Quinta de Tourais | Douro, Portugal

At the Portuguese estate of Quinta de Tourais, a small family vineyard in the dreamy region of Douro, owner and oenologist Fernando Coelho, and his wife Liliana, share their love for wine and each other.

Q. Where did you and your husband meet?

A. Liliana: We met at a wine-bar in Lisbon in 2015. My grandfather was a small wine producer in Dão and winemaking was something I always took an interest in. I remember harvesting and stomping grapes as a child, so it is curious that we met at a wine-bar while Fernando was taking care of his family wine business, Quinta de Tourais.

Q. How did winemaking start for you Fernando?

A. Fernando: As Liliana said, Quinta de Tourais is a family wine business, I was born here. My grandfather bought the estate from a renowned port wine producer, Adriano Ramos Pinto.

Initially I was not that much focused on wine. I spent some time in Porto, then Coimbra, but decided, afterwards, to get a degree in Oenology and Viticulture at Vila Real, and it was only then, that things really started. My first wine release was in 1999, and winemaking is what I have been doing since!

Q. What responsibility comes from making wine in one of the world’s oldest winemaking regions?

A. Fernando: Responsibility is huge. We are apart of the original history of Portugal, since Quinta de Tourais is 1st mentioned in 12th century documents as part of a donation by Afonso, the first king of Portugal, son of Henri, House of Burgundy, to the religious order of the Cistercian Monks.

Q: Anything unique about how you produce wine?

A. Fernando: We only produce around 15,000 bottles at Tourais, and we honor ancient wine making traditions, stomping the grapes by foot, on two hundred year old stone vats.

To be sustainable, we have removed the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides to preserve the original soil conditions.

Also, we focus on Portuguese varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and are experimenting with varieties less common to this area, such as Tinto Cão, Touriga Fêmea or Brasileira, Jaen and Baga.

Q. What makes you passionate about winemaking?

A. Fernando: Douro is a challenging paradise for winemakers, due to the immense grape varieties that grow here, the steep slopes, different altitudes and light exposure.

Liliana: I would also add that sharing the generosity that grows from this land, which takes so much effort to care for, is also very rewarding, and a reason to feel even more passionate about winemaking.