Quinta do Ameal

José Roquette, the owner of Esporão, Portugal’s largest organic wine company, purchased Quinta do Ameal in 2019 from the recently retired Pedro Araujo. Located in the heart of the Lima Valley, within Vinho Verde DOC, the most northwesterly zone which borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west and separated from Spain by the Minho River to the north, these 14 organically farmed hectares of the white grape, Loureiro, are grown in the vineyard’s igneous granite bedrock and sandy topsoil. The wines are hand-harvested, whole cluster pressed, naturally fermented over 12-15 days at low temperatures (10-15 C), and aged sur-lie in steel for the classic Loureiro and old French oak for the Escolha bottling.