Santo António wines are finely constituted and aromatic, adding vibrant notes and complexity to the Vintage Port blend.
This small but remarkable property has a long connection with Fonseca, having contributed to their Vintage Port blend for the past hundred years. Fully converted to organic viticulture, Quinta de Santo António occupies an open west-facing slope, descending to the Pinhão River about a kilometer north of Quinta do Cruzeiro, another Fonseca property. The property was included in the first classification of Douro vineyards in 1757.
Santo António is an example for the sustainable vitiviniculture model developed by technical director David Guimaraens and viticulture director António Magalhães. The example developed in Santo António is based on the experience gained in the vineyard systematization and organic viticulture processes used in the other two properties belonging to Fonseca - Quinta do Cruzeiro and Quinta do Panascal.
The Douro region is one of the most impressive wine producing regions in the world. The oldest vineyards cling to the steep slopes in successive layers of narrow terraces that form a spectacular man-made landscape, classified as a World Heritage Site. Today, it is no longer feasible to build those traditional terraces with their dry stone walls made laboriously by hand over centuries. Where the slope is less than 30%, the terraces are replaced by vertical rows of vines running up the slopes, a technique known as vineyard to the top. However, about two-thirds of the Douro's vineyards are planted on steeper slopes, where vertical planting is difficult or impossible.
Here, the vines are planted on wide platforms that follow the contours of the slopes, known as patamares. These patamares have no walls, but are separated by high slopes. If not properly constructed, these modern terraces can have a negative effect on the environment, cutting through natural waterways, causing surface soil erosion, and creating a barren environment hostile to wildlife. The need to keep the terraces free of weeds, which compete with the vine for water in this arid region, often involves the use of chemical herbicides.
The Douro region is one of the most impressive wine producing regions in the world. The oldest vineyards cling to the steep slopes in successive layers of narrow terraces that form a spectacular man-made landscape, classified as a World Heritage Site. Today, it is no longer feasible to build those traditional terraces with their dry stone walls made laboriously by hand over centuries. Where the slope is less than 30%, the terraces are replaced by vertical rows of vines running up the slopes, a technique known as vineyard to the top. However, about two-thirds of the Douro's vineyards are planted on steeper slopes, where vertical planting is difficult or impossible.
Here, the vines are planted on wide platforms that follow the contours of the slopes, known as patamares. These patamares have no walls, but are separated by high slopes. If not properly constructed, these modern terraces can have a negative effect on the environment, cutting through natural waterways, causing surface soil erosion, and creating a barren environment hostile to wildlife. The need to keep the terraces free of weeds, which compete with the vine for water in this arid region, often involves the use of chemical herbicides.
This Estate has a long connection with Fonseca, having contributed to their Vintage Port blend for the past hundred years.
However, the model developed by António Magalhães and David Guimaraens involves building and maintaining modern terraced vineyards, but in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.
This project was a winner of the Biodiversity BES, the most prestigious award for environmental conservation in Portugal. The project incorporates a number of techniques and strategies that work together to create a balanced and diverse ecosystem, reducing or eliminating the use of harmful chemicals and ensuring the economically sustainable production of high quality wines.
The model is based on the construction of narrow terraces, each with a single row (bardo) of vines. The terraces are designed using earth-moving equipment in which the operator is guided by an innovative laser guidance system that allows the terraces to be built with a slope of exactly 3%. With this slope, a balance is achieved between the flow of rainwater and its penetration into the soil, avoiding its erosion, which is one of the main challenges in mountain viticulture.
This model also avoids the use of chemicals to control unwanted vegetation. This is achieved by allowing free access to the slopes, which are lower and more accessible than those used in conventional patamares. In this way any natural plant growth can be cut mechanically. The dry straw that remains on the banks helps stabilize the slopes and provides a habitat for insects and other wildlife.
Along the vine rows, control is accomplished by sowing a temporary mat of drought-sensitive cover plants such as clover and lupine. These remain between November and late spring while the vines are still dormant, preventing invasive plants from occupying the ground. After this period, they die back naturally with the onset of summer and can be mechanically cut back to form a natural mat between the vines, reducing water loss and restoring natural organic matter to the soil. Other components of the model include the planting of olive trees and the conservation of areas of natural vegetation, ensuring the diversity of plant and animal life, often extinct in areas of intensive viticulture.
Perhaps the most critical aspect of all is the correct selection of grape varieties and their distribution within the vineyard, ensuring that each one is planted in an optimum location so that it can thrive naturally and develop its own resistance to drought, disease and vineyard pests, while still producing perfectly ripe, high quality grapes.
“ Quinta de Santo António wines are finely constituted and aromatic, adding vibrant notes and complexity to the Vintage Port blend. “
Fonseca Port
The model was originally designed for economic and environmental sustainability, not organic production.
However, at Quinta de Santo António, a further step was taken towards obtaining organic certification. However, not all of the property has been converted. The farm contains an area of very old traditional terraces that have been preserved, but replanted so that they can be managed organically.
The organic certification also includes the many olive trees on the property. Just over half are of the Galega (Negrucha) variety, the rest being mainly Madural and Cordovil, with a small portion of Cobrançosa. The olives from these ancient trees are cold pressed to produce a fragrant organic extra virgin olive oil. Smooth, delicate and aromatic, with a subtle fruitiness, it is an international trophy winner and popular with devout olive oil experts.
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