This vineyard is located in Girabolhos, a village in the municipality of Vila Nova de Tazem – Gouveia. Girabolhos is located near the valley of the Mondego River. In fact, the slope of the valley facing the river is one of the hottest areas in the Serra da Estrela in the summer. Our vineyard is located to the east of the village centre, between the village and Vila Nova de Tazem. It is located at an altitude of around 420 metres, in a flat area before a small valley of a stream that joins the Mondego River further north.

The vineyard covers an area of ​​approximately 2.5 hectares and is almost exclusively dedicated to viticulture. There are some fruit trees – peach, orange and fig trees – which fill us with aromas and flavours when we are in the vineyard, when their flowers and fruits are in bloom. There is also a border of olive trees, which delimit the vineyard, identifying it as the main crop. The soil of this vineyard is made up of granite sand. It has a homogeneous appearance, with quartz-based boulders on a steeper slope (which is gentle). It is clear and has little organic matter.

Since we planted the vineyard in 2020, we have been careful to follow our organic viticulture philosophy and maintain the low-lying native vegetation that has begun to grow between the rows. We have been improving the soil structure with annual applications of organic matter. This vineyard has a mixture of grape varieties and some older vines that we are proud of.

There is a plot of white grape varieties, such as Bical, Cerceal-Branco and Encruzado. There is a larger area of ​​red grape varieties. The dominant grape variety is Jaen, followed by Tinta Roriz. Then there are two varieties with smaller areas than the previous ones – Tinta Pinheira and Touriga Nacional. This vineyard has been a land of grapes for a long time; the locals say that Girabolhos is known as the land of the “father of wine”… I believe that the mother is the land. In this plot, we have 3 plots of vineyards with smaller areas due to the twisted appearance of the vines, the mixture of red and white grape varieties and the cadastre… in addition to the different orientation (East-West), as opposed to the dominant North-South orientation… These are vineyards that we call Old. In the plot of grape varieties, there are around 20% white vines. So far, we have identified a remarkable diversity in one of the 3 plots; we have identified 13 different grape varieties.

This vineyard has the oldest plots registered in 1931 – Vinha do Penedo, and another plot planted in 1973 – Vinha da Aldeia and Vinha do Regato. The central plot – Vinha do Torreão – has two planting dates – 1995 and 1999.
For our reference, despite the small area of ​​this vineyard, we divided and named the plots, the largest and most representative is the Torreão vineyard, we also have the Carvalho vineyard. Then we have the plots of old vines – Vinha do Penedo, Vinha do Regato and Vinha da Aldeia.

This vineyard is located near the village of Póvoa das Quartas, in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital. Our vineyard is located in the Alva sub-region, on a slope facing southeast. At its highest point, the farm reaches an altitude of 580m, and at its lowest point, it drops to 500m, towards the Alva river and the village of Sandomil.

This hillside was already cultivated with olive groves and was mainly occupied by eucalyptus. Since 2017, a structural and agricultural reconversion of these lands has begun. On part of the land, terraces with two rows of vines were installed, in a vineyard setting that is not typical of the region. On most of the land, we work with wide terraces with vineyard plots. Due to the personal taste of the owner, Mr. António, several varieties were planted, including white and red, traditional to the region and two others imported out of passion. Thus, on this plot we have – Encruzado, Malvasia Fina, Bical and Uva Cão among the white varieties. Among the red varieties, we have Alfrocheiro, Touriga Nacional, Jaen, Baga and the “foreign” Syrah and Touriga Franca. Each one planted in separate plots.

This vineyard is a risk-taking and passionate venture, where in 2019 we started a plot of uncultivated trees. Located in a low area of ​​the farm, on poor granite sand soil. That same year we planted Touriga Nacional and in 2021 we expanded this area with a range of rare varieties native to Dã, very popular in the region in pre-phylloxera times – Alvarelhão, Amaral, Baga, Bastardo, Negro Mouro, Pilongo, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Carvalha and Tinta Francisca. In 2023, we expanded this plot again, to the current 3000 m2 (0.3 ha).

This vineyard, given its different altitudes, has different soil textures. In the highest and most sloping parts – where the terraces were created – the soil is poorer and closer to a granite base, making the soil gravel. In the highest part, the soil is dark and deep, richer. In the deepest part, where the vine stands – loamy, the soil is poor and has a coarse, sandy texture.

The vineyard is flanked by olive groves, and there are also olive groves inside the property. In addition to the olive groves, there is some forest with eucalyptus trees and some cork oaks.

Very close to the centre of the village of Vila Nova de Tazem, we have our smallest vineyard, just 1 ha. The vineyard is on the west side of the village, about 700m in a straight line from the village church. Our vineyard, like many others in the region, is located among pine forests. Despite its proximity to the centre of Vila Nova de Tazem, to get there we have to take a secondary road, then turn off onto a dirt track flanked by granite walls. Once we reach the entrance to the property, we cross the pine forest and finally find our vineyard. That is why we call it the Lost Vineyard. This place has the charm of a fairytale forest.

In this case, the majority of the property is pine forest, with the vineyard area occupying the centre of the land, well exposed to the afternoon sun. There are some fruit trees, apple and pear trees, which mark the deeper soils, as is always the case in the region, with a sparse border of olive trees. In this small vineyard, we have two main plots. The dominant grape variety is Jaen, and we also have a small section of Touriga Nacional. Then we have the white grape sector, where we have Encruzado and Bical.

The soil is still granite, but in this plot the soil is slightly richer, with areas of greater concentration of clay and deeper soil. There are rocky outcrops of granite where the soil is coarser and poorer in texture. This small plot of vineyard was planted in 1994.