Light, lemon yellow color and an elegant aroma with mineral notes. Crisp, dry and with salty and mineral notes.
Granit is a well-chosen name for this beautiful, mineral white wine, which impresses with a really crisp acidity and less fruitiness. Its elegance and crisp texture make the wine an obvious food wine. Drink it with dishes from Mediterranean cuisine such as seafood, grilled fish or oven-baked oily fish. It also goes well with bright and smoked meats, mature cheeses or Asian dishes such as sushi or dumplings.
Granit is made from Alvarinho grapes from a selection of small vineyards planted in soils rich in granite. The vineyards are located at an altitude of around 400 meters in the sub-regions of Monção and Melgaço. The location of the vineyards at altitude gives Alvarinho’s fruity characteristics more acidity and mineral notes. The plots are chosen because of the minerality of the soil, which causes the roots of the Alvarinho vines to search deep into the hillsides for nutrients.
The grapes from the high-altitude vineyards are harvested by hand. After pressing, and before fermentation, the must is clarified. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel barrels at a higher temperature than normal for white wine (22°C). This ensures that Alvarinho’s natural fruity character does not overshadow the minerality that plays the main role in this wine. Bâtonnage and aging on lees improve the structure of the wine before bottling.
About Soalheiro
Quinta de Soalheiro is located in Melgaco in northern Portugal, right up to the border with Spain, protected from wind and weather by the mountains in the area. Here, Soalheiro was the first producer to use the special Portuguese white wine grape, Alvarinho. The mountainous region ensures an optimal combination of life-giving rain and the right temperatures, while the grapes get plenty of sunlight. Therefore, the grapes thrive and deliver lively and elegant wines, which have become the hallmark of the region and of the winery itself. It was here in the area that João António Cerdeira planted the first Alvarinho vines in 1974. Today, Quinta de Soalheiro is a family-run winery, which produces fantastic wines under current manager Maria Palmira Cerdeira and her children, Maria João Cerdeira and António Luís Cerdeira, the house Winemaker. The name ‘Soalheiro’ very aptly means “a sunny place” and is a reference to the Portuguese climate that the winery’s vines benefit from. The protection of the mountains and a granite-containing soil ensure optimal conditions. The grapes are harvested in small boxes to avoid damage, and brought quickly to the winery. Here they lie cool for 48 hours before being pressed. The Alvarinho grape is actually an older type of grape that has shown its worth over many years. Here it is the basis for many wines throughout the Vinho Verde region. The grape has a very characteristic floral and fruity profile with notes of linden, peach, grape and apple and is perfect in a classic, fresh Vinho Verde. In fact, the grape’s qualities are so sought after that it is also exported to more southern climes in Portugal, where they are combined with local grapes.
