Grau Baumé is a density scale used for musts and sweet wines which allows measuring the degree of sweetness, in this case, of the wine. The Grau Baumé producer will not measure the sweetness and density, but rather will take into account the intensity and involvement to its cause: to risk more, to evolve, to let oneself be bound by instinct, to progress without pretensions but full of expectations.
The Grau Baumé story begins somewhere between 2007 in thought and 2008 in reality, but wine was already flowing in the souls of the founders. Ana Hespanhol and Hugo Mateus, from professional backgrounds completely opposite to rurality and the countryside. Ana worked in IBM and Hugo in digital animation and video design. However Ana, descends from a family that was part of the generation of vigneronsindependents that boosted the Douro Doc wine in the early 1990's and created its history. For the more seasoned and veteran oenophiles, the Calços do Tanha brand will be no stranger to them.
For Ana, the work at IBM was interesting, but without much meaning. She decided to travel, and in one of those trips she had a vision of "going to the countryside" and doing meaningful things. She and Hugo got involved in their purpose. They searched for and developed their motto. Experiment! Explore! To take advantage of the immense diversity that the Douro region provides.
From there, to create wines in small quantities, through micro-vinifications and a lot of manual work. Testing and combining grapes from the various exposures, soils, altitudes, capturing the various personalities of the Douro. The wines don't come from nowhere, but from everywhere! That is the concept of the Grau Baumé project!
To be made with the least intervention possible, "limit the additions, put aside the make-up and "bypass" the filters. Take more risks". One can perceive this path in the most recent creations, increasingly more in the direction of the "natural".
The motto "It's grapes. More earth. More wills new wills! It comes with more time.", in an attitude that the land must see every day who takes care of it, one must devote time to the grapes, the fruit and... risk! "By letting myself be guided by instinct, fear is also part of the equation!", Ana stresses the with her eyes and mouth, her introspection towards the project. The wines only reach their appreciators when they are ready. Their pace is obeyed, because here one values the importance of patience and time.
From Baumé Grade wines, one should not expect the classic or the commercial. One should undertake an absorption of their spirit, of how Ana and Hugo conceive what wine should be. However, the quality cannot be less than exceptional!
And if there is any doubt as to what they go well with, just follow Grau Baumé's suggestion, "This wine goes well with family and friends!".
