Quinta das Corriças is a traditional house where wine has been made for three centuries. Installed in an old and secular mill in the urban area of Vale de Salgueiro, in Mirandela, it is in the possession of several generations of a family that has in Telmo Moreira, born and raised on the property, and that in the last 15 years, has been the current helmsman of Quinta das Corriças destinations, in all aspects of the activity and tireless ambassador of its wines and the Trás-os-Montes region.
Quinta das Corriças is one of the strongholds of viticulture in Valpaços, Trás-os-Montes, for several generations, in a balance between tradition and modernity, which preserves about 12.5 hectares of old vines, along with newer ones, reconverted , of grape varieties typical of the region, in a total of 21 hectares.
In this Hot Land, rain is a precious rarity, with the vineyards subject to intense sun exposure where the high temperature in summer is an incessant challenge, year after year, promoting the intense structure and body of Quinta das Corriças wines. These conditions, sometimes extreme, are faced with technical knowledge and refrigeration equipment that allow the wines to faithfully show their origin.
Despite the modernity of this cellar, visible in the gleaming stainless steel of the vats, presses and grape selection equipment, fitted between the granite walls, the more traditional processes are not forgotten, such as treading in a mill, ancestral, which helps to extract gently the best that has the inside of the grape berry. In these activities, they involve the local community and young students who, after classes, help with treading and other tasks, encouraging them to continue this legacy.
Quinta das Corriças wines are full-bodied, with a lot of essence and structure, the result of a very special terroir. In fact, this is a terroir made up of many microclimates, in a landscape broken up by countless plots of vineyards. In these lands, warmed by the persistent heat of the air, the schist and granite soils unfold in various declinations, textures and compositions.
For the most part, Quinta das Corriças produces red wines, several from old vines, based on very traditional grape varieties from Trás-os-Montes, such as Bastardo and Tinta Amarela, in various combinations with more recognizable and “famous” varieties such as be it Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca. From the long lineage of Bastardo, in the vineyards of Quinta das Corriças there is a “relative”, Bastardo Russo, with a more orange skin that gives a rosé wine with a natural pink appearance, a hue that varies from year to year.
Its offer extends to wine tourism at its Wine House Quinta das Corriças. Under the motto art, wine and passion, visitors are introduced to a range of activities that include visits to the vineyards, the cellar and always ending with the unavoidable tasting of wines from Quinta das Corriças and the regional snacks from Trás-os-Montes. In the facilities they created a museum that makes the visitor travel through the implements and utensils that refer to the local customs and experience, where wine has always played a decisive role.
Since recently, visitors have been invited to stay overnight in the various rooms available, enriching the experience of visiting Vale de Salgueiro. Around here, local traditions continue to be safeguarded, such as the celebration of the Kings where Quinta das Corriças has long hosted this festivity.
With these wines, the excellence and personality of Trás-os-Montes wines is exalted, at the same time, with them, there is a cultural and gastronomic immersion in this region full of well-preserved traditions and customs.
