The launch of our eShop and Vintage Savedra 2018!

What was supposed to be our busiest year yet, has turned out to be a quiet year with lots of room for reflection and improvement, funneled into some exciting projects.

The Tedo Valley view (adorned with some impressive new signage) that we look forward to sharing with YOU as soon as you can make it here!

While missing the exciting and abundant flow of international visitors with whom we love to share Quinta do Tedo, we are excited to welcome more nationals, and spread the song of Quinta do Tedo’s bird closer to home, while finding new ways to project its sound overseas as well… enter our new eShop!

Created by Joseph and myself during quarantine, to facilitate Tedo friends near and far learning about our products and promotions (stay tuned for a rosé.. ehrm, I mean rosey summer-themed one coming out next week!) EU customers can purchase our full range of Port and Douro DOC Wines, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and even some Tedo souvenirs (fancy a baseball cap or canvas tote bag?), shipped direct to their door. US customers can access our products through our wonderful partner, Rachel Farah Selections. Non-US and non-EU customers can find our products through our valued importers, listed here.

I’ll let Joseph break it down for you: 

We are proud to announce our recent awards from Wine Enthusiast, which you can listed on their Magazine Website in October:

• 93 points for our 2015 Grande Reserva Savedra Douro DOC Red Wine

• 92 points for our 2016 Reserva Douro DOC Red Wine

• 88 points for our 2018 Colheita Douro DOC Red Wine

And the good news keeps coming! The IVDP (regulatory body that oversees Douro Valley’s Porto and Douro DOC Wine production) has confirmed our 2018 Vintage Savedra declaration, for the third in a row since 2016.

Our Vintage Savedra is the “The King of Port Wine”, from Savedra, the King of Tedo’s estate vineyards. In only the most exceptional, classic Vintage harvests (of which there are usually 3-4 per decade, ) do 24+ grape varieties from Savedra, our oldest (60+ year) field blend parcel with deep roots and low yields, come together in our uniquely rich, cool, complex and powerful Vintage Savedra Port Wine.

Stay tuned through our eShop for our 2018 Vintage Savedra release this October (only 1700 bottles!) In the meantime, oenologist and general manager, Jorge Alves, shares a “taste” of what you can look forward to:

“On the nose, it expresses complex aromas of plums, chocolate, blueberries and wet schist stone. On the mouth, it is generous, robust and with aesthetic structure, rich tannins and great balance between fruit, sugar, structure and alcohol. It is dense and deep, with fine and firm texture and long length. 2018 Vintage Savedra is fragrant, persistent and precise.”

~ written by Odile Bouchard

Stay tuned for the release of our 2018 Vintage Savedra this October!

While the Port is sleeping - Winter and Spring at Quinta do Tedo

A COVID-19 Silver Lining - at Quinta do Tedo we make greater efforts than ever to share with you our commitment to sustainability, to open spaces, and to our welcoming and safe environment for our wine tourism visitors to enjoy, embrace and recharge!

Perhaps for many of you a walk down memory lane, we welcome you back whenever that will be!

Saúde - Salute - To your health - Santé!

Le PRINTEMPS dans nos vignes

D'où vient le mot PRINTEMPS ? Ses origines remontent aux années 1400, et printemps signifiait "la saison où les plantes commencent à s’élever", pour surgir du sol : NAISSANCE.

Le débourrement - le cycle de la vigne COMMENCE !

Le bourgeon s'ouvre.

La vigne commence à "pousser" à mesure que les jours se réchauffent et s'allongent, grâce à l'énergie stockée dans les hydrates de carbone de la précédente saison.  Résultat: RUPTURE DES BOURGEONS - les bourgeons éclatent, défiant la dure couche externe ligneuse de la vigne. De nouvelles feuilles et de tendres pousses explosent !

La CROISSANCE commence, suivie de l'ébourgeonnage. Voici nos 2 nouveaux chiens, Ardinia et Lula.

Puis vient la CROISSANCE - dans le vignoble d'abord lente, puis frénétique - une croissance quotidienne de la vigne de 1,6 cm / 1”. Notre culture de couverture biologique suit dans la frénésie, dotée de l’intention (et de la couleur!), de "nourrir" le sol de nos vignes avec des nutriments indispensables pour la qualité du raisin, et par conséquent du vin. A cette période, il est impératif de s'assurer que les vignes sont exemptes de maladies causées par les insectes ou les champignons.

Les vrilles se forment dans les futures grappes de raisin.

Environ 4 à 6 semaines après le débourrement, de minuscules grappes se forment à l'extrémité des jeunes pousses, la vigne s'autopollinise et les fleurs fécondées se transforment en une graine puis en une baie, c'est ce qu'on appelle la (fermeture) ou FORMATION DES GRAPPES.  Cela prend environ de 10 à 14 jours. Fait amusant : pour la plupart des cépages, seules 20 à 50 % des fleurs deviennent des raisins.

De minuscules fleurs.

Vous pouvez voir quelques-unes des fleurs séchées qui tomberont sur le sol.

La CROISSANCE continue, à cette époque les baies sont dures. Elles vont se développer pour devenir le nectar des dieux - nos Portos et nos vins rouges Douro DOC ! Les vendanges débutent environ 100 jours après la floraison, lorsque les sucres du raisin atteignent le niveau souhaité.

