Trincateira

The sunny lands of Alentejo are not only the leaders in terms of wine production in Portugal, but also hid Portugal best kept secret: the Vinho de Talha o Amphora Wine. Made using the same technique brought by the romans centuries ago, this is one of the few places in the world, together with Caceres, in Spain, and Georgia, where this technique has been preserved. My name comes from one of the main grapes used in Alentejo for wine production, Trincadeira, that gives wines with aromas of blackberry that tend to be full-bodied.

If you ever come to Alentejo and stop in a small town or village, you will surely see me or my colleagues. The romans hired us to protect the amphoras from mice and we have been working in these lands since then. I’m very sociable and, when I’m not working, I like to go to the town restaurant and give company to the clients or tourists. Some of them may not be lucky enough to share their house with a cat, so I make it my duty to show them how soft our fur can be. But, like every person, I have also my red lines: If you touch my belly, you are likely to get a gentle bite.

In the picture I’m wearing the traditional costume of farmers, called camponeses in portuguese. I’m in a cellar, in November, when Talhas (amphoras) have just been open and the first wines are pour. Like in Galicia, November is also the time for toasted chestnuts and the cool climate makes it the ideal time for Chouriço Assado, served in flames. I’m singing a tratitional song of Cante Alentejano, a Portuguese music genre based in vocal music, without any instruments, recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the UNESCO.