houston

Paco dos Cunhas de Santar is a 17th century manor house in Santar village in the Dão wine region of Portugal. It has an interesting history, it was originally owned by a family named Cunhas who produced olive oil, fruit, and wine. They were connected to the Spanish monarchy. When Portugal regained its independence, the local population destroyed the property in retaliation and it was left empty. Global Wines , who owns multiple properties and brands in wine regions throughout Portugal, purchased the estate in 2002. Restoring the property has been a long process with the vineyards being the top priority, all of the surrounding 20 hectares of vines have been organically grown since 2007, they launched the first organic wine from the estate in 2012. The original manor house has been restored and now includes a wine shop, event space, and restaurant. It is tourist friendly offering both winery and vineyard tours, along with wine tastings. The tastings are outside on the terrace when t...

Luís Lourenco met our group at Quinta dos Roques, a 35 hectare property in Cunha Baixa in the Dão wine region of Portugal. He had set up a tasting of his sustainably made wines from that estate alongside wines from his slightly smaller, 25 hectare organic property, Quinta das Mais. Lourenco's family has owned a portion of the property for generations. In addition to grapevines, they used to farm a diverse array of crops, they determined that to be more profitable they needed to specialize in wine grapes. They bought some surrounding land and the Quinta das Mais property in the late 1990s which is located nearby and continued to focus strictly on growing grapes for wine making. Lourenco said the family made a choice to only use local grape varieties to make true Dão wines. Their main red grapes are Jaen and Touriga Nacional with some Alfrocheiro, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão. Their main white grapes are Malvasia Fina and Encruzado with some Bical, Cerceal Branco, and Gouve...

Our second stop on the Dão media tour was at Caminhos Cruzados . This modern mecca of wine rises out of the vineyards that surround it. The building was just completed last year though the company was started in 2012. In English, the winery's name means crossroads and the name inspired the building designed by Porto architect, Nuno Pinto Cardoso. The unique modern design has already attracted architecture lovers from the U.S, U.K, Germany and the Netherlands while the wine quality is the draw that will bring them back. Even though it is the first year for the new winery to be open, they have received a lot of wine tourists, the majority have been from Brazil which is a major market for the wine. The company was started by Paulo Santos who was born in Nelas. His love of wine began with the small quantities of wine that his family has produced for over 30 years from their own vineyards. He believes in the quality of wine that the area can produce and decided to convert an...

Our first stop in the Dão wine region of Portugal was at Quinta do Cruzeiro where Julia Kemper Wines are produced. As we headed up to the vineyards, I felt like I was hiking through the woods at camp but the high heeled boots of our leader suggested we were in a more civilized place. All of the vineyards are surrounded by pine forests with eucalyptus and olive trees bordering the edges. There was a freshness in the air that Julia said came from the surrounding mountains, the diverse plant life and colorful mushrooms suggested something more enchanted. Julia shared her history with us as we walked. The farm has been in her family for more than 400 years, it was always taken care of by the men in her family. In 2000, Julia was a lawyer in Lisbon when her father requested that she take over running the family farm. Why me, she thought. She would have to quit her job and begin a new life and she was not sure that she wanted to do that. She was also hesitant because she knew what a t...

Late in the afternoon, Daniela Veglio, Mauro's wife, met me outside of the winery to show me the surrounding vineyards and tell me their story. It all began with Mauro's grandfather, Angelo Veglio. Angelo was a sharecropper and part-time butcher who had a dream of owning his own vineyards and making wine under his own name from the local grapes that he loved. In the 1960's, he was able to purchase his first property located in Gattera and the realization of his vision began. By 1979, he was able to buy a rundown property called Cascina Nuova with a farmhouse which now, after many additions, houses the current tasting room, cellar and winery. Angelo had three sons but only Mauro shared his dream. Mauro Veglio took over in 1986 when he was 25 years old. He began the restoration of the Cascina Nuova property and started experimenting with different winemaking and vineyard techniques. Mauro Veglio started his own brand in 1992. These were the years that the Barolo Boys  ...

A couple of weeks before I went to Piemonte, Paolo Lovisolo, Bersano 's Direttore Commerciale, was in Houston for a tasting at Vinology for a tasting with some local wine professionals. He poured everyone a glass of Gavi, a crisp white wine, to get started. "Piemonte is a region that is not so easy to approach. Everyone knows Barolo and Barbaresco, the vineyards and hills are Unesco World Heritage Sites but it is still a region that is difficult to understand." Giorgio Caflisch, an Italian wine teacher at The Texas Wine School , volunteered that he tells his students that Barbera is the gateway to Piemonte wines. Lovisolo agreed with Caflisch and then continued his story. Bersano is a historic company founded at the beginning of the 20th century in 1907 by Giuseppe Bersano, who had a passion for wine. Initially, he bought grapes from local growers but then began investing in land for Barbera believing that would be the future of the company. His uncle, a lawy...

Réva, a luxury retreat tucked in between the hills of Monforte d’Alba, was a bit of a surprise to me. With golf, a spa, a pool, hot tub, gourmet restaurant, and woods for truffle hunting, it completely exceeded my expectations of more of the expected beautiful views and great wine. Daniele Gaia, Réva Sales Manager, led my on the tour of the vineyard and joined me for lunch along with a wine tasting. He shared that the owner of the winery is Czech and that the name Réva translates to grapevine.  The vineyard was beautiful and full of grapes on the brink of harvest. While the expected local grapes Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto were all present, I was surprised to learn they also have Sauvignon Gris in the vineyard. I later learned from winemaker, Gianluca Colombo, that it is one of his favorite wines and he was excited to see how it would perform there. The winery was established in 2013 in the heart of the Barolo area. Their vineyard practives are focused on ...