Intense, implacable et en mouvement…LE PRINTEMPS !

SPRINGtime in our vineyards

Where does the word SPRING come from? The origins date back to the 1400s, and spring meant “the season in which plants begin to rise”, to spring forward from the ground: BEGINNING.

Bud break - the cycle of the grapevine BEGINS!

Bud opens.

The grape vines begin to “push” as days become warmer and longer, from energy stored from the previous season’s carbohydrates.  Result: BUD BREAK – buds burst into life, defying the grapevines’ tough outer woody layer. New, tender leaves and shoots explode!

Growth takes off, thinning will follow. Here are our 2 new dogs, Ardinia and Lula.

Then comes GROWTH – at first slow and then a frenzy in the vineyard – vine growth of 1.6 cm / 1” daily. Our organic cover crop follows in the frenzy, with intention (and color!), “feeds” the soil in our vineyards with nutrients vital for grape, and therefore wine, quality. During this time it is imperative to make sure the vines are free of insect or fungal damage.

Tendrils form into future grape clusters.

About 4 to 6 weeks after bud break miniscule clusters form on the young shoot’s tips, the grapevine self-pollinates and the fertilized flowers develop into a seed and berry, this is called CLUSTER FORMATION.  This takes about 10 – 14 days. Fun fact: for most varietals, only 20 - 50% of the flowers develop into grapes.

Miniscule flowers.

You can see some of the dried flowers that will fall to the ground.

GROWTH continues, at this time the berries are hard. They will develop into what becomes the nectar of the gods – our Portos and Douro DOC red wines! Harvest starts approximately 100 days after flowering, when the grape sugars reach the desired level.

Intense, unrelenting and forward moving… SPRING!

Rachel Farah Selections for US Online Sales

Rachel Farah Selections offers exclusive and hand-picked Portuguese wines in the U.S. market.

Meet Rachel Miers from Rachel Farah Selections! A natural entrepreneur and lover of Portuguese wine and olive oil, she started the United States’ only online Portuguese Wine Club and Bottle Shop with home delivery.  Quinta do Tedo is thrilled to be part of her portfolio!

Having lived in Italy for 10 years, Vincent and I returned to our Napa Valley, California home in 2014 and decided to create direct-to-consumer online sales in the US for Quinta do Tedo, a similar program has thrived for years in the European market, direct from our Quinta. From 2016 to 2019 we had the good fortune to work with Stephen Goldberg from Cellar Collections in Napa, California. The online program grew and evolved; last month Quinta do Tedo started to work with an importer specialized in Portuguese products - Rachel Farah Selections.  

Online wine sales are up, especially since COVID-19 has made us house bound. When the future will allow, Rachel and I look forward to hosting tastings (and more!) for our US customers, many who have visited us at our Quinta. Would that not be the perfect social and/or office occasion – a Porto Rosé Tonic or Fine Tawny Spritz in hand to start off a tasting, while listening to an informative overview of Quinta do Tedo and other Portuguese Wines and Olive Oils from Rachel Farah Selections!?

~Kay

Are you ready for a Porto Rosé Tonic or Fine Tawny Spritz?

Les sélections de Rachel Farah Selections pour les ventes en ligne aux Etats-Unis

Rachel Farah Selections propose sur le marché américain des vins portugais exclusifs et cueillis à la main.

Rencontrez Rachel Farah Selections! Une entrepreneur née et amoureuse du vin et de l'huile d'olive portugais, elle a créé le seul club de vin et boutique de bouteilles portugais en ligne des Etats-Unis avec livraison à domicile. Quinta do Tedo est enchantée de faire partie de son portefeuille.

Ayant vécu en Italie pendant 10 ans, Vincent et moi sommes retournés en 2014 dans notre maison de Napa Valley, en Californie, et avons décidé de créer aux États-Unis pour Quinta do Tedo la vente en ligne directe aux consommateurs. Un programme identique a prospéré pendant des années sur le marché européen, directement depuis notre Quinta. De 2016 à 2019, nous avons eu la chance de travailler avec Stephen Goldberg de Cellar Collections à Napa, en Californie. Le programme en ligne s'est développé et a évolué; le mois dernier, Quinta do Tedo a commencé de travailler avec un importateur spécialisé dans les produits portugais - Rachel Farah Selections.  

Les ventes en ligne de vins sont en progression, surtout depuis que COVID-19 nous a contraints d'être confinés à la maison. Lorsque l'avenir le permettra, Rachel et moi serons impatientes d'organiser des dégustations (et plus encore!) pour nos clients américains, dont beaucoup nous ont rendu visite à notre Quinta. Ne serait-ce pas l'occasion idéale pour une rencontre amicale et/ou professionnelle - un verre de Porto Rosé Tonic ou un Fine Tawny Spritz à la main, pour commencer une dégustation, tout en écoutant un aperçu instructif sur la Quinta do Tedo et d'autres vins et huiles d'olive portugais de Rachel Farah Selections ! ?

~Kay

Etes-vous prêts à déguster un Porto Rosé ou un Fine Tawny Spritz?