A winter day, with the rain giving a break. For me, this is the best time to do a wine tasting. In the summer everything happens, there are a thousand things to try, but it’s in these cold days that wine (mainly red) tastes better.

The date arrived, and the destination had long been chosen: the Herdade dos Grous. We were just waiting for the perfect moment to go to the heart of the Alentejo to see the property, visit the wine cellar and do a wine tasting.

Discovering Herdade dos Grous

The trip to Herdade dos Grous is full of beautiful Alentejo landscapes as soon as you leave the highway. Despite the dry summer, followed by a winter that had brought little rain until then, the plains have already filled with green and invite to a walk. A scenario that extended beyond the gates of the wine estate.

The large white house, with characteristic regional colors, welcomes new visitors. Surrounding it are endless vineyards from where the grapes that make one of my favorite Alentejo wines come out. The vines were by this time still undressed, but in the middle of harvest season, it must be beautiful scenery.

After touring the surrounding area, the visit to the cellar began at the dock where the vans full of grapes unload. Our tour guide explained that the varieties of grapes are then selected and separated into different compartments, so that they are treated differently, guaranteeing their quality.

It’s in those large stainless steel tanks, equipped with the most modern technology, that the fermentation takes place and where the liquid that will fill the barrels made of French and American wood is prepared.

Who also doesn’t resist the grapes used in the manufacture are the birds. To prevent their presence, the sound of birds of prey is heard from time to time in the wine cellar. An anti-invasive measure that ends up giving a different stamp to the place.

A Different Alentejano

Placed in the new barrels, the wine is stored in the cellar to mature in conditions of humidity and ideal temperature, until the time it will pass to the zone of bottling and shipping. Through that basement, we wandered between rows of wine waiting patiently for their optimal time. Some will be there for a few months, others will stay longer.

The visit to the Herdade dos Grous winery ends with a walk through the “wall of fame,” which includes all the prizes won by the house wines. Both nationally and internationally. And it’s a big wall!

From there, we were taken to the wine bar of the estate and, as the weather was good, they set up a table outside to make the wine taste. Following the two wines we have chosen to taste — Herdade dos Grous White, and Herdade dos Grous 23 Barricas Red — we were served a tasty regional cheese and sausage plate. All accompanied by a presentation of the wines and a little more of the history and activity of that place.

In this wine taste, I learned something different: the white accompanies the sausages because it cuts the fat of them and red highlights the cheeses. And I always thought it was the other way around!

How about staying in this wine property? Click to book!

Who on that side has already done some wine tasting? Do you like it? Where did you go? Tell me your experiences and give me ideas for other trips like this.