Description
Wine Details – João Tavares de Piña ‘Rufia!’ Curtimenta orange wine
The soils are a mix of classic Dão granite and rare, ancient marine shale formed over 500 million years ago, adding depth and minerality. The young vines are farmed with a strong natural mindset—no herbicides or pesticides, no tilling, and permanent cover crops. Chamomile, clover, wild grasses, and lavender grow between the rows to protect the vines naturally, while surrounding forests bring real biodiversity to the site. Not certified organic, but fully sustainable, low-impact, and powered by solar energy—this is thoughtful farming with a clear sense of place.
Aging/ Vinification: The grapes are carefully hand-sorted, then fully destemmed before fermenting spontaneously with wild yeasts in open stainless steel tanks. The wine spends about two weeks on the skins, with a natural, temperature-free fermentation and full malolactic conversion. Afterward, it rests on its primary lees for 8 to 9 months in stainless steel, gaining texture and depth before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Alcohol Grade: 11%
Size: 750 ml
The Producer: João Tavares de Piña
João Tavares de Pina is a true original in Portugal’s Dão region — a grower who isn’t interested in trends, just making wines that speak of place and passion. He farms his family’s historic estate, Quinta da Boavista, on high granite-rich hills in Penalva do Castelo, where cool mountain air and well-drained soils help produce wines with minerality and freshness. Rather than follow the easy road, João has spent years reviving forgotten local grape varieties and nurturing biodiversity in the vineyards, letting chamomile, clover, lavender and wild herbs flourish alongside the vines as part of a natural ecosystem.
His approach in both vineyard and cellar is as honest as it gets: organic and sustainable practices with no shortcuts, spontaneous fermentations with native yeasts, minimal sulfur, and wines that aren’t released until he feels they’re ready. João himself has said he only needs grapes, water and a touch of sulfur at bottling — and that ethos shows in wines that feel alive, expressive, and rooted in Dão’s rugged terroir.
