Pintu y Cruz family

Portugal, Douro (Porto)

The Douro region of Portugal is famous for its production of Port wine (Porto), and is characterized by steep valleys and terraced vineyards. The dry, hot summers and cool winters produce powerful, full-bodied red wines. In particular, indigenous varieties such as Touriga Nacional are used, and they are characterized by a deep, concentrated flavor. They are also suitable for long-term aging, and not only Port wine but also Douro still wines are often of high quality.

Pintu y Cruz Family Domaine and Vineyards

Pintu i Cruz's vineyards are located in a valley with the narrow Torto River running through it, with both sides lined with terraced vineyards. The name of the village in the valley is São João da Pesqueira.

There, the vineyards are classified according to altitude (the higher on the mountain the lower the quality of the grapes, and the closer to the river in the valley the better the quality: A&B class = 90-350m above sea level, C&D class = 350-450m, E class = 450m or above), and all of the Pintu y Cruz family's 43 hectares of vineyards are A class (90-300m).

The winery is located on a steep slope and is narrow, so they can only produce a small amount, so they use only the best quality fruit for their own brewing. This is only 20% of the total. The rest is sold to a major winemaker (Sandeman).

Organic history: Since 1994

Cazau dos Joldos is a long-established company founded in 1870. In 1994, the Portuguese government established subsidies for organic farming, which prompted the company to switch to organic farming. Since then, the company has won over 40 awards at national and international competitions, which turned out to be the best choice for Pintu i Cruz.

Arlind, who was the head of the family when Mavi first began their relationship, started the organic business, and after he passed away, his son-in-law took over.

We sell 80% of the grapes we grow to major winemakers, but all of the grapes are grown using organic farming methods.

• White grapes: None
• Black grapes: Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz (the Poli and Gal name of Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Caun

Field soil

The soil is schist. It's so rough that you wonder if plants can grow there? It's full of rocks that look like they've been torn off from a rocky mountain. Despite the soil, it's surprisingly soft thanks to proper cultivation. The slope of the fields is 15 to 35 degrees, and donkeys are used to work the fields where old machines cannot enter. The new areas are prepared to the maximum width that a tractor can enter.

Characteristics of cultivation methods etc.

• The harvest takes place in September and October, and is entirely hand-picked by 25 to 30 people over a period of at least three weeks.

Characteristics of brewing method

The harvested grapes are crushed by machine, transferred to stone vats (lagares), and then crushed by foot for the first fermentation. The foot crushing method is called pisa. After that, the grapes are put into stainless steel tanks for the second fermentation.

Most producers crush the grapes with a press and then ferment them in stainless steel tanks, but according to Pintu Iclus, the traditional method of stomping on the grapes crushes the fruit completely, which makes a better wine. The downside is that it's less productive. He can do this because he's a small-scale producer.

The tawny is left in stainless steel tanks for 7 months to a year before being transferred to barrels for storage.

There are countless awards and medals on display in his office.

They have won awards in competitions in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, and even Slovakia. Of course, this is not limited to organic wine competitions, and most of the wines they submit win awards.