A Cerca dos Frades

Portugal

Pico

Santa Luzia (São Roque do Pico)

Tito Silva

Fator XPTO: Volcanic legacy tempered by sea wind.

There are many wine regions in the world, but only a few are as breathtaking as the Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard. The gigantic walls of stone that had to be built to protect the vineyards from the gusts of the sea and the winds, and the rich heritage associated with the culture of the vine have a unique and universal character, which UNESCO recognized in 2004. Nowadays, the “Pico Vinhateiro” has been reborn.

“Cerca dos Frades” is the designation for a parcel of land ceded by the population to the friars during their installation, at the behest of King Pedro III, in Santa Luzia. Faced with the request for “an area the size of an ox skin” the people gave in willingly, until they realized how clever the friars were. They cut the ox skin into very narrow strips, forming a long cord with which they surrounded an area that at first would be tiny, in an area of 2000m² outlining this 3.25m high fence.

This project started due to the affectionate relationship that the founder of the company, Tito Silva, had for a plot of land in the heart of the landscape in Lajido Santa Luzia vineyard in Pico Island that belonged to his grandfather, where as a child they used to have a small family grape harvest.

In 2015 the requalification of the vineyards began, initially planting 3 hectares with the grapes Terrantez do Pico, Arinto dos Açores and Verdelho. In 2018, with 15 hectares, we released our first white wine “A Cerca dos Frades” Blend Terrantez do Pico, Arinto dos Açores and Verdelho. The following year, in addition to the “A Cerca dos Frades” Blend, we released our first monovariety wine “A Cerca dos Frades” Terrantez do Pico. In 2020, keeping the Blend and the Terrantez do Pico, we added Verdelho, our second monovariety, to the “A Cerca Dos Frades” family.

Today, we have about 20 hectares of native grape varieties from the Azores, which give us peculiar grapes and distinctive wines.

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