Quinta da Sequeira launches new wine to appeal to young people

Mario Cardoso plans to launch two new wines this year. “We love making new things,” says the vintner. Cardoso is the fifth generation to run the Quinta da Sequeira winery in Vila Nova da Foz Côa in the Douro region, alongside his wife Maria da Graça and their son.

The first of the new wines is ready: Clarete 2023 is made from red wine grapes that, after an initial contact with the grape skins to get colour is fermented in the same way as a white wine, without the skin or seeds. As a result, the wine contains fewer tannins, is softer and appeals to the taste of younger consumers. “The wine is easy to drink,” highlights Cardoso. Clarete 2023 is limited to 3200 bottles.

This allows the winery to appeal to its consumers without violating the region's strict rules of origin. In order to use the Douro designation of origin, the wine must have been produced in the region, exclusively from the roughly 200 indigenous grape varieties. In addition, to ensure a high concentration of flavors, the plants must not have been irrigated. The edition is limited to 3200 bottles.

With the second wine, Cardoso is focussing entirely on the strengths of the Douro region by using grapes from the top 2017 vintage. The wine will be released in limited quantities before the end of the year, with each of the approximately 4,000 bottles numbered.

Quinta da Sequeira was founded in 1899. The older parts of the estate are planted according to tradition with mixed grape varieties, while newer areas feature a single grape variety each. Covering 17 hectares, it is one of the smaller wineries in the region. Nevertheless, between 30 and 40 per cent of its wines are exported, mainly to Europe – specifically Sweden, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany – as well as to China, Brazil and, most recently, Colombia. ce/stk