Uncondemned

Very old "backyard" vineyards in the rural area north of Lisbon farmed by grandmothers and planted by their grandfathers. A full-time train conductor whose maniacal off-hours toiling in said vineyards is the only thing holding condemnation at bay. A flirting-with-the-law tradition called 'palhete' of wines made from a blend of red and white grapes. The nightmarish doodles of a medieval monk who feared retributive torture at the hands of unforgiving rabbits. This is the story of Uncondemned. The wine from these 120-150-year-old vines was originally a product the local farmers would make for their personal consumption or to be commercialized locally, along with the olive oil, vegetables, fruit, and animals they also raised. Feeling they could not live off selling these products alone, the next generation has moved away to find jobs elsewhere, leaving the vines to grow wild. So, André Gomes-Pereira, the winemaker at Quinta do Montalto in Lisboa, took action to save these historic vineyards. André organically farms two old-vine parcels in the Encostas d'Aire DOP, where the chalky soils and cool sea breezes from the Atlantic Ocean give the wines a fresh acidity. André uses a traditional Portuguese method of blending red and white grapes called 'palette', which was described by the local monks centuries ago. This was traditional throughout central Portugal until the mid-20th century, when it eventually fell out of favor for commercial reasons. Both white and red grapes are destemmed, crushed, and allowed to start fermenting spontaneously in unlined, open-top concrete tanks. The wine ages in concrete tanks with no temperature control until the following summer, when it is bottled without filtration and just a minimal addition of sulfur.