Author Wines by Joaquim Arnaud

Alentejo Wine Region

Talking about wine is like releasing stories from a bottle, stories that are bottled up over time and released with pleasure, just like when you open a special wine.

This article is dedicated to a distinguished wine producer - Joaquim Arnaud, a businessman with noble roots and a long-standing family legacy dedicated to the land and with a presence in the town of Pavia for over 500 years.

Born in 1973, he is a descendant of the Counts of Arundel, who came to Portugal from England with the task of accompanying D. Filipa de Lencastre. He currently farms 850 hectares of fertile land in the Alentejo (in the municipalities of Mora and Arraiolos, Évora), where he produces everything from vines to wine, beef ham and Alentejo pork sausages.

Joaquim Arnaud is a fervent believer in the benefits of sustainable agriculture, “because the land doesn't belong to us, it belongs to our children,” he explains whenever asked.

His skills and the knowledge he has acquired have largely come from reading the books of his ancestors who, since 1880, have recorded everything about sowing and other farming matters.

In 2001, Joaquim Arnaud planted the red grape varieties Aragonês, Trincadeira, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet. These are used in the Arundel wines: Arundel Tinto Tradition 2015 (this one with innovative, water-resistant labeling) and/or Arundel Tinto Number Four 2014.

 

In the future, he plans to use the white grape varieties Arinto and Chardonnay in wines with the same label.

But Joaquim Arnaud's irreverent and innovative nature as a wine producer, and the temptation to always be promoting wine experiences, means that he doesn't settle for what his land gives and looks elsewhere for other end products.

Joaquim Arnaud's Sparkling Wine 2015 is a good example. After experimenting with grapes harvested in the Lisbon region, and then in the Bairrada region, he decided to explore the Vinhos Verdes region.

 

This is a Super Reserva Bruto Natur 2015 sparkling wine, made with Alvarinho and Trajadura, two indigenous grape varieties from the Vinhos Verdes Demarcated Region. It's a special edition with only 1900 numbered bottles, the result of a joint project with the Adega de Monção.

 

And why Monção? “Because the winery is 500 meters from the bridge where the marriage contract between D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre was signed.”

 

Follow us and discover more news from this producer who, with his creativity and innovation, provides us with wonderful “Vinhos de Autor”.

[18/05/2021]