What better way to capture the miraculous transition of our dreary winter into spring and the sparks of early summer than to go on a vineyard tour at Arvad with their incredible and dashingly handsome viticulturist and resident winemaker, Miguel Mimosa?
It’s mid-April here at Arvad, a stunning new-ish project here in the Algarve with a style and feel that echoes its surroundings harmoniously. Perfectly nestled into the hillside along the Arade River Valley. The weather here is tempered by the Monchique mountains, the Atlantic ocean breezes, the river itself and the steep hillsides that line the river. Each plot planted here has been carefully navigated by Miguel, then cultivated and trained specifically in accordance with managing ripeness, airflow and the path of the sun.
A relatively young estate, with the first vines being planted in 2016, Arvad has gone from 14 hectares to nearly 48ha. Almost every plot planted around the estate hosts breathtaking views of the river valley with the medieval village of Silves, just barely visible, in the background.
Before taking on this project, Miguel had accumulated more than ten years of experience in the vineyard and the winery. The catalyst for his career started at the University of Agriculture in Beja, where he completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Agronomy with a focus on viticulture. There, under the mentorship of one of his professors, Miguel discovered he had a talent and passion for working with the vines and consequently took the next opportunity to put his knowledge into practice.
Starting his new position at Herdade Grande in Vidigueira in 2015, he began his dream of working in the vineyards. Soon after arriving, Miguel was convinced by the winemaker Diogo Lopes to work in the winery.
Miguel explains, “Initially, I wanted nothing to do with the winery. I didn’t know anything about making wine, just the vines.” But they needed someone, and slowly, while undergoing the simple and often hardest tasks in the winery like punch downs, pump overs, racking, etc, he began to enjoy the grueling day-to-day cellar work. It was during those crazy days that he caught the wine-making bug, and after two years at Herdade Grande, he left for Vicentino-Vinhas da Costa Atlântica.
There, he met award-winning winemaker Bernardo Cabral, and together, they began expanding the coastal estate from 10ha to more than 60ha. A passion project as well as an inspiration to acquire his oenology masters, Miguel had the opportunity to dig his heels in and not only work with an estate on a grand scale but an estate that has specific climatic challenges only found in this picturesque part of the Portuguese western coastline.
Working in the vineyard by day and studying oenology at night and on weekends, he finished his master’s in winemaking. When I asked him which wine he was most proud of from Vicentino, he replied, “The Pinot Noir, Naked, It was a challenge!” and I imagine it was. Because, as he explained, it was the “wile-e”, often difficult nature of Pinot, the unrelenting early morning fog bank that settled on their vineyards all throughout August and the local birds which would swoop in to steal their juicy berries that made a harrowing year into the successful vintage and rewarding harvest it became.
After working for Vicentino for three years, Miguel moved on to Quinta dos Mourças, a vineyard owned by Esporão and after this, the infamous estate, Cortes de Cima, which has been transformed into a holistic, organic and biodynamic project. At both these projects, Miguel was exposed to an unforgiving but informative form of alternative, organic and regenerative means for cultivating vines. Taking all the experience he had garnered and now two master’s degrees, Miguel came to Arvad and was once again working with Bernardo Cabral.
Today, with over two-and-a-half years under his belt at Arvad, he has seen the production nearly double and the quality rise exponentially. There is a pride there when I see him smile as he speaks about the vines. Some traditional winemakers say that the wine is made in the vineyard. If that’s the case, I’d say Miguel has been setting up each of his projects for brilliant success. Because the wine is most certainly a reflection of all the thought and care that he has put into the vines.
Right now at Arvad, there’s a break in the rain and it’s absolutely gorgeous. All the wild flowers are starting to bloom and the rows between the vines are covered in colour with bees happily zipping around from bud to bud. The vines have begun to awaken and are colourfully speckled with new, perfectly shaped buds, baby shoots and even a few baby clusters already beginning to form.
This time of year, while spectacular, is not only buzzing with life but also with work. Miguel tells me, “The focus is primarily on training the young vines and choosing the best shoots to use depending on the vine training system chosen for each varietal.” There is also the critical pre-selection of shoots needed for the following year. Each job and decision is of utmost importance at this time of year. The vines are growing fast, fuelled by the energy they’ve stored in their roots and trunks during dormancy, so it is important to work quickly and remove the unwanted suckers and laterals from the bottoms of the vines, along the trunks, canes and spurs so the vine can focus all its attention on fruit production.
Miguel has both traditional methods and cutting-edge transformative methods of viticulture in his arsenal, and he has an understanding of vine growth specific to each varietal, which suggests he’s been doing this far longer than he has. One of the practices Miguel had installed at Arvad are subterranean water monitoring stations that have helped encourage health and vigor in the vines while saving water. At any given time, Miguel can look at his phone and know how deep the water is going down, how profound the roots of the vines are and what the vines need for proper hydration.
Miguel also has several ways of detecting other enemies of the vine. I won’t give away his secrets, but I will say it’s painstaking and requires vigilance, work, and patience. “The way I work helps cut back on treatments and general maintenance, and it means lower costs for fertilisers, labour and water usage. I want to encourage natural, spontaneous cover cropping and water retention while simultaneously boosting production and elevating quality and health overall,” he explains. “Of all the work and different elements that go into cultivating a vineyard, canopy management is key.”
Paraphrasing, Miguel shared with me that the best thing one could ever do to learn about viticulture is to be in nature and learn by simply looking, observing, caring and working in the vines.
I asked Miguel what his favorite time of year in the vineyard is, assuming it was spring. I was surprised to hear it was winter, for pruning. “For me, pruning is the most important time of year.” He explains that pruning is like planning for the future of the vine, taking into consideration the winemaking team’s future projections and hopes while also thinking two years ahead.
His work and what he represents are both the future and the present of what’s happening in the beautiful vineyards at Arvad.
I encourage you all to go online and book a tour and tasting to see and experience the place for yourself!
Candace Olsen is a sommelier, fine wine consultant, wine educator and wine writer.
candyleacane@me.com
Wine pick
Miguel’s favorite wine right now is Arvad’s Negra Mole Branco. It’s completely natural and fermented only in Amphora. The clay imbues the wine with a unique freshness, balanced acidity and luscious, ripe white stone fruit. They’ve sold out of the 2023, but not to worry, this month of May, they’re bottling the most recent 2024 vintage and releasing it onto the shelf for €17,50
To celebrate this epic season, grab a bottle of this stunning white straight from the winery or in your local specialized wine shops and restaurants. Some of these amazing places are the Presuntaria do Mercado in Portimão, W – Wine Food and Friends in Praia da Rocha, the Garrafeira Avô Teté in Armação de Pêra and restaurant Rei das Praias in Praia dos Caneiros.
