Factor XPTO: What for most is an insignificant step, for us is a giant one. We believe we are doing something giant, giant wines!

Passo de Gigante wines are produced at Quinta do Paço, in Vila Verde, by two dreamers/caretakers of bushes, weeds, brambles and vines/agricultural workers in their free time/winemakers/managers…, Rui Oliveira and João Pires. The vineyards, planted on poor granite-based soils in the Minho region, are made up of the traditional white grape varieties Alvarinho, Arinto, Loureiro and Trajadura and the red grape varieties Vinhão, Padeiro de Basto e Touriga Nacional. The vineyards are managed in a way to integrate them as much as possible, into the large ecosystem of the valley in which they are located. To achieve that no herbicide is ever applied and an extra effort in the canopy management is made, in opposition to fungicide application.

Each wine’s style is thought to maximize the different grape’s potential, being the freshness and the gastronomic capacity always privileged. The fermentations are realized by the indigenous yeasts, and the resulting wines are not stabilized or filtered, by the conviction that both operations diminish their natural expression. So, it is what it is!