Vineyard
It was on Monte Novo, where the company’s offices and the manor house are nowadays, that Maria Antónia de Carvalho Rovisco Garcia’s father planted the first vineyard in these lands, in the middle of the 20th century. No wine was branded and marketed from those grapes but that was indeed the beginning of a story that is carried on in each and every bottle of RG Rovisco Garcia wine.
In 2001, as part of a strategy of diversification of activities, viticulture and vinification were resumed. Even if they had not been a priority for some time, they had never been forgotten by the family. A new vineyard was planted, this time on a more apt location, on a north-south oriented slope facing a quiet and peaceful little village called Aldeia Velha.
Once the location was chosen, a careful selection of grape varieties ensued. We meant to identify the ones that would best adapt to this particular area of the High Alentejo and that could produce top quality grapes here. Only thus could we aim to create and make referential wines.
The varieties
Aragonez and Syrah were the main grape varieties elected. To complement them and permit the creation of more complex wines, we introduced also the varieties Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
For white grape varieties, choice has fallen upon two top Portuguese varieties, Arinto and Antão Vaz.
The purpose was to obtain the raw material for making wines that could express the character and uniqueness of Alentejo and, at the same time, be fresh, modern, and charming.
The wine
Throughout the entire process of implementing the new vineyard we took to the heart the concept that a good wine starts right there, at the vineyard. A concept that guided every step of that process, from the choice of varieties and clones to that of the most advanced technologies to go with it.
We installed climate and soil moisture sensors which, together with a drop by drop watering system, make it possible to adequately and permanently control pests, diseases, and water availability.
The quality and the accuracy of these technologies and viticultural practices are of the essence to attain outstanding levels in the final product.
In 2007, once the quality of the grapes had been ascertained, we produced the first Rovisco Garcia red wine, a limited production wine that earned the reserva classification. Others followed, whites as well as reds, in a constant search for personality, balance, and pleasure. The quality of the 2011 harvest led to the creation of a new designation, superior, for a full-bodied ruby color wine with good concentration, notes of ripe fruit and spices, which enriched the range of Rovisco Garcia wines.
In 2016 the quality and transparency in management were materialized in the brand image of the Colheita range. The neck of the bottle was left uncovered so that its certified natural cork can be fully seen, and each bottle would now carry a note of appreciation to the consumer for his or her choice.
Just like our forest areas, so too is the RG Rovisco Garcia vineyard managed in a sustainable way, under the Integrated Production programme.
Integrated Production
Integrated Production is an agricultural system of prodution of quality agricultural products and foodstuff, based on agricultural best practices and a rational management of natural resources, substituting natural regulation mechanisms for production factors and so contributing to sustainable agriculture.
The outcome of this kind of production is a range of high quality agricultural goods, acknowledged as complying with national and international rules on product quality, food safety and traceability, together with the environmental services they comprehend.
