2015 Caves Sao Joao Bairrada Frei Joao Vinho Tinto

Founded by two brothers, José, Manuel and Albano Costa, Caves São João is the oldest company in Bairrada that has always been owned and managed by members of the same family. They started out in 1920 as a port producer, but when the laws changed in the 1930’s prohibiting anyone outside of OPorto from making port, the brothers focused on Bairrada table wines, and sparkling wines. In fact, they brought over French oenologist Gaston Mainousson to show them how to make sparkling wines via method champenoise. The original equipment used back then is still displayed in the winery today. The firm has predominately sourced grapes from local growers in Bairrada and Dao, and this tradition continues today, but they also own the Quinta do Poço do Lobo vineyard estate with 35 ha, located in Bairrada which they make a significant amount of their own wines- these usually are wines they age for many years. They have several vineyard plots planted to both indigenous and international varietals there. The winemaker is Jose Antonio Neves Carvalheira and he has been at Caves S. Joao since 2002. This 39 year old enologist soon started to make his mark in the Portuguese wine industry. After finishing his degree he was invited to become a teacher in a wine school in the Bairrada region where he was worked until 2003. Long story short, Caves S. Joao is a very important winery in Portugal, and they make textbook traditional Portuguese wines that have a style all their own.