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AMPHORA WINE DAY in Alentejo

by Catherine Walbridge
Rocim Amphora Wine Day, Catarina Vieira & Pedro Ribeiro
Catarina Vieira & Pedro Ribeiro

Rocim has opened the world’s eyes to amphora wines – wine producers from all over the world have flocked to Rocim winery in the Alentejo to celebrate the historic, unique art of amphora winemaking in the biggest festival of its kind.

Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira have developed Rocim winery in Vidigueira into something of a hub for amphora winemaking, and every November host the hugely popular Amphora Wine Day.

Around 50 wineries from around Portugal, as well as France, Spain, Italy, Georgia, South Africa and the USA came together on Saturday 16 November to taste and learn more about amphora wines – a fermentation method that dates back more than two thousand years.

Guardian of amphora winemaking

Alentejo has long been known as the guardian of amphora or talha wines as they are known in Portugal. The process has largely remained unchanged for hundreds of years: the crushed grapes and stems are put inside these clay vessels, some of which stand up to two metres high, where fermentation spontaneously takes place.

The porosity of the clay imparts a unique character to the wines,” explains Pedro Ribeiro. “The shape of the amphoras also promotes movement of the wine inside, which works like a natural bâtonnage without human intervention.”

“The wines are unique in terms of their texture – the earthiness that you feel in the aromatics and the minerality from the terroir with no oak influence that you would get from barrels.”

Claypot renaissance

In order to be labelled ‘Vinha de Talha’ – which is a legal category in Alentejo – the wine must be left on the skins in the amphora until at least St. Martin’s Day on 11 November and the celebration around the opening of the amphoras is deeply embedded in regional wine culture.

A large crowd gathered as Pedro, Catarina and their team punched out the cork at the bottom of the amphoras before the new wine gushed out. Glasses were passed around to hundreds of trade visitors, journalists and consumers at Rocim’s striking eco-friendly winery.

“It was a year with a lot of freshness, a lot of quality in the wines, concentration – they seem like different descriptors, but in fact we achieved very balanced wines, fresh, acidic, but also with concentration and structure,” was Ribeiro’s summary of the 2024 vintage.

Rocim Amphora Wine Day
© Rocim

International showcase

The Amphora Wine Day celebration at Rocim every November is now the biggest event of its kind in the world, attracting a diverse range of producers from Lisbon’s Adega Belém Urban Winery and Kleine Zalze in South Africa to Tres Sabores Winery from the USA.

Historically, amphora winemaking has been a local activity in Portugal with the wines made and consumed by individual families or taverns. Only in the last 15 years have leading producers such as Rocim begun exporting these wines, where they have won new fans for their accessibility, food-friendly qualities and potential for aging.

“The average quality of amphora wines is astonishing” remarked one international journalist, after the Amphora Wine Day tasting.

Astonishing amphorae

Amphora Wine Day was established by Rocim in 2018 to bring together claypot winemakers from around the globe and showcase the unique qualities of their wines.

Rocim, which has vineyards across most of Portugal’s main wine regions, now makes 50,000 bottles of amphora wine annually across several lines, and one of its most acclaimed wines, Vinha da Micaela, is fermented and matured in amphorae for six months. And having taken amphora wines to the world, it is now delighted to show the world where it all began in the birthplace of talha winemaking in Vidigueira.

“We love bringing everyone together to discover the delights, traditions and innovations of amphora winemaking,” Rocim viticulturalist Catarina Vieira adds:

Rocim Amphora Wine Day, Catarina Vieira & Pedro Ribeiro
© Rocim

“It’s our favourite day of the year.”

Amphora Wine Day 2024 – Exhibitors

  • Adega Belém Urban Winery

  • Adega Cananó (CVTC)

  • Adega Coop. Vidigueira, Cuba e Alvito

  • Adega do Teso (CVTC)

  • Adega Marel

  • Aldeia de Cima

  • Altas Quintas

  • Anaberika Winery (Georgia)

  • Arvad

  • Barroca da Malhada

  • Bojador

  • Casca Wines

  • Castello Vicchiomaggio (Italy)

  • Château de Piote (France)

  • Daniel Ramos (Spain)

  • Encosta do Pinhal (CVTC)

  • Espera Wines

  • Esporão

  • Fita Preta Vinhos

  • Gerações da Talha (APVT)

  • Howard’s Folly

  • Prelvm Wines

  • Kleine Zalze (South Africa)

  • Lagazi (Georgia)

  • Lés-a-Lés

  • Meskhisvilli Family Winery (Georgia)

  • Montalto

  • Natusvini

  • Ode Winery

  • Quinta da Alorna

  • Quinta da Amoreira da Torre

  • Quinta da Pedragosa

  • Quinta da Pigarça

  • Quinta do Paral

  • Raul Moreno (Spain)

  • Rocco di Carpeneto (Italy)

  • Rocim

  • Scylla

  • Sebastien David (France)

  • Serenada

  • Sovibor

  • Talha Mafia Wines (APVT)

  • Tezi Winery (Georgia)

  • Tilisma Winery (Georgia)

  • Tres Sabores Winery (USA)

  • XXVI Talhas (APVT)

About Rocim

Catarina Vieira and Pedro Ribeiro live and breathe fresh, origin-based wines from Portugal. The power couple's story began in Vidigueira in Alentejo, which is something of an oasis in an otherwise hot region thanks to the cooling influence of the Atlantic wind which is captured by a local mountain range. The expert viticulturalist and winemaker have now applied this maxim across Portugal – selecting only the best sites blessed by cool breezes for their refreshing, structured wines.

Catherine Walbridge
Catherine Walbridge
Head of International

Catherine Walbridge joined Wine+Partners in December 2022 as the agency looked to expand its international reach and English-language expertise. The London-born journalist and editor grew up in New Zealand and has worked in international media for more than 20 years. She is a former Reuters correspondent, South China Morning Post Deputy International Editor in Hong Kong and New Zealand radio program editor. Her interest in wine and food became part of her professional life when she moved to Vienna and worked at Falstaff magazine for a year.