The winery as a living heritage that we aim to preserve
The Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo estate harbours one of the oldest wineries in the Douro Demarcated Region. The two buildings were erected in 1764 on different levels and still maintain their original design, with schist walls and tall, wide wooden doors, through which 550-litre Port wine barrels used to pass.
A winery for the future, with concrete terraces, has been designed, taking advantage of the site’s uneven topography, 20 years after the first intervention by the architect Arnaldo Barbosa, who is also responsible for this new project. Inside, the winery has been completely renovated and already in full production for the 2023 harvest.
Inspired by the morphology of the Douro river and the natural layout of the terraced vineyards, the winery features a unique installation in the world, built in cement and developed in partnership with the Italian company CLC Srl, which for the first time has interpreted an architectural design that reflects the landscape of the Douro wine region. There are a total of 32 cement tanks of different sizes, installed on two levels. There are also two traditional granite grape presses, with three centuries of history, which have been restored.
New technologies have been implemented - such as the monitoring system created in Portugal by Wine Grid, which this year monitored the fermentation and maturation of the wine for this year’s vintage and uses artificial intelligence to facilitate more precise, real-time management. As a result of this new investment it is now possible to ascertain the optimal moment of ripening of the grapes and increase micro-oxygenisation in the different various elements, obtaining more elegant wines that are less marked by the wood, and thereby extract the full potential of the estate’s 41 vineyard plots.
"The Amorim family's mission in the Douro region is to preserve its history and build a sustainable future, making it a world reference. We hope that this winery can contribute to the projection and success of this magnificent region", explains Luisa Amorim, CEO of Quinta Nova de Nossa do Carmo.
Find out more about this unique winery in the region and the world here.