The Winery
Gerações da Talha
The winery GERAÇÕES DA TALHA is located in Vila de Frades and dates from the XVIII century. It is a place of traditions and knowledge of generations that has been bringing and perfecting the so magnificent Vinho da Talha (Talha Wine).
This winery was acquired by Francisco Nogueira Anacleto, who inherited and masterfully passed on the art and wisdom of creating wine to the generations that followed it. A tradition that was embraced with great passion by his son-in-law, Professor Arlindo Maria Ruivo, who has dedicated his life to this precious and unique nectar that is the “Talha Wine”, as well as, by his children and grandchildren, who were seized by this millenary knowledge and whose generations boosted the project GERAÇÕES DA TALHA.
This is a project that was born to praise, affirm and maintain the genuine production of talha wine that has persisted for more than 2 millennia and is well evidenced in the cellars and people of the land.
The location
Vila de Frades
Vila de Frades, considered the “capital” of talha wine, is a small, very friendly village, located in the heart of Alentejo, belonging to the municipality of Vidigueira, in a privileged location between Évora and Beja, where we find the ruins of a Roman Village named São Cucufate, in which archaeological evidence was discovered showing that the famous talha wine was brought by the Romans.
The inhabitants of this village are known as the Farrapeiros, a name that comes from the XVI century, of the religious order of San Francisco, of the Capucho Friars who were known for their modest and simple clothes, rags. This order ceded the exploitation of its vineyards to the population and they produced the “Blood of Christ” wine in clay pottery. The talha wine has always been an icon that marks this village and has, at the moment, an application for Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
This is the village that we adore, love and that intends to be the continuity of this emblematic art of the region, praising and guaranteeing the genuine production of talha wine.
The art of
Talha Wine
Talha wine is a unique product that is part of the Alentejo wine culture and originates from a winemaking process that was brought by the Romans.
This process begins with the arrival of the grapes at the cellar, where they are destemmed (separation of the grapes from the bunch/stems), crushed and placed with the skins, seeds and part of the stalks in clay pots where fermentation takes place.
In the fermentation process, when sugar is transformed into alcohol, carbon dioxide is released, which causes the solid parts of the grape skins to rise to the surface, forming a thick layer, which is then plunged (culturally known as “stirring the hoist”). The plunging is done with a wooden plunger, and aims to push the layer that is on the surface downwards. Plunging must be done at least twice a day to prevent the pot from bursting. It is with this plunging that all the constituents of the grape are transferred to the wine, giving it colour and flavour.
After fermenting, the solid parts fall off and form “the mother”, where the wine ages for a few months. This “mother” will serve as a natural filter and will be where the filtered wine passes and leaves the pot, from a tap to a bowl, from which it is ready to be consumed or bottled.