Villa Payva

The unique project of Villa Payva, nestled in the Castelo de Paiva sub-region of Vinho Verde, is spearheaded by winemaker Mariana Guedes da Costa, who represents a contemporary vision deeply respectful of family tradition. Her work centers on the historic Casa de Algar estate, a property with over a century of history in the region, which provides the foundation for her conscientious winemaking. The core of Villa Payva’s distinctiveness lies in its minimal-intervention philosophy, which directly contrasts with some of the region's more technically driven wine production. This is evident in their reliance on spontaneous fermentation using indigenous yeasts and the traditional use of granite lagares and foot-treading for gentle must extraction, ensuring the wines are unfined and unfiltered—a true commitment to a raw, authentic expression of the grapes and terroir.

Sustainability is not just a practice but an inherent part of the identity, reinforced by their emphasis on using the highly trained ramada system for their vines—a culturally significant, ecologically sound method standard in this area of the Magic Mountains. Furthermore, Villa Payva goes a step further in acknowledging its environment by featuring the Anarrhinum longipedicellatum—a protected, endemic plant of the Paiva River basin—on its label, explicitly linking the wine to local biodiversity conservation. This commitment to ancestral methods and environmental preservation, all driven by Mariana Guedes da Costa, positions Villa Payva as an exciting producer for wine enthusiasts seeking authentic, terroir-driven expressions from the Vinho Verde Demarcated Region.