HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE WORLD OF WINE? IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE THAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A WINEMAKER?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: LIVING WITH THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE. I WAS BORN IN DOURO, MY WHOLE FAMILY WAS CONNECTED TO AGRICULTURE, MAINLY VITICULTURE. SINCE THE AGE OF 14, I HAVE BEEN HARVESTING AND MONITORING THE WINERY AND THE WINES, AND YEAR AFTER YEAR THIS WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY HAS GROWN. IT WAS THE MAIN REASON, ALONG WITH THE ENGINEER'S ADVICE. FERNANDO LENCART (OWNER OF QUINTA DOS LAGARES, IN VALE MENDIZ, WHERE MY PARENTS WORKED AND WHERE WE LIVED) NEXT / STUDY VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGY. I STILL TRIED TO “RUN AWAY” WHEN GOING TO COLLEGE, IN THE FIRST PHASE I COMPETITED AND ENTERED GERONTOLOGY, IN BRAGANÇA. BUT AT THE END OF TWO WEEKS, I WAS ALREADY AIMING TO STUDY AGRONOMIC ENGINEERING – VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGY. WHILE STUDYING, I WORKED AT FNAC (BOOKSTORE) PART-TIME AND FOLLOWED QUINTA DOS LAGARES. I WAS HARVESTING, NAMELY AT QUINTA DOS CAAIS (SYMINTHON), QUINTA DA PEDRA, QUINTA DO CAIS, QUINTA DA LAJE AND QUINTA DA VEIGA. IN 2011, I STARTED WORKING AT VINES E WINES (VITICULTURE AND WINEMAKING COMPANY) IN DÃO, BAIRRADA AND BEIRA INTERIOR. IN 2013, I DECIDED TO RETURN TO DOURO AND COLLABORATE WITH A WINEMAKER, PROFESSOR AND FRIEND, JOÃO CABRAL ALMEIDA, ON THE PROJECTS OF QUINTA DA CALÇADA, QUINTA DA VEIGA, QUINTA DO ESTANO AND VINES CAMALEÃO. AT THE BEGINNING OF 2014, I TOOK OENOLOGY AT QUINTA DO CARDO (UNTIL 2020), QUINTA DA BIAIA (UNTIL 2022) AND STARTED DEVELOPING ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT I LIKE MOST, WHICH IS OENOLOGY CONSULTANCY. I'M CURRENTLY A CONSULTANT AT QUINTA DO ETANHO, PORTO AUGUSTU'S, QUINTA DOS CORVOS, QUINTA D'AZINHEIRA AND QUINTA DA FONTE DA PIPA, IN DOURO; QUINTA DAS CEPAS IN TÁVORA-VAROSA AND CREATING AN AMBICIOUS PROJECT IN Vinho Verde from scratch. SINCE 2015, I HAVE BEEN MAKING MY “TITAN” WINES, AND THEY WERE LAUNCHED ON THE MARKET IN JUNE 2018, IN A FIRST LAUNCH THE DOURO WINES, FOLLOWED BY TÁVORA-VAROSA AND MORE RECENTLY THE BEIRA INTERIOR REGION.
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE CREATION OF THE TITAN WINE LINE?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: THE CREATION OF TITAN WINES IN ADDITION TO A RETURN TO THE ORIGINS, IT WAS A DIGNIFICATION OF MY LAND AND MY PEOPLE. I WAS BORN IN TREVÕES, SÃO JOÃO DA PESQUEIRA, A BOUNDARY AREA OF THE DOURO AND A GREAT ALTITUDE, WHERE PORT WINE PRODUCTION LICENSES WERE DECREASING, MAKING VITICULTURE AN UNPROFITABLE ACTIVITY, WHICH IN TURN MADE MANY PEOPLE EMIGRATE, TAKING ALSO THE ABANDONMENT OF VINEYARDS BY NUMEROUS VINE GROWERS. THE WORK FROM THE BEGINNING HAS ALWAYS FOCUSED ON LOOKING FOR OLD VINEYARDS IN THE MOST GENUINE AND LESS EXPLORED PLACES IN THE DOURO, WHERE THERE WERE NEW STORIES TO TELL IN THE FORM OF WINE. IT WAS AT THE FOOT OF THE REBOREDO SERRA (1,000 MTS ALT), IN PAREDES DA BEIRA / TREVÕES, AT THE HIGHEST ALTITUDE POINT IN THE DOURO, THAT IT ALL STARTED. SURROUNDED BY AN ABUNDANCE OF GRANITE OUTBREAKS, THE AREA HAS SANDY GRANITE SOILS INTERMEDIATE WITH THREADS OF QUARTZ, AN ALTITUDE OF BETWEEN 700 – 1,000 MTS, IS FOUND ON THE SLOPE OF THE TÁVORA RIVER AND HAS AN ENVIABLE HERITAGE OF CENTURY-OLD VINEYARDS, YOU SEE OVER TIME AND MAINTAINED BY HANDS TAKEN FROM YEARS OF HARD WORK FOR GENERATIONS. THIS RESULTS IN WINES OF GREAT FRESHNESS, CHARACTER AND IDENTITY! THE BET WILL ALWAYS BE TO ENHANCE THE BEST THAT THE VINEYARD PROVIDES, RESPECTING ITS HISTORY, TRADITION AND THE ESSENCE OF ITS PEOPLE. THIS PHILOSOPHY LEADED TO THE CREATION OF WINE ALSO IN THE TÁVORA-VAROSA AND BEIRA INTERIOR REGIONS. AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER REGIONS A LITTLE OUT OF THE RIBALTA!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE UNIQUE PROFILE OF TITAN WINES?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: THESE ARE WINES THAT I ALWAYS MAKE WITH THE PHILOSOPHY OF “SENSE OF PLACE” AND BEING THIS PLACE, ALWAYS IN A MOUNTAIN AND AT ALTITUDE, THE PROFILE OF THE WINES REFLECTS THIS SAME: FRESHNESS, MINERALITY, NATURAL ACIDITY, COMPLEX AROMATIC PROFILE (SPICES, FIELD HERBS, WILD FRUITS, BALSAM…). A MORE “WILD” LINE, MORE AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE TASTES, SMELLS AND FLAVORS.
