Vila Nova Vinho Verde Rosé

Casa de Vila Nova is owned by the Lencastre family, of aristocratic
Portuguese lineage (one of their ancestors became the first Baron of
Varzea do Douro in the 1800s). This land has been in their family since
the 12th century - the ivy-clad tower that still remains from that time
is now surrounded by Vila Nova (new house) that was built in the 1700s,
and the property was gradually extended over the centuries.

The estate is near the town of Penafiel, close to the eastern border
of Portugal's Vinho Verde wine region, around a 30-minute drive east
from Oporto. In the late 1970s the family planted vines over 12 hectares
- mainly local Portuguese varieties. In 2008 Bernardo Lencastre and his
brothers took over the running of the property, revitalised the
vineyards, and began making vinho verde and bottling their own wines -
the first generation to do so. They now have around 42 hectares of
vineyard.

Here, in the Entre-Douro-e-Minho sub-region of Sousa, their vineyards
are influenced by winds from