Why it matters
The producer
Quinta da Calçada’s cellars were founded inside a sixteenth-century palatial building in Amarante. Founder António do Lago Cerqueira was a republican, winemaker and diplomat. After exile in France, where he studied winemaking at the Institut National Agronomique, he returned home with new techniques.
Cerqueira introduced high-density vineyard configurations and pioneered traditional-method sparkling wine in the region. The Mota family has owned Quinta da Calçada since the 1960s, and its third generation now leads the estate.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Quinta da Calçada stands in Amarante’s historic centre, approximately 40 minutes from Porto. The Amarante subregion has granitic soils, some shale and Atlantic influence, conditions the estate associates with mineral, fresh wines.
Viticulture follows a non-interventionist approach. Grapes are harvested, manually selected for the intended wine and carefully transported to the winery. Cellar work is mainly traditional, with fruit expression as its stated focus.
Wines to know
The range in view
Quinta da Calçada Reserva Alvarinho is a single-variety Vinho Verde DOC drawn from the estate’s best plots. Its must ferments in French oak.
Quinta da Calçada Vinhas Velhas is an old-vine Vinho Verde DOC. It undergoes controlled-temperature fermentation. Both Vinhas Velhas and Reserva Alvarinho spend eight months in French oak. Vinhas Velhas carries citrus, white fruit, peach, floral, smoky and mineral notes.