Aphros Wine
Aphros Wine is one of the pioneers of Biodynamic farming and wine making in Portugal. The winery has two cellars, a contemporary modern space and a mediaeval cellar, both designed to make wines in different ways.
The story of Aphros begins in Casal do Paco, a traditional Quinta at the heart of the Lima Valley, a region with an ecosystem of an extraordinary diversity and luxurious vegetation where for many centuries an admirable culture of subsistence agriculture flourished. In 2004 Vasco Croft bought the farm and took in hand the responsibility of restructuring it, with the vision of a sustainable, ecological project to bring it back to life for the future. As a lifelong student of Rudolf Steiner he took inspiration from the ideas of biodynamics, reshaping the farm, areas of vines restructured, chestnut orchards introduced, cover crops, animals, and biodynamic preparations were put in place. Interested in wine after meeting with a Buddhist monk, and enthusiastic about the new impulse biodynamics were bringing to rediscovery of terroir in the wine world, the decision was made to start producing and bottling, reactivating the old cellar in the basement of the house.
In October 2006 the first biodynamic process was implemented, now recognized as a model ecological winery committed to the preservation of its ecosystem that not only include the vines but entire forests of acacias, oaks, eucalyptus and century-old trees, the home of wild boars, foxes and eagles. Between the plains near the Ocean and the mountains of Geres, fertile hills of granitic soils harbour a balance forests and cultivated areas, where the vine found a perfect terroir, harmoniously blended with other cultures such as cereals, vegetables, fruit orchards, olive trees and a variety of domestic animals and wildlife.
In a couple of years the cellar had to expand to the garden for lack of space, in order to respond to the increasing worldwide demand for the wines. What started as a side project became a serious one, growing with a vision that brought together fundamental interests present throughout Vasco’s life: a lof for nature, arts and community building.
This resulted in an expansion of two Quintas adjacent to each other near Ponte de Lima. Following this expansion, in 2015 a new cellar was built, with the capacity to process the totality of the grapes, whilst the old cellar in Padreiro was converted into a “mediaeval cellar” destined to process wines in ancient, pre-industrial ways in Amphora and without any use of electric equipment.
The principal white grape here in the Lima Valley of the Vinho Verde region is Loureiro which can make age-worthy wines. In youth you will find primary aromas of citrus and laurel and more complex styles have peach, melon and floral notes.
