José Ribau Esteves
João de Sousa Rodolfo
João Nicolau de Almeida
Oenologist
Wine translates his passion of more than 40 years working in the winegrowing industry. He is a «winegrowing warrior until he retires, who continues his quest for the grail», Nicolau de Almeida told us. Oenology seduced him, when still very young, because it entered his life in a natural way, and through the influence of mother’s and father’s family. When he was little, he cleaned the casks in Gaia. He accompanied his father to the harvests and wanderings of the famous Barca Velha. He worked for decades at Ramos Pinto, his mother’s family’s company. In 1990 he began to make the Duas Quintas and Bons Ares wines, without ever letting slide his dedication to the Ramos Pinto port wines, mainly the vintages. João Nicolau de Almeida was born in Oporto, graduated from the University of Bordeaux and was honorary PhD by the University of Trás-os-Montes. He could have chosen another profession, but he accepted that wine runs in the family and he is now a winemaker at Quinta Monte do Xisto.
You are one of Portugal’s best-known faces in oenology. You hold a wealth of knowledge in the production of quality wines. What is your secret?
There is no secret!... I have always worked with curiosity, the desire to discover, with enthusiasm, always trying to make the best wine possible. I have devoted myself solely and exclusively to the Douro, studying the rootstocks, grapes, planting, conducting, mechanisation of the vineyard and winemaking. I tried to figure out the entire process of achieving wine. I think the secret lies in working...
You have always been connected to famous wines. Do you, together with your children, now strive to produce even more distinct and unique wines at Quinta Monte do Xisto?
I increasingly believe that the quality of the wines is related to the desire to understand the best that the land and the locality have to offer us, or, in other words, deepening your knowledge of nature. After a phase of applying new technologies by scientific means, which, in a way, helped a lot with the modernisation of the Douro, I was confronted by my children a few years ago, who suggested new methods of approaching the vineyard and the wine to me. I tried to understand the questions they raised, and I came to the conclusion that the route they revealed to me was interesting. Modernisation, mechanisation and winegrowing evolution needed a straightforward adaptation to the terroir. With this blend of modernisation/tradition, led by my children, we have arrived at organic and biodynamic production. Quinta do Monte Xisto wine was born within this more natural world, closer to tradition, and since the vines were planted they never seen any synthetic product, thus doing justice to the natural terroir.
«Making quality wine is like painting a picture or composing a piece of music»
Wine is part of your life. Is drinking a good wine a cultural act?
I share my energies with my family and wine. Making quality wine is like painting a picture or composing a piece of music. You have to access an emotional moment that sharpens your senses, that lifts you above your common state, that gives you, that elevates you, makes us speak, communicate, share «In vino veritas».
What plans does the Nicolau de Almeida family have for the future?
The Nicolau de Almeida family follows its intuition carved over time. There is no formula, but a real dedication and serious, responsible and honest work, giving your best. This is how we ensure continuity to the Nicolau de Almeida family at Quinta Monte do Xisto.
T.
Maria Cruz
P.
Manuel Teixeira
