# Ramos Vinho de Talha (2025)

- **Producer:** João Portugal Ramos Vinhos
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Trincadeira, Aragonez, Castelão
- **Region:** Alentejo, Portugal
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €16
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** violet, plum, blackcurrant, black pepper, liquorice, resinous

## About this wine

João Portugal Ramos is a prominent figure in modern Portuguese winemaking, having established his family estate in Estremoz, Alentejo, in the early 1990s. Managed today alongside his children, the estate highlights indigenous varieties and traditional regional methods. This cuvée revives the historic Vinho de Talha method, rooted in Alentejo heritage since Roman times.

## Interesting facts

- Fermented in large traditional clay amphorae called talhas, following a 2,000-year-old Roman tradition.
- Grape solids settle at the bottom of the talha, serving as a natural filtration bed when drawing off the wine.
- Bottled in lightweight 420g glass bottles to significantly minimize its carbon footprint.

## Food pairing

The structured tannins and crisp acidity cut through rich meats such as pork and lamb, while the earthy talha micro-oxygenation harmonizes with savory mushroom dishes and traditional slow-cooked stews.

## Wine making process

Grapes are fermented and macerated on their skins inside large traditional terracotta amphorae called talhas. As fermentation completes, grape solids sink to the bottom of the vessel, acting as a natural filter during drawing off. The wine is matured entirely in clay without oak aging to encourage micro-oxygenation while preserving varietal purity.