Ana and João are helping to embellish the image of Cartaxo wine, which doesn’t enjoy a prestigious reputation for quality. With the help of João’s father, they cultivate three plots totalling less than 2 hectares: one planted by his father in 2013 under the family home, and the other two, in Vale d’Água, 30 years old, given to them by the 90-year-old owner in exchange for wine, and cultivated, like their own vineyard, in organic farming. The vineyard favours the autochthonous varieties Seara nova, Fernão Pires, Arinto, Tamarez, Alicante in white, Castelão, Trincadeira preta, Alicante Bouschet, Preto Martinho in red, with a complement of Touriga nacional, Tinta roriz and Tinta Barroca. The soils are predominantly sandy with a layer of clay that is deeper or shallower depending on the make-up of the plots. The air from the Serra de Montejunto, 15 kilometres away as the crow flies, makes for cooler evenings. The wines age in stainless steel and used wood for 12 months and will soon be created in the new winery next to the house they have just bought and which has 1.5 hectares of land to plant.
As lovers of milk and raw wine, the Ana-João duo have come up with the best amalgamation of animal and vegetable and have enriched our collection of fungi that bring joy to the table and life in the countryside. Long live raw Cartaxo and creamy Chiba.
