Winebow Producer Book

DOC Douro , Portugal

Winery Overview The name Duorum, which is Latin for “from two,” captures the spirit of this famed Portuguese winery. The winery is owned by two of Portugal’s most renowned oenologists, João Portugal Ramos and José Soares Franco. Ramos, widely considered the “King of the Alentejo,” began his career as a groundbreaking wine consultant in the 1980s, and today runs successful projects in the Alentejo, Vinho Verde, Beiras, and Douro. Franco, on the other hand, spent 27 years as wine director for one of Portugal’s most renowned wines: the Douro’s Barca Velha. With more than three generations of winemaking history between their families, they chose to combine their superior skills and passion for winemaking and founded Duorum in 2007. Location of Vineyard Duorum has vineyards in the Douro’s mountainous, schistose Cima Corga and its arid Douro Superior. The microclimates and terroir in these subregions are quite different, which brings together grapes of varied characteristics. This unique blend creates a layered, complex wine. Winemaking Philosophy Only native Portuguese grape varieties are planted in the hard, schistose soil of the Duorum vineyards. The mountains in the area are so steep that vines are planted in terraces overlooking the winding Douro River far below. Their use of native flora and the character it adds to their wine has placed them in high regard. In 2012, Duorum received the European Union’s Business & Biodiversity award for its outstanding achievements in halting biodiversity loss and supporting natural ecosystems. Winery Overview Muxagat Vinhos started as a small garage winery in 2002 in the tiny village of Muxagata, owned by husband and wife winemakers, Mateus Nicolau de Almeida and Teresa Ameztoy. Mateus was born into a traditional Port making family and studied winemaking in Bordeaux, followed by training in Chile, Argentina and Spain. The couple quickly found success with their delightful, inventive wines and moved the following year to a winery in Meda. The first Muxagat harvest in 2002 produced 5,000 bottles of red wine. In 2003, it produced 6,000 bottles of white wine. The goal is to gradually increase quantities to 50,000 bottles a year while still producing top quality wines from traditional Douro varietals. Location of Vineyard The vineyards are situated in the cooler, high altitude Douro sub-region of the Douro Superior. The soil is schist and climate conditions result in very low, concentrated yields, around 2.2 tons per acre. The vineyard is planted in steep mountainside terraces overlooking the Douro River and famous Paleolithic Foz Côa cave engravings. Winemaking Philosophy Muxagat wines are made from vines indigenous to Portugal with an average age of 40 years for the whites (mainly Rabigato) and 10 for the reds (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão and Tinta Roriz). The winemaking responsibilities belong to Mateus, who has studied winemaking all over the world and draws on this diverse background to create playful, expressive wines. His reds are foot trodden in granite lagars, a method that is traditional and gentle on the grapes; the wine is aged in French oak. DOC Douro , Portugal