The Douro wines that will appear in shops in 2009 promise to make history. Journalist Patrícia Jota spent a month in the North of Portugal during harvest time. Here she tells us about her adventure.

Old vines

One of the distinguishing marks of the Douro are wines with a wide range of grape varieties. And some wines reach 100 years of age. For the wines, this is an advantage because the low productivity of old wines means that grapes are particularly concentrated. To know if the grape is ready to be harvest, trainees pick a random sample of 200 grapes, which are analysed in the laboratory. This was one of my first tasks in the Douro and, I must confess, I found it quite difficult because in order to reach the grapes on those steep slopes you need plenty of stamina and excellent balance. However, the effort was worth it and, apart from trying sweet grapes, I was also able to savour freshly picked figs, apples and almonds.

Portrait of a region

Situated in the north of Portugal, 90 kilometres east of the city of Porto, some considered this to be the wildest, and most isolated winemaking regions on the planet. What is certain is that this was the first to establish territorial limits and defined rules for wine production in 1756. It has an imposing river, from which it takes its name, and mountains either side – a breathtaking landscape that is considered to be world heritage. This heritage was sculpted with the help of man, who started uprooting trees in the 18^th century, breaking up the schist and constructing terraces for the wines. Today, in the 250-thousand hectare valley, 40 thousand are occupied by vines. Port is still the great attraction, but exuberant reds from a new generation of winemakers are gaining an international reputation. What makes the Douro wines so special is their terroir (the special relationship between the soil and the microclimate which produces unique grapes) and also the production methodology that combines cutting edge technology and the best of tradition.

The harvest and work in the cellar

It it’s hard collecting two hundred grapes, then imagine doing the whole harvest! For this back-breaking work – often done in temperature of 40ºC and more – the companies hire extra hands. The people who offer their muscle are called roga, a tradition that has lasted for three centuries. The man who recruits these people and then oversees their work has the title rogador. Apart from their own vines, Niepoort are supplied by dozens of other neighbouring farmers, the Douro characteristically has a large number of smallholders working the land. It is the winemaker who decides the vintage date, and in the case of Vale de Mendiz cellars it is Nick Delaforce: The “engineer” decides and, on the day, the farmers deliver the fruit of the year’s labour. Vans arrive loaded with 50, 60 (sometimes to hundred) boxes of grapes. “It never stops”, shouts someone. The bunches line up on the selection table - a kind of conveyor belt – in front of four or six people, depending on who’s available, and agile hands quickly throw out anything that is not suitable for the wine in question. If it’s port, the grapes have to be very ripe, almost like raisins. If it’s for Charme, “green” grapes can be used, never raisins! The bunches move on to the machine, the rollers and then on to an old stone tank – the press.

Winemakers apprentice

It’s common for the estates in the Douro region to recruit trainees to help at the time of the vintage. This is a crucial time, when the destiny of the grapes that have been carefully cultivated over the year is defined. It’s the time of a great deal of work, a month quite different to any other. I applied for the position of “winemaker’s apprentice” at Niepoort, a company founded in 1842 by a Dutch family that set up in Portugal to sell and produce port. The business expanded and today includes top red and white wines. Niepoort have two cellars in the Douro, the recently-renovated Quinta de Nápoles, which is an example what is bold in architecture and winemaking and one other which continues in the old style, located in the small village of Vale de Mendiz. On the 19^th September, on a sunny Wednesday, this is my train’s destination.

Pressed

Treading grapes is presses is a ritual that has lasted more than three centuries in the Douro - some say that nothing better than a human foot has been invented for softly extracting the skin and seeds, the things that give the colour, aroma and structure to wine. But the truth is that at Niepoort in Vale de Mendiz, stone tanks – some on them round, which is quite a rarity nowadays – sit alongside stainless steel vats with mechanical presses. At night, as soon as the tank is filled with grapes, the roga gets ready to go to work. Fifteen people spend two hours on a synchronised march, all with their arms folded, moving to and for, obeying the general’s orders: “one, two, left, right…” After the corte do lagar, which is the name given to the first phase, comes another hour of toil – the “freedom” when the workers can move about the tank freely. In the old days the cellar owners hired musicians to encourage the effort needed to treat the gapes. This perk no longer exists, but it’s not uncommon to hear some soul singing a song. Having to do this all night – maybe it’s because of such human dedication that Douro wines are what they are.

Fermentation

The day after the corte do lagar, the must is already fermenting. This process has to be monitored, measuring, from time to time, the temperature and the quantity of sugar that is turning into alcohol. If the tank in question is for port, then the fermentation is interrupted by adding brandy, creating a wine that is quite sweet and a relatively high level of alcohol. At the moment the wine is removed from the tank, it goes to the press and then moves on the stainless steel wine vat, via pumps and hoses.

Harvest festival

The last day of work is the one when there is no ore land to work, no grapes to select or squeeze, no must to treat. There might be the odd tank fermenting, but the winemaker and the company’s permanent staff will take care of that. The roga breathe a sigh of relief and relax their muscles, despite the adrenalin still pumping through their veins. It’s time to prepare the harvest festival, decorate the cellars, choose the music and write the verses that will be read to the cellar owner, because this is the ay it’s been for centuries and tradition means that the roga give thanks for another year’s work with rhymes and flowers. On 15^th October, the 2007 vintage came to an end, noblesse oblige. A vintage that left smiles on the faces of Douro producers, thanks to the quality of its grapes. On the way back home, my skin was burnt from the Douro sun, I had bags under eyes and my hands were filthy, but I was carrying a feeling of immense satisfaction: that of having played my part in a promising harvest, in a magical place. Who knows how long all these traditions will last.

By Patricia Jota

December 2007 Publication –TAP Portugal