Alentejo the Last Frontier of Europe w/ João Gomes de Silva, Sogrape and Herdade de Peso

06/02/21 • 52 min

“The last frontier of Europe,” “A pristine region,” “A mosaic of soil varieties and temperatures” are all ways João Gomes de Silva, Board Member of Sogrape, describes the Alentejo wine region. João tells us about the evolution of Portugal’s wine industry, the complexity of the Alentejo wine region, and how the industry has been promoting and building the brand of Alentejo wine. From “seasoning” to amphora, there’s plenty to get excited about with Alentejo and its wines!

Detailed Show Notes:

João’s background
- Family is in agriculture and farming
- João is a wine lover
- Worked in food retailing
- Lived in Italy and Latin America
Sogrape background
- Founded in 1942 by Fernando van Zeller Guedes and launched with Mateus Rose
- A family business where they work as a professional team
- Combination of concept wines (e.g. - Mateus) and fine wine estates (e.g. - Barca Velha, Sandeman)
- Mateus Rose - Sogrape’s founder said it had to stand out
  - Unique bottle shape - shaped after WWI cantil (soldiers’ water bottles)
  - The label has a picture of a manor house in North of Portugal, which was to look like a French chateau
Portuguese Wine History
- Early-mid 1990’s - Portugal joined the EU, lots of investment in the wine industry and a surge in domestic demand
- 2005-2010 era - a lot of modernization happened in the wine industry
- 2010+ - a boom in tourism in Portugal led to a boom in demand for Portuguese wine
- Covid - demand for Portuguese wines did not dip
Alentejo as a wine region
- South of Lisbon, between Lisbon and the Algarve (a beach area popular for tourists)
- The same size as the state of Maryland, but with only 700,000 people - a sparsely populated farming area
- One of the last areas dominated by the Moors (until the 13th century)
- Traditionally the breadbasket of Portugal, lots of cereal, grain growing
- Dry, warm climate (>100F in summer)
- During Roman times, made wine in clay amphora to preserve temperature during fermentation
- 8 sub-regions
  - Portalegre - north part of the region, the influence of the mountains (a colder, wet climate)
  - Eastern area near Spanish border - very dry, arid, pre-phylloxera vineyards
- A mosaic of soil types, climates, and grape varieties
- The notion of “seasoning” important in the region (e.g., using small amounts of different grapes varieties to blend)
- Grape varieties - a mix of traditional and international
  - Traditional - Aragones (Tempranillo), Trincadera, Moretto, Arinto, Tourigal National
  - International - Syrah, Alicante Bouschet - the star of the region
- Vinho de Talha - wine made in the traditional Roman way in clay amphora, the only region in Portugal that has this regulation
- Wine style - fruit-forward, rounded tannins
- Current consumers - wine explorers and hedonists who know what they like
Alentejo Wine Consumption
- Domestic - 80%
- Export - 20%
  - Brazil - 30%
  - US, France, Poland, Switzerland - ~10% each
  - Canada, UK, Angola, China - ~5% each
- Entry-level pricing ~$7-9 USD
- The sweet spot is ~$20 USD to really show terroir
Marketing messages
- A unique, single message (especially for US/UK markets) - “taste of the last frontier of European wine,” a pristine region
- Brazil - talk more about individual producers as people already know Alentejo
- Journalists / somms - talk more about winemaking techniques, bringing people to Portugal
- Consumers - the experience at the estate or virtually tends to grab them
- Broad / “Generic” promotion - through Wines of Portugal and CVRA (Alentejo region wine marketing body)
  - Invests in trade fairs (e.g., Prowein, Vinexpo) which help
- Herdade do Peso - invests in social media
- Being closer to the distributor (and owning them) helps - has been important to the success of brands
Herdade do Peso, a Sogrape winery
- Sogrape’s founder believed he could change the Alentejo industry
- Introduced Alicante Bouschet to the region, blended it with Touriga Nacional
- “A mix of man’s ingenuity, dream of a family, and the natural conditions found there”
- 16 soil types, 160...

