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Origin
Thousands of years ago, nature painted an abstract picture in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From the height of its wisdom dared to confront fire, air and water in apparent chaos that generated life. Where the incandescent lava danced with the sea, in an infinite white mist, was born the grey island. Pico Island. Portugal's highest mountain. Volcanic land, wild atmosphere, salty sea.
It is a paradise where the master-dreamer of volcanic wines found the perfect balance and ingredients to create something unique. Thus, the formation of yet another singular phenomenon took place. From volcanic rock, wine was created. We present Eruptio.
The terroir is as unique as mother nature's boldness in bringing together the elements that created it: fire, water, air.
Eruptio wines are the liquid, honest and nuanced expression that represents the volcanic and Atlantic terroir where its roots grow. In each bottle is present the knowledge and resilience of many generations of winegrowers, who in extreme conditions manage to produce grapes with exceptional quality.
Blend
Arinto dos Azores
Terrantez do Pico
Verdelho
Concept
Eruptio wines, Born from the volcano, with roots in the sea.
Origin
Thousands of years ago nature painted an abstract picture in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From the height of his wisdom, he dared to confront fire, air and water in an apparent chaos that generated life. Where the incandescent lava danced with the sea, in an infinite white mist, the gray island was born. Pico Island. Portugal's first mountain. Volcanic land, wild air, salty sea.
Pico Island.
Portugal's first mountain.
Volcanic land, wild air, salty sea.
Stratovolcano
Height 2.351 meters
Area 13.41 m2
last eruption 1720
Azores
Average temperature 17.4º
Humidity 75%-80%
rainy weather
persistent wind
Population 236,657 (2021)
Pico is one of the nine islands of volcanic origin that make up the Azores Archipelago, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between the coasts of Europe and North America. Its geography provides a maritime climate that translates into mild temperatures, low thermal amplitude, hard rainfall and high relative humidity.
Pico
Group : center
Height 2.351 meters
Area : 445km2
Population : 13,895 (2021)
Capital : Magdalena
Despite being millenary, Pico is considered a young island and its soils have not yet been eroded. The vine is planted directly in the crevices of the bedrock at the base of the volcano and next to the sea, receiving a fusion of rain and sea water. They are heroic vines, exposed to the moods of the climate and the tides. To protect them, man uses the island’s own basalt to build stone corrals, creating a labyrinthine landscape that stretches across an almost surreal landscape. This 500-year-old human craft was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004.
Eruptio wines are the liquid, honest and nuanced expression that represents the volcanic and Atlantic terroir where its roots grow. In each bottle is present the knowledge and resilience of many generations of winegrowers, who in extreme conditions manage to produce grapes with exceptional quality.
Brand
Though Pico Island emerged from the confrontation of nature’s elements, it was also this conciliation - firstly dramatic and nowadays stable - that inspired the origin of the Eruptio brand. The symbol comprises representations of the natural influences on wine, embraced by a circle representing insularity.
The labels were created and designed with the same carefulness that a winegrower takes when working on the vines punched in black crevices to the sound of “crabs singing”.
The peculiar geographical situation of these volcanic-oceanic wines and the unforeseen interaction between the heat of the volcano and the freshness of the ocean, the rainwater and the salt spray from the sea gave rise to an almost surreal representation of elements that are also native to the island. Shearwaters, sperm whales, amberjacks, parrotfish, jellyfish, octopus, the roots of Arinto dos Açores, Terrantez do Pico and Verdelho varieties, the clouds, the ocean and Portugal's highest mountain Pico.
Values
Stamina/Strength
From the explosion of nature, black terrains of rocks and raw cracks were created. The vines cling to life through their roots that pierce the bedrock.
Passion
Respect for Pico’s nature, for the know-how passed down through generations and for what’s pure and authentic generates a very strong feeling. It explodes a passion that drives the mastery of recreating the true expression of the terroir, through an incomparable wine.
Bravery/Ingenuity
Contrasting with fire there's the salinity and infinite freshness of the sea currents that temper the soil and that chants the Portuguese history since ever. Heroes dose the salty winds in the vineyard with worldwide unique stone corrals.
Winemaker
Graduated from Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA – Lisbon), post-graduated at the Catholic University of Porto in Oenology and began his professional career as an oenologist at Quinta da Romeira in Bucelas. In 2004 he headed to Alentejo, where the challenge was to bring freshness to the wines he produced in one of the warmest regions of Portugal.
Bernardo Cabral
Bernardo Cabral
"I knew very early on that I wanted to be a winemaker."
Throughout his journey in the creation of wines, challenges have proliferated but learning remains continuous and enriching. In this process of growth as an oenologist, there is also a transformation as a human being and he allows himself, today, to express his emotions much more in each new wine he develops.
This was also the environment he found on Pico Island. A community of micro-growers that takes care of their vines almost as if they were a bonsai, given the naturally adverse conditions of a volcanic soil buffeted by sea foam.
Respect for nature, ancestral techniques and passion for the art of making something unique in the world moves these winegrowers. Bernardo was immediately delighted.
Is it because he also has ties to the deep mysteries of the Azores? The wine will tell.
Create
Eruptio wines’ terroir is as unique as mother nature's boldness in bringing together the elements that created it: fire, water and air.
Pico Vineyards
Area : 1000 ha
Grape varieties : Arinto dos Açores, Terrantez do Pico and Verdelho
Manual Harvest
The Pico vineyards populate the area of the villages Madalena, Candelária, Criação Velha and
Bandeiras to the west of the island, and Santa Luzia to the north. They are located at the foot of the volcano, at an altitude of 100 meters or less and very close to the coast.
