Indício Wines

Located in Paradelinha, next to the village of Celeirós do Douro and belonging to Sabrosa, district of Vila Real, it can be said that the Indício winery has a privileged view and is framed in the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, a designation attributed by UNESCO.

It was through a critical and constructive analysis of the old methods of planting vineyards, the old field blends of mixed grape varieties and, the old methods of vinifying these grapes, that this new/old approach to the stereotype of Douro Wine emerged.
The work arises from the partnership and friendship with some winegrowers in the region, from different areas of the Douro Valley, according to the style sought. The selection criteria is to find very old vineyards with mixed grape varieties and help maintain these field blends, paying a fair value for the work of the people and the grapes.
Maturation control is carried out by the producer and is very strict, as only a very small amount of sulfites will be added for a smooth fermentation. When the grapes arrive at the winery, they are weighed and placed whole in small presses. Then, we step on it with the help of family and friends who visit us. Fermentation begins 3-4 days later, spontaneously and wildly, without temperature control, as was done in the old days in the villages of the Douro when everyone made table wine to drink at home, at work or in local taverns.
Contact with the skins is maintained throughout fermentation, to obtain the best extraction of the grape aromas. Therefore, you can see the slightly high volatile acidity values of the wines, coming from fermentation in open tanks with very low sulfites. Throughout this process, low alcohol content and good acidity are essential, as they allow good fermentation in the natural winemaking process. Once fermentation is complete, the skins and stems are pressed, and then the wine is transferred to very old barrels. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation and age in barrels until they are bottled, without any filtration.
And this is how Indício wines come about.

Indício Wines has no certifications, but we will explain how we work and, we are more than happy to show you around our place.

About production process it is as follows:

- I work with some grape growers from my region, namely 4, from different zones from the Douro Valley according to the style I seek.

- My criteria of choyce is to find very old vineyards with mixed grape varieties and help to maintain those field blends, paying the fair amount for the work of the people and the grapes. (Douro is struggling a lot, because the prices paid by the grapes in recent times are not enough for people to make a living).

- The maturation control is made by me and it's very very tight, as I will be adding just a very small amount of sulphites at the reception of the grapes. The acidity and other parameters of the grapes must be spot on.

- Afterwards, when the time is right, the families of my suppliers get together and pick the grapes on a weekend (when people are not working on their day jobs). This event involves a small traditional party in which the family and the community that helped in the harvest eat and drink together.

- When the grapes arrive at my winery, they are weighed by my wife and the entire brunches are then dropped on their specific containers (small lagares). At this time I add 20mg of sulphites to ensure a smooth beginning of fermentation.

- Then, I foot tread all the containers with the help of my wife, daughters and friends that come and visit.

- Fermentation then starts typically 3 to 4 days later, completely spontaneous and wild, with no temperature control, as it used to be done in the old days, when all the people in the villages of Douro made table or thirst wine to drink at home, at work, or in the local taverns.

- Skin contact is maintained throughout all the fermentation, to achieve the best extraction of the skins of the grapes. Therefore you can see the slightly high values of volatile acidity of my wines that comes from fermenting in open tanks with very low sulfites.

- In all this process, low alcohol and good acidity are paramount as they allow you to have good fermentations in the natural vinification process. If you have high sugar content on your grapes and you make the wine with the natural process, the yeasts will die and the wines will have residual sugar and will spoil (that's why Port Wine was invented).

- When fermentation is done I pass the wine to very old barriques and I press the skins and the stems, which I keep in inox for further evaluation.

- My wines make the malolactic fermentation and age in barrique until being bottled, without any finning or filtering.

- Indicio wines, both white and reds, are made for ageing, despite being fresh and with low alcohol.