David Corticeiro began working with the IPBN member company Quinta dos Vales team in 2016 as a winemaking intern for nine months building his resume toward assistant winemaker, a job he accepted at another vineyard not long after. David honed his talents there until this year when he returned to Quinta dos Vales, this time as Director of Winemaking.

He told the IPBN, "During my internship at Quinta dos Vales I helped with the harvest as I didn't have any winemaking experience. I learned the process over my time as an assistant. It was a great approach: a low-intervention style of winemaking that focused more on wine-growing aspects. Top-quality grapes translate to top-quality wines, so I practiced a more holistic approach, which I still believe is the right way forward."

According to David, the biggest difference between his former workplace and his current one is the volume. Twenty of the 44+ hectares at the Quinta produce 120,000 bottles, which is considerably more than he produced before. As a result, he has tons of new ideas for new projects. He said, "People are looking for innovative ways to produce wines. I'm considering an orange wine for 2023, for example, with lots of tannins and a full body— the kind of wine you can pair with a steak. We're also doing a wine of white and red grapes, called a palhete, which is comprised of up to 15% white grapes mixed with red to make the wine lighter and easier to drink in the summer. It's inspired by Cote do Rhône, but with a twist."

Winemaking isn't just left to the pros at Quinta dos Vales. In fact, there are four units left on their bespoke Winemaker's Experience— a pilot project created several years ago open to 30 people that has grown exponentially since its inception thanks to word of mouth and attention from bloggers and wine enthusiasts. In a 2020 IPBN interview, Michael Stock from the wine estate explained the process by saying, “We start with renting out a vineyard and getting the client involved anywhere from three to six months before the harvest. The resident winemaker then explains the next steps and awaits instructions. I tell people to either make a decision or ask me more questions...We have people who have completed their third harvest and their questions get less frequent but substantially more detailed.” The professionals at Quinta dos Vales are always available to explain all the options so the client can act upon their gut intuition, or follow the recommendation of the expert.

David shared the details of one winemaker experience production in which one plot produced double than expected. "Generally each plot produces one barrel, but theirs actually produced two. The vineyard offered to buy back the second barrel, but the family said 'Nature provided, so we will produce it!' The family had the idea to age one barrel six months, and the other one year. Last week we bottled the second barrel and I'm excited to see how it developed. It's not often you can taste differently aged wines from the exact same production!"

If you are keen to be a winemaker for this year's harvest, you should get in touch as soon as possible with David or Michael to get the process started. Act now before the end of July, and you start producing your very own white or rosé. If you'd rather target a red, you have until August to register. Keep in mind every three years you can change your variety to keep things fresh.

If you'd rather be a spectator, you can visit the vineyard for a tour and tasting on weekdays from 10:30am to 5:30pm, or stop by and say hello any day and pick up a bottle to take home.