JOURNAL #8 Meet Bruno, the man saving old Portuguese grape varieties

Like us, Bruno Pateiro da Silva from Plantivet  [http://www.plantivet.com/about.html] is on a mission to recover some of Portugal’s oldest grape varieties and save them from being lost and forgotten. He’s just supplied us with 30,000 Algarve vines to plant. 

How are you saving old grape varieties?

My family and I supply young vines to vineyards – we specialise in old forgotten grape varieties from Portugal, and are working to recover these across the country. 

We take young cuttings from the vines we want to clone and send them to our partner in Italy, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, who grafts them on to root stock and grows the plants in a nursery. The whole process takes about a year. 

Does Portugal have many old varieties? 

Portugal is a small wine producer globally, but has a lot of old varieties. Interest in these forgotten varieties has been increasing for about a decade, as a way for Portuguese wine makers to differentiate themselves. Even big companies, the Portuguese government and research institutions are getting involved.

We hear you’ve got a ‘nano’ winery too?

Yes, this is my new side project! I have 30 small tanks for vinification (making wine), which I use for research. I make small amounts of wine so that customers can try the forgotten grape varieties, and imagine what they can do with them. 

What’s your connection to MdQ?

We’ve just supplied 30,000 new vines to Filipe and the team for them to plant this May. All the plants are Algarve varieties, including Negra Mole, Tinta Miúda, Arrinto and Tamarez. 

I think Filipe is doing a really good job of recovering old varieties and in differentiating his wine with them. MdQ is a big project with small resources, because he had been able to create an emotional attachment to what his is doing.

In the south of Portugal, MdQ is unique!

What are your thoughts on wine and art?

I’ve talked to Filipe lots about how MdQ combines wine and art and I think it is a great idea to mix the two. Agriculture, or viticulture, is an art after all.