Detailed Show Notes:

João’s background
- Family is in agriculture and farming
- João is a wine lover
- Worked in food retailing
- Lived in Italy and Latin America
Sogrape background
- Founded in 1942 by Fernando van Zeller Guedes and launched with Mateus Rose
- A family business where they work as a professional team
- Combination of concept wines (e.g. - Mateus) and fine wine estates (e.g. - Barca Velha, Sandeman)
- Mateus Rose - Sogrape’s founder said it had to stand out
  - Unique bottle shape - shaped after WWI cantil (soldiers’ water bottles)
  - The label has a picture of a manor house in North of Portugal, which was to look like a French chateau
Portuguese Wine History
- Early-mid 1990’s - Portugal joined the EU, lots of investment in the wine industry and a surge in domestic demand
- 2005-2010 era - a lot of modernization happened in the wine industry
- 2010+ - a boom in tourism in Portugal led to a boom in demand for Portuguese wine
- Covid - demand for Portuguese wines did not dip
Alentejo as a wine region
- South of Lisbon, between Lisbon and the Algarve (a beach area popular for tourists)
- The same size as the state of Maryland, but with only 700,000 people - a sparsely populated farming area
- One of the last areas dominated by the Moors (until the 13th century)
- Traditionally the breadbasket of Portugal, lots of cereal, grain growing
- Dry, warm climate (>100F in summer)
- During Roman times, made wine in clay amphora to preserve temperature during fermentation
- 8 sub-regions
  - Portalegre - north part of the region, the influence of the mountains (a colder, wet climate)
  - Eastern area near Spanish border - very dry, arid, pre-phylloxera vineyards
- A mosaic of soil types, climates, and grape varieties
- The notion of “seasoning” important in the region (e.g., using small amounts of different grapes varieties to blend)
- Grape varieties - a mix of traditional and international
  - Traditional - Aragones (Tempranillo), Trincadera, Moretto, Arinto, Tourigal National
  - International - Syrah, Alicante Bouschet - the star of the region
- Vinho de Talha - wine made in the traditional Roman way in clay amphora, the only region in Portugal that has this regulation
- Wine style - fruit-forward, rounded tannins
- Current consumers - wine explorers and hedonists who know what they like
Alentejo Wine Consumption
- Domestic - 80%
- Export - 20%
  - Brazil - 30%
  - US, France, Poland, Switzerland - ~10% each
  - Canada, UK, Angola, China - ~5% each
- Entry-level pricing ~$7-9 USD
- The sweet spot is ~$20 USD to really show terroir
Marketing messages
- A unique, single message (especially for US/UK markets) - “taste of the last frontier of European wine,” a pristine region
- Brazil - talk more about individual producers as people already know Alentejo
- Journalists / somms - talk more about winemaking techniques, bringing people to Portugal
- Consumers - the experience at the estate or virtually tends to grab them
- Broad / “Generic” promotion - through Wines of Portugal and CVRA (Alentejo region wine marketing body)
  - Invests in trade fairs (e.g., Prowein, Vinexpo) which help
- Herdade do Peso - invests in social media
- Being closer to the distributor (and owning them) helps - has been important to the success of brands
Herdade do Peso, a Sogrape winery
- Sogrape’s founder believed he could change the Alentejo industry
- Introduced Alicante Bouschet to the region, blended it with Touriga Nacional
- “A mix of man’s ingenuity, dream of a family, and the natural conditions found there”
- 16 soil types, 160...

Previous Episode

Selling Uruguayan Tannat w/ Christian Wylie, Bodega Garzón

“Ura-what?, Ura-where?” Selling Uruguayan Tannat has many challenges, recognizing both the country and the signature variety not well known globally. However, Christian Wylie, General Manager of Bodega Garzón, and owner Alejandro Bulgheroni have risen to the challenge. So much so that the late, famed wine writer Steven Spurrier once said that “Garzón achieved iconic status in less than a decade.” Hear all about the journey for Garzón and Uruguayan Tannat in general on this episode of XChateau.

