Peluda Vinhos, an engaging multigenerational wine project nestled in the Minho region of northern Portugal, distinguishes itself within Vinho Verde by marrying deep family tradition with a dynamic, low-intervention philosophy championed by the young winemaker, Mariana Pala.
This producer is situated in the sub-region of Basto, a distinctly mountainous and largely continental area isolated from the Atlantic's direct influence. It gives its wines a unique character of vibrant freshness, structured acidity, and mineral depth from the granite and schist soils. A key pillar of Peluda's uniqueness lies in their approach to sustainable vineyard management: they employ a form of natural, integrated fertilization by allowing horses and donkeys to graze in their 17 hectares of vineyards during the winter, which naturally enriches the soil and avoids the need for chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, their winemaking emphasizes minimal intervention to genuinely express the terroir and the indigenous Basto grape varieties like Azal, a white grape that thrives in this cooler, high-altitude setting, achieving full ripeness later in the season.
In the cellar, Mariana Pala favors traditional methods, such as controlled methods. Yet, cool-temperature fermentation in stainless steel tanks and often bottles their wines, including popular Suba Pet-Nats, without filtration, showcasing a cloudy, authentic style that appeals directly to the educated wine enthusiast's preference for raw, textural, and traditionally-made expressions of Vinho Verde. This combination of utilizing livestock for natural fertilization, embracing challenging, high-elevation terroir, and employing minimal-intervention cellar techniques makes Peluda Vinhos a standout example of a forward-thinking Portuguese producer dedicated to both environmental responsibility and the authentic, regional spirit of Minho.
