Cortes de Cima - Premium Weingut in Portugals renommiertem Alentejo

In 1988 the Danish-American couple Hans and Carrie Jorgensen set sail on their boat, to find a place where they could start a family, cultivate a vineyard and make wine. And so began the history of the Cortes de Cima family estate, one of Portugal's leading wineries. Thanks to the countless hours of sunshine in Portugal's Alentejo region, Cortes de Cima's wines have rich and concentrated fruit aromas in perfect balance with soft and ripe tannins. The 365 ha vineyard is only a medium sized estate for Portugal's Alentejo region. The area planted with vines is about 140 ha, another 50 ha are planted with olives and 70 ha are dedicated to the reforestation of cork, oaks, pine trees and St. John's bread trees. Brown, Mediterranean clay soils with deep limestone subsoil provide excellent drainage, which is of great importance for the vines and the quality of the harvest. The vineyards are nestled against the hills of the 400 m high Serra do Mendro, the mountain range that marks the northern border of the lower Alentejo. The Vidigueira region of the Alentejo enjoys long hours of sunshine with warm and dry summer temperatures, tempered by the cool breezes of the Atlantic Ocean. The estate's oldest vineyards, which surround the manor house and winery, were planted in 1991. When it comes to the selection of grape varieties and trellis systems, Cortes de Cima has opted to follow the more relaxed 'Vinho Regional' rules rather than the strict 'DOC' regulations. The Shiraz grape variety was not allowed on either list of regulations. Owner Hans nevertheless, planted this variety, convinced that Cortes de Cima is located in a site with ideal climatic conditions and perfect soil for this famous Rhône vine. Thus the first "illegal" vintage of Shiraz was released in 1998 under the name "Incognito" and was soon to be awarded prizes and honours, as well as medals in London, Brussels and Bordeaux. Today, Cortes de Cima produces the red varieties Aragonez, Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the white varieties Antão Vaz, Verdelho, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Gouveio and Chardonnay.