These are extreme conditions for the vines, which, planted in the cracks of the bedrock, use their robust roots to dig deep into the volcanic soil and seek for their subsistence. Part of it is the brackish water they find, the result of the mixing of the rains that fall with the sea that makes its way under the island.
The wind quite always blows strongly, vaporizing the grapes with ocean water and challenging the integrity of the vine. Man, a winemaker for more than 5 centuries on this island, learned to protect his production with what nature gave him: basalt. Stone upon stone, he built walled corrals that create a warmer microclimate for plants. This technique and mastery have been classified by UNESCO, since 2004, as a World Heritage Site.
Viticulture
All the viticulture work on Pico Island is arduous, as the particularity of the terrain does not allow any type of mechanization. Thus, the grape clusters are selected and manually picked in each stone corral, at the ideal moment of maturation, rain or shine.
At the cellar, depending on the variety, the wines are matured in stainless steel tanks or fermented in very old French or American oak barrels and are aged on fine lees for 6 months.
Oenology
Eruptio wines are the liquid, honest and nuanced expression that represents the volcanic and Atlantic terroir where its roots grow.
In each bottle is present the knowledge and resilience of many generations of winegrowers, who in extreme conditions manage to produce grapes with exceptional quality.
Taste
Vineyards deep in the black rock, touching the sea,
windswept by the salty ocean, challenge man to reach the impossible.
Four times.
ERUPTIO Blend
Citrus fruits in the height of summer sway slowly with tropical fruits, in a light breeze that resembles seaweed fluttering between volcanic rocks. In the end, the acidity and a touch of saline vibrate.
Vinification
The different varieties are individually aged in stainless steel vats and aged on fine lees for 6 months, keeping the temperature and oxidation low to maintain the wine's fresh character.
Test results
Greenish-yellow color. Aroma of ripe citrus and tropical fruits on a background of seaweed, reminiscent of the sea breeze in a volcanic environment. Very round mouth, with vibrant acidity and saline finish.
Varieties
Arinto dos Azores
Verdelho
Terrantez do Pico
Year
2019
Alcohol (%/Vol)
12.5th
PH
3.3
Total acidity
7.4
Total Sugar
3.2g/l
Variety
Arinto dos Azores
Year
2020
Alcohol (%/Vol)
12.5th
PH
3.3
Total acidity
6.8
Total Sugar
0.6g/l
ERUPTIO
Arinto dos Azores
The aroma calls out with discreet notes of fresh tropical fruits. Like life, it becomes more complex as the light nuances of the oak barrel and the passage of a pleasant cloud of volcanic sulphur arrive. In the mouth, it refreshes with acidity and minerality. Its volume persistently envelops and ends saline.
Vinification
Fermented in French oak barrels and aged on fine lees for 6 months.
Test results
Appealing aroma with discreet notes of fresh tropical fruits, becoming more complex with slight nuances from the oak barrel where it fermented and aged and a pleasant volcanic sulfur. In the mouth it has a refreshing acidity and minerality. Very engaging and persistent volume. Saline end.
ERUPTIO
Terrantez do Pico
The aroma is designed with notes of grapefruit and peach, in the dawn of light smoke and volcanic notes. In the mouth, it surprises with its strong acidity in the saltiest tasting of all Eruptio wines.
Vinification
Fermented in very old American oak barrels, where the famous Verdelhos do Pico aged. Aged 6 months on fine lees.
Test results
Aroma marked by notes of grapefruit and peach in an environment of light smoke and volcanic notes. In the mouth, it surprises with its strong acidity, in the saltiest tasting of all the wines in this range.
Variety
Terrantez do Pico
Year
2020
Alcohol (%/Vol)
12.5th
PH
3.2
Total acidity
6.8
Total Sugar
0.6g/l
Variety
Verdelho
Year
2020
Alcohol (%/Vol)
12.5th
PH
3.2
Total acidity
6.8
Total Sugar
0.5g/l
ERUPTIO Verdelho
Citrus fruits and soft gunpowder notes, involved in a pleasant and very mineral volcanic profile, mark the inviting aroma. In the mouth it is elegant and refreshing, revealing all the influence of the proximity to the ocean.
Vinification
Fermented in stainless steel tanks (80%) and barrels (20%), aged for 6 months on fine lees.
Test results
Aroma marked by notes of citrus fruits and soft gunpowder, involved in a pleasant and very mineral volcanic profile. In the mouth it is elegant and refreshing, showing all the influence of the proximity to the sea.
“It is my duty and my path to respect this incredible terroir and taste it in every bottle of wine we produce.”
Bernardo Cabral, winemaker
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Volcanic Wines, Born of the Volcano, with its roots in the sea.
PRESS KIT
A volcano
of rare beauty,
lost in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Vines
of roots deep in the black rock,
touching the sea,
buffeted by the winds and
by the salt sea,
challenge man to achieve the impossible.
Intense grapes, from unique and heroic varieties,
crafted by the mastery of the winemaker.
This is how Eruptio wines are born.
Volcanic Wines,
Born from the volcano,
with its roots in the sea.
ERUPTIO in Portugal
ERUPTIO around the World
Distributors
Passil Logistics Park, Lt. two
2890-182 Alcochete
Wine cellars
MARF - Warehouse E2, Module 8
8009-021 Faro
Alley of the Tower of Fato 4B
1600-759 Lisbon
ElCorteInglés supermarket
Av. António Augusto de Aguiar 31
1069-413 Lisboa
Distributors
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