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Isabella a Proibida Red 2018
17,50 €
Savior and resistant, queen Isabella has ensured the existence of wines and vineyards on the islands to modern day since the phylloxera attack in the 19th Century. For many it is not even considered wine! For us, it is culture, folklore and part of our tradition. Paying tribute more than 200 years of history in the islands, this "Isabella the Forbidden" is elegant, aromatic, authentic, yet… simple like all good things are! Dark...
| Producer | Producer: Azores Wine Company Oenology: António Maçanita |
| Region | Açores - Pico |
| Grapes | Old Vineyards |
| Soil | Vineyards very close to the sea, on the volcanic soils of the Azores. |
| Winemaking | Manual selective harvest in 20kg baskets, selection on a sorting table, entering the vat by gravity without using pumps. |
| Aging | Stainless steel vats. |
| Capacity | 750 ml |
| Volume | Alcohol by Volume: 11% |
| Temperature | 14ºC - 16ºC |
| Harmonizations | Octopus rice, tuna steak and grilled veal steak. |
The Azores Wine Company was founded on April 3rd, 2014, by the partners António Maçanita, Filipe Rocha and Insula Vinus, Lda.
The story of three people profoundly connected to the Azores who crossed paths by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, brought together by a passion to which they dedicate a significant part of their lives: wine and gastronomy.
Amongst the several projects they are involved in, we find wine production in Pico, the recovery of an endangered grape variety, as well as the promotion of the Azorean wine and gastronomy.
In 2010, António Maçanita began, along with the S. Miguel Agricultural Development Services, the winemaking work of the Terrantez do Pico grape variety. Unique in the world, this nearly extinct caste reveals a surprising freshness, mineral quality and salinity. The small production of this identity and authenticity filled wine, travels to several countries and becomes available to some of the best wine shops and top restaurants. The Azores come in big!
Afterwards, in 2013, there was a joint venue on Pico island, put together by Fita Preta wines and Insula Vinus, in order to produce a wine based on one more autochthon grape variety of the Region: Arinto dos Açores.
The team work, the friendship and the common vision to bring back to the Azores, Pico island in particular, the notoriety of past times challenged them into a new project.
This is how the Azores Wine Company was born and in 2014, the first year, it was already producing 10.000 bottles. The single varieties white wines Arinto dos Açores and Verdelho O Original of the Rare Grapes Collection represent more than half the production. However, the red and rose wines are also quite surprising.
The first Azorean sparklings are also a part of this story. It was made in 2011 by António Maçanita in the Terrantez do Pico project (in S. Miguel island) and in 2014 the first Arinto dos Açores sparkling, already under Azores Wine Company signature.
Lastly, there is the work already being developed in the fortified wines domain, in search of the famous Pico wines that travelled the world over 400 years ago.