Batoca is a very special grape variety for us… Besides the difficulty on producing it, it can find the perfect conditions in Quinta de Santa Cristina’s terroir. Why this grape variety is our baby girl?
Batoca was born and it is a recommended grape variety for the Basto sub-region of the Vinho Verde wine region, where it finds its full quality potential. In the past, locals commonly used this variety to produce their wines, but, as it is favorable to the development of certain diseases, sometimes they reached the harvest time and the grapes weren’t at their best conditions to pick up and then vinificate. Give this continuous unhappy occurrence, people stopped producing it until it became extinct.
About its ampelographic characteristics, Batoca grape variety presents:
🍁 Large size, light green and bubbly leaves, slightly bristly on the lower surface.
🍇 Big, compact and chunky bunches (some can reach 2kg!) with short stalk. Big and uniform green-yellowish berries. Thick skin and firm and little juicy pulp.
Batoca grape variety is very robust. It is a medium production grape, result of the bunches’ size. Its maturation is medium and the bud break and flowering are medium to late.
Relating to its production, we are proud to say that Quinta de Santa Cristina is the unique producer of a Batoca grape variety single wine!
The process starts with the harvest and selection of the best bunches followed by their transport to the winery. Here, we put the bunches inside the pneumatic presses, where they are pressed during about 1h30, in order to extract the grape must. After this period, we transfer the must to the stainless steel vats where it will ferment at controlled temperature.
🍷 Tasting Notes
Quinta de Santa Cristina Batoca, exclusively made from Batoca grapes, presents itself clear with strong fruity aromas with hints of tree fruit, such as apple, pear and some citrus. In the mouth, it reveals smooth and well-balanced, very fresh and refreshing. It is excellent on its own during a sunset party with friends or paired with some light dishes as starters and not too spicy meat and fish.
If you haven’t tried it yet, we invite you to visit us and enjoy this experience in loco.
Cheers!
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