A picture is worth a thousand words, and the label of the new ‘Branco de Vinhas Velhas 2022’ is proof of that. The photograph is strong and mysterious. It is called "Removing the Waters" and is presented as "a focus on the water and its hypnotic movements".

The unique perspective is from the award-winning Spanish photographer Eva Díez, who interprets the landscape poetically, as a place as natural as it is emotional. "The process is very important in my work," explains the artist. "A process that is born in the emotional and transcends to the universal."

The label of ‘Vinhas Velhas’ arises from the desire to look at the landscape and the Algarve traditions, celebrating the region itself. Morgado do Quintão has been in our family since 1810 - it has already passed through the hands of four generations, each of them marking the history of this property. It came to us in 2017, from our mother Teresa Pereira Caldas de Vasconcellos (1941-2017), a contemporary artist and university professor. The paths of Morgado do Quintão, in the last decades, reflect precisely this connection to art - and, through art, to the land, thus reinterpreted.

Our labels are a mirror of this path. We decided to privilege and be inspired by natural elements, which reflected our passion for the Algarve, and then create an abstract design, which communicated our most current vision of wine. This latest label is the result of all this - and a little more.

Since 2013, we have been receiving artists from different areas at Morgado do Quintão for artistic residencies, in order to promote art and culture in the region. It is since then that, to the labels with the drawings of Teresa Pereira Caldas de Vasconcellos, others have been added to our wine portfolio. We are four - Cláudia Garrudo, Rui Horta Pereira, and Tomás Cunha Ferreira, joined by the Spanish photographer Eva Díez.

"Removing the Waters" results from the months spent at Morgado do Quintão, immersed in the Algarve nature. The artist describes the process that led to this photograph as "a long physical and mental journey through different landscapes, focusing on the waters" - particularly on the stagnant ones, where there is "a kind of breath that emerges from their abysses", in an attempt to flow again. Water is an object of inspiration and symbolizes the dynamics of life, cycles, and transience.

“*Removing the Waters*” - Photography. Eva Díez

Expressed from photography or moving image, Eva Díez's works present a composition of strong scenic character where light, process, analysis of context, and its connection with the idea of sustainability are fundamental. Her works are represented in various private collections between Spain and Portugal, and in public collections such as CGAC - Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea and the Colección Fotográfica del Ayuntamiento de Vigo. Eva Díez has regularly exhibited in museums, fairs, and art galleries and today is represented by Galeria Salgadeiras Arte Contemporânea, Galeria Marisa Marimón, Ourense, Galicia (Spain), and La Gran, Madrid (Spain).

‘Vinhas Velhas’ is then a tribute, not only to the history of Morgado do Quintão itself and its connection to art but also to the essence of the region in which the property lives. With a vinification rooted in our attempt to show the richness of the Algarve terroir, the 2022 harvest was produced with attention to the smallest detail. The Crato Branco bunches come from the oldest vineyards of Morgado do Quintão, with more than half a century, and were carefully handpicked, to be then pressed whole. To age the wine, we chose old oak barrels. The result is a symphony in the glass. With pronounced notes of passion fruit, and other subtle ones of jasmine and magnolia, the wine is simultaneously round and crisp. It goes very well with Algarve regional dishes (especially fish and seafood) - after all, it is an authentic son of the land.

JOURNAL #12 THE WATER, IN A SINGULAR WINE LABEL