WHAT IS THE PRODUCTION APPROACH OR PHILOSOPHY BEHIND TITAN WINES?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: ARE WINES, WHERE I ALWAYS PRIVILEGE BALANCE, AUTHENTICITY, CHARACTER, DIFFERENTIATION AND ENOGASTRONOMIC POWER. THE “LOCAL” ALREADY GIVES A LOT OF THE CHARACTER PRESENT IN THE GRAPES, THE NEXT STEP IS TO MAKE VINIFICATION IN THE PUREST WAY POSSIBLE, WITH LESS INTERVENTION AND APPLY/FOLLOW ANCIENT WINEMAKING TRADITIONS.
WHAT ARE THE TERROIR CHARACTERISTICS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE QUALITY AND UNIQUENESS OF TITAN WINES?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: WITHOUT A DOUBT, “LIFE ON THE MOUNTAIN”! THE MOUNTAIN REMINDS US OF THE IMPORTANCE OF LOOKING UP, OF CHALLENGING OURSELVES AND OF CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR NEW HORIZONS! THE BREATH OF THE MOUNTAIN IS THE QUIET SIGHS OF NATURE, AN EXALTATION OF LIFE THAT NOURISHES OUR VINEYARDS, FEEDS CREEKS AND RIVERS AND RENEWS THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO CONTEMPLATE IT. IN THE BREATH OF THE MOUNTAIN WE FIND THE ESSENCE OF LIFE, SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO TAKE INTO EACH BOTTLE OF OUR WINES!
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES FACED DURING THE TITAN WINES PRODUCTION PROCESS?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: LIVING WITH THE ENVIRONMENT VERY TYPE OF MOUNTAIN VITICULTURE: OLD VINEYARDS (GREAT MIX OF VARIETIES AND THEIR DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS), MECHANIZATION (NONEXISTENT), LABOR (GREAT NEED FOR INTERVENTION IN THE VINEYARD BY HUMAN HANDS FAMILIAR WITH THIS TYPE OF VITICULTURE) AND THE RIGHT TIMES FOR EACH CULTURAL PRACTICE TO LEAD TO A BALANCED HARVEST.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TITAN WINES AND LOCAL CULTURE OR TRADITION?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: IT COULD NOT BE BETTER! IN ADDITION TO RECOVERING AND MAINTAINING THE CENTURY-OLD VINEYARDS, RESPECTING THEIR MIXTURES AND HETEROGENEITY, WE ALSO RECOVERED THE TRADITIONS OF OLD KNOWLEDGE. FROM AGEING IN CLAY (STAGES THAT ANCIENT PEOPLE DID IN A MORE OXIDATIVE WAY TO “TUNE” THE MOST UNBALANCED WINES TO MAKE THEM DRINKABLE FASTER) TO THE FRAGMENTED BATCH OF WINES FROM VARIOUS HARVESTS (MIXING HARVESTS FROM DIFFERENT YEARS, TO REFRESH OLD WINES AND ACCELERATE YOUNGER WINES; A PRACTICE ALSO FOLLOWED IN PORT WINE).
HOW WOULD YOU SUGGEST WINE ENJOYERS MAKE THE MOST OF THE EXPERIENCE WHEN TASTING TITAN WINES?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: SURROUNDED BY THE BEST COMPANY AND ENJOYING OUR WINES WITH GOOD FOOD! I BELIEVE THAT A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE OF WINES ARE DRINKED AT THE TABLE, DURING A MEAL, HENCE THE CARE THAT OUR WINES HAVE GREAT ENOGASTRONOMIC POWER, THAT THEY ARE A CONNECTING ELEMENT TO THE FOOD AND HELP TO ENHANCE THE MEAL!
HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF TITAN WINES IN THE GLOBAL WINE MARKET AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE REPUTATION OF THE PRESENT REGIONS?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: I THINK THAT IN GENERAL, THEY ARE WINES OF THE FUTURE, AHEAD OF THEIR TIME, FOR ALL THEIR AUTHENTICITY, SERIOUSNESS AND TRUTH. THEY ARE WINES WITHOUT ANY FINISHING OR TUNING ELEMENTS, WITHOUT SUGAR, WITHOUT MASKS, WITH VERY ENHANCED NATURAL ACIDITY AND WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE WAY TO SUCCESS AND Cementation of the brand, just as it was for the big global brands. IN GENERAL WAY WE SHOW ANOTHER DOURO, THE VERSATILITY OF THE REGION AND WE SHOW TWO OTHER REGIONS THAT HAVE SO MUCH TO SHOW AND THAT THE CONSUMER STILL DOESN'T KNOW THEY LIKE!
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE TITAN WINE LINE IN TERMS OF GROWTH?
LUIS LEOCÁDIO: AT THIS MOMENT WE CONSOLIDATE THE BRAND AND ITS ENTIRE PORTFOLIO, CONTINUE TO LAUNCH OUR FINE WINES SURPRISES, LOOK FOR MORE DIFFERENTIATED VINEYARDS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN LOCATIONS/REGIONS THAT ARE STILL UNEXPLORED!
