Ricardo Cecilio in his cork farm in Alentejo, Portugal.
Watch a VeroTalk about an often overlooked part of wine… the cork! We got to chat with firsthand a cork farmer from his grove of trees live in Portugal.
In Alentejo, Portugal, the largest production area of cork in the world, Ricardo cares for his cork trees, waiting for 9 years to harvest, and the wait is over! We were live to witness a part of this, as 2022 is one of these years. Ricardo talked us through not only his story, his family, and the Alentejo region, but also cork farming, production and processes, the use of cork in wine and the business of cork in the wine world.
As we learned about cork from this Alentejo native, we tasted a traditional white wine from Alentejo, Herdade dos Grous’ white wine blend.
Buy this authentic, crisp Alentejo white wine, and watch the recording to learn all about the world of cork farming!
Taste a Summer Friendly Portuguese Wine While You Learn!
This vegan Portuguese white wine is a blend of grapes native to Portugal. With a bright color and balanced fruit and acidity, it is an elegant and enjoyable wine. A blend of native portuguese varieties, the main variety present, Antão Vaz, is the most popular grape in the Alentejo region brings body and aromatic qualities. To balance and add acidity, Arinto grape, which also brings a nice minerality, and Gouveio, a grape like verdejo in Spain, which adds ‘salt and pepper’ aromatics are blended in.
Herdado dos Grous winemaker Luis Duarte has been named as ‘Best Winemaker in Portugal’ by the press, and ‘Best Winemaker in the World’ by German magazine Der Feinschemecker, and Herdade dos Grous was the first to be certified under the Alentejo Wines Sustainability Program (WASP).