Detailed Show Notes:

Christian’s background
- Chilean from a British family
- Studied agricultural engineering in Chile and enology at UC Davis
- He was a hands-on winemaker for a while
- An entrepreneur with fresh herbs
- Met an Uruguayan woman and got married to her - started the connection with Uruguay
- Worked at Familia Deicas (Uruguay, 6 years), Santa Carolina Group (Chile; 11 years) - turned it around and grew it 3x
- Joined Bulgheroni Estates in 2016
  - Now has 21 wine estates in 6 countries
  - Garzon is the headquarters
Bodega Garzón Overview
- Garzón is a place in the NE part of the Maldonado province
- Bulgheroni bought land in Uruguay in 1999-2000, started with olive trees and olive oil
- 2006 - bought hills above olive trees for windmills, but Bulgeroni’s wife vetoed it
- 2007 - Alberto Antonini comes and suggests vineyards would be good
  - 34.8० S latitude - the same as Apalta in Chile, Barossa in Australia, and Stellenbosch in South Africa
- 2008 - Vineyards planted
  - ~600 acres of vineyards divided into 1,500 lots
  - >20 different grape varieties, but mainly Tannat and Albarino
  - Atlantic ocean influence
  - Granite soils vs. clay in other Uruguayan winegrowing regions
- 2016 - Winery opened
  - 5-acre building on the top of the hill
  - 1st LEED-certified winery in the world
  - ~100 euro/liter winery capacity cost to build (very high)
- ~$200M in Capex, 120k cases of wine produced
- Has a PGA tour preferred golf course
Uruguayan Wine
- 6,000 ha / ~15,000 acres planted, but mostly table wines
- Garzón represents ~20% of VCP (premium wines)
- Exports ~5-10% for most producers, Garzón exports ~67%
- 300 wineries, ~60 VCP wineries, ~25 actively exporting
- Tannat - the national grape
  - Originally from Madiran, France
  - “Survival of the Fittest” likely reason for becoming national grape in Uruguay - hot and humid climate did not do well for other dry climate European varieties, Tannat likely had better yields
  - The name comes from the tannins, has the most polyphenols (2.3-2.4x more Resveratrol than Cabernet Sauvignon)
- Traditional style - big, rustic, tannic, but easier to drink than Madiran; usually overripe fruit, heavy extraction, and lots of oak (heavy toast, American)
- Garzón Tannat - more fruity, fresh, vibrant; minimal intervention, some carbonic, cold soak, unlined cement fermentation, large vat French oak
- Other varieties: Marselan (lots in China, now an approved Bordeaux variety), Merlot
Key markets for Tannat
- Garzón - Uruguay (~40% of premium wine is Garzon), US, Brazil the three top; export to >50 countries (Nordics, Japan, UK, Canada, Netherlands other key markets; Growing markets - China, S Korea, Singapore, Russia, & Mexico)
- Uruguay in general - Brazil #1 (mostly low priced, bulk wine)
Garzón portfolio
- Estate = entry-level, mostly sold domestically
- Reserva = higher tier based on the quality of grapes, <$20 USD
- Single Vineyard = areas w/in estate, ~$30 USD
- Petite Clos = 1 specific parcel, ~$70 USD
- Balasto = top wine, ~$100 USD in the US, ~$200 in Uruguay
  - Named after the decomposed granite
  - Blend of the best reds of different parcels
  - 3rd wine from South America sold via La Place de Bordeaux
Marketing Tannat & Garzón
- “Taste first, then say what it is”
- Started Wines of Uruguay 20 years ago, but wines didn’t sell because no one had heard of it, needed to promote everybody
- Consumers - banked heavily on social media - has ~80k followers on Instagram
- Created a dynamic website
- Trade (e.g. - MS/MW) - “reverse mission” - bring them to Garzón
- PR - Glodow Nead - has brought Playboy, Architecture magazine, Robb Report, NY Times
- Wine Critics - g...

Next Episode

What’s Next for Argentina? Why, Malbec...w/ Laura Catena, Catena Zapata

Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata, Founder of the Catena Institute, and Owner of Luca Winery, used to frequently get asked, “What’s next for Argentina after Malbec.” While Argentina has diversity in wine, its core calling card, quality, and diversity can also reside in Malbec. From storied beginnings to becoming a new classic, Laura shares with us the stories of the history of Malbec, how Argentina and the Catena family have elevated it with tastings, books, and scientific research, and how the future of Argentina is truly...Malbec.

Detailed Show Notes:

Laura’s background
- BA Biology from Harvard, MD from Stanford, also studied French
- She grew up in the vineyards in Argentina, went to high school in the US
- She wanted to help people, so she went into medicine, specifically emergency medicine
- Nicknamed “La Lucita” by her grandfather for never standing still
- ER doctors have shifts that enable other hobbies or careers, thus working both in medicine and wine
The History of Malbec
- A background in French enabled Laura to read French historical documents about Malbec
- Malbec was known in Roman times, w/ Cahors the main area
- Cahors drunk by Eleanor of Aquitaine who married King Henry II, making the wine popular in the UK as well
- In Bordeaux, Malbec was very popular, used to make Cabernet Sauvignon smooth and ripened at the same time as Cabernet, vs. the earlier ripening Merlot
- After phylloxera, gets replaced by Merlot
- Saved in Argentina, where there was no phylloxera
- It was being pulled out in Argentina due to low yields (prone to coulure) when Nicolas Catena started to do something with the variety
- The breakthrough moment in 1999 - a Wall Street Journal article about Malbec started to change things, Catena was noted as the top wine
- Malbec gives different flavors from different regions
  - Salta - jammy, syrupy
  - Patagonia - spicy, herbal
  - Adrianna Vineyard - some are big and tannic, others more like Pinot Noir
Flying Winemakers in Argentina
- Paul Hobbs, Michel Rolland, and others came and helped with changes to the winery (fermentation, oak barrel usage, etc....)
- But soils and altitude were unique and different, which required new study, leading to the founding of the Catena Institute
Promoting Malbec
- Catena Malbec Argentino label - tells the history of Malbec through 4 women (including phylloxera)
- Catena Zapata
  - Initially made Cabernet and Chardonnay for export (1990-1991 vintages)
  - 1st Catena Malbec was 1994 vintage
  - Did lots of blind tastings, Laura’s mom went to stores and bought the best wine and blind tasted Chardonnays, claiming that every time, Catena won
  - By the time Malbec was introduced, the Catena brand was already known for its quality
  - The initial key market of the domestic Argentina market - provided income to support the cost of building up exports
- Books
  - Vino Argentino - wanted an English book to highlight Argentina
  - Gold in the Vineyards - talks about special sites globally, shows concept via illustration to make it more engaging
  - A new book to be published on the history of malbec
- Believes in not telling too many stories at once and making it interesting, usually for 1-3 years
  - Malbec Argentino - created a 20 min theatrical play of the story, hired a UK actress to perform
  - Current discussion - “Let’s Talk about Grand Cru and Gran Vins” - discussion of Catena parcella wines with Pinot Noir and Nicolas Catena with Bordeaux or Napa Cab, with Larry Stone MS
Catena Institute
- Shares all research for the benefit of everyone in Argentina
- Established to solve a specific problem: how to elevate Argentina’s wines
- Publish all work - must be of high quality for peer reviews, wanted to share it, and made other institutes want to do research together
- Recent Study: Proof of Terroir through Malbec
  - It looked at 24 sites in Mendoza
  - 50% of the sites have a finge...