ROMAN LUSITANIA · ALENTEJO
2,000 YEARS OF WINE IN CLAY
Long before stainless steel. Long before oak barrels. Wine was already being made in clay.
In Roman Lusitania, grapes were harvested, crushed and fermented in large clay vessels known as dolia. Archaeological evidence from the Alentejo reveals a sophisticated culture of wine production whose traces can still be found here today.
ROMAN WINE PRODUCTION · ILLUSTRATIVE RECONSTRUCTION
FROM GRAPE TO DOLIUM
HARVEST · TREADING · INTO THE DOLIUM · FERMENTATION IN CLAY · STORAGE
This illustration reconstructs elements of Roman wine production based on archaeological and historical evidence. Practices varied across the Roman world and over time.
SÃO CUCUFATE · VILA DE FRADES · ALENTEJO
FROM ROMAN LUSITANIA TO THE ALENTEJO
Just a few kilometres from Vila de Frades, the Roman villa of São Cucufate was established in the 1st century AD as the centre of a large agricultural estate.
Here, the land was cultivated, its produce transformed and stored — evidence of a sophisticated agricultural culture that shaped this part of the Alentejo nearly 2,000 years ago.
Photo: Carole Raddato · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · cropped
THE ROMANS LEFT. THE CLAY REMAINED
VILA DE FRADES · ALENTEJO
GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
The tradition survived not in museums, but in the adegas of the Alentejo.
Passed from hand to hand. From harvest to harvest. From generation to generation, families continued making wine in clay — preserving knowledge, rituals and a way of life that remains alive today.
PORTUGUESE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE
A LIVING HERITAGE
In 2023, the traditional production of Vinho de Talha was inscribed in Portugal’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. More than a winemaking technique, it is a living culture — shaped by clay, harvest, shared knowledge, local food and the social life of the adega.
A centuries-old tradition, now on its journey towards recognition by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
MONTE DAS LOUZEIRAS
PART OF THE ROTA DO VINHO DE TALHA
Monte das Louzeiras is proud to be part of the Rota do Vinho de Talha, celebrating and preserving one of the Alentejo’s most distinctive winemaking traditions.
Here, Vinho de Talha is not simply part of the past. It is a living tradition — made, shared and experienced today.
FROM CLAY TO WINE
PRESERVING THE TALHA
THE PESGAGEM OF THE TALHA
Before a talha can continue its long life in winemaking, its interior must occasionally be renewed.
At Monte das Louzeiras, this traditional process takes place roughly every fifteen years. During the pesgagem, the clay vessel is carefully heated over fire, allowing the old coating to soften before the inside is renewed with pez louro, a traditional preparation based on pine resin.
This protective layer reduces the natural porosity of the clay and prepares the talha for many more years of winemaking. The work is demanding, physical and increasingly rare — a craft passed from generation to generation in the Alentejo.
FROM VINEYARD TO ADEGA
THE HARVEST ARRIVES
Fresh from the vineyard, the grapes arrive in the adega and are gathered before the first stage of processing begins.
From here, the harvest starts its transformation. The grapes pass through the crusher and destemmer, separating the berries from the stems and releasing the first juice.
At Monte das Louzeiras, this is the point where the harvest begins to become wine.
FOOT TREADING & CHECKING THE MUST
FOOT TREADING & CHECKING THE MUST
Before the wine enters the talha, the grapes are traditionally trodden, allowing juice, skins and pulp to come together and beginning the first transformation from fruit to must.
The must is then checked carefully. Its aroma, colour, texture and development give the first indication of the character of the new vintage.
This is the moment when experience, observation and instinct begin to guide the wine.
IN CLAY, TIME TAKES OVER
FERMENTATION IN THE TALHA
Once the must has been checked, it is transferred into the prepared talhas, where natural fermentation begins.
Inside the clay vessel, the wine remains in contact with the grape skins and pomace. Over the following weeks, it develops slowly, gaining depth, texture and its own distinctive expression.
At Monte das Louzeiras, this is the moment when the harvest begins its life as Vinho de Talha.
FORTY DAYS IN THE TALHA
UNTIL ST. MARTIN’S DAY
For around forty days, the wine remains in the talha together with the grape skins and pomace, continuing its slow transformation in clay.
Traditionally, the first tasting takes place on St. Martin’s Day, 11 November — a moment deeply rooted in the culture of Vinho de Talha in the Alentejo.
Only after this celebration is the pomace removed from the amphora, marking the transition to the next stage of the wine’s journey.
At Monte das Louzeiras, 11 November is the moment when the new Talha wine is revealed, tasted and shared.
AFTER ST. MARTIN’S DAY
FILTERING, RETURNING, RESTING
After the first tasting, the wine and pomace are removed from the talha and the wine is carefully pre-filtered.
It is then returned to the amphora, where it continues to rest. During this time, the remaining sediment slowly settles, allowing the wine to become clearer and more stable.
When the time comes to draw the wine, it leaves the talha through the traditional wooden tap at the base, where it is filtered once again before moving on to the next stage.
At Monte das Louzeiras, even after fermentation is complete, the talha continues to shape the wine through time, gravity and patience.
AFTER THE CELEBRATION
THE WINE CONTINUES ITS JOURNEY
After St. Martin’s Day, the wine continues to rest and clarify in the talha.
Following the first filtration, it is returned to the amphora, where time and gravity allow the remaining sediments to settle naturally. When the wine is finally drawn through the traditional wooden tap at the base of the talha, it is filtered once more before being served.
At Monte das Louzeiras, the journey from vineyard to clay ends where another begins — in the glass.