Winery

This elegant whitewashed adobe winery – the adega – shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, nestles in one of the valleys, flanked by vineyards.

The vast majority of the large oak and chestnut tonels (correct spelling in the plural is tonéis) housed in the two main wings, are 50 to 100 years old. The tropical hardwood heads are almost a century old.

The building has two main wings with high vaulted ceilings housing the tonels, the huge wooden vats and the lagares, the stone treading tanks. An old log-fired copper still dominates the connecting hall. The layout and operations are much the same today as they were in 1901.

All operations were fully manual – including pumping– until as recently as 1991 when electricity was installed. However, work rhythms remain largely unaltered and grape crushing continues to be done by foot. All drained red musts at Mouchão continue to be pressed in four fully-manual ancient basket presses, which produce low yields of the highest quality.