Arinto dos Açores 2021 75cl

Nonconformist, disruptive, inconvenient, bold, restless, captivating. These are some of the less-than-consensual adjectives that can describe both António Maçanita, winemaker and consultant, and the wines he creates. António Maçanita, now 39 years old, started in the world of wine in 2000, in the Azores, but it was only in 2004, at the age of 23, that he made his first wine. In his 15-year career, he has recovered abandoned grape varieties, such as Negra Mole, in the Algarve, and Terrantez do Pico, in the Azores.
Where others see no future, António sees a challenge. Take the example of Vinho Branco de Tintas, the first to be bottled in Portugal, a protest wine from the Alentejo region, developed in 2008 when the CVRA decided to allow the purchase of white grapes outside the region. Another notable debut was Branco de Talha, in 2010, also the first of its kind in Portugal, reviving a winemaking tradition created by the Romans and which has seen an exponential revival in this decade. However, it is perhaps in the Azores that the revolution is most visible; Azorean grapes are now the most expensive in Portugal, where they are currently fighting to legalise the use of fragrant vines, “beautiful vines, some over 150 years old”, as Maçanita describes them, with visible pride and enthusiasm.

In 2018, António Maçanita won both the title of Winemaker of the Year from Revista dos Vinhos and the 2018 Singularity Award from Revista Grandes Escolhas. But the winemaker had been winning awards since his first wine: the PRETA 2004 wine won the Alentejo Trophy at the International Wine Challenge. Also in 2016, António Maçanita received the 10-year Generation XXI Winemaker Trophy 2006-2016 from Revista Paixão do Vinho. In the same year, Revista Wine named Azores Wine Company the Newcomer Producer. In 2016, Azores Wine Company and its three partners won the Project of the Year and Entrepreneurs of the Year awards from the 100 Maiores Empresas dos Açores magazine, published by the Açoriano Oriental newspaper – the oldest daily newspaper in Portugal. Two years later, Revista de Vinhos chose Vinha Centenária, from Azores Wine Company, among the Best Wines of Portugal 2018. All wines signed by António Maçanita, whether from Alentejo, Douro or Azores, frequently achieve more than 90 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, the most relevant wine classification in the world.
António Maçanita produces wines in five different regions, has created three of his own production projects, supports 12 producers through his consultancy company, and launches more than 50 signature labels onto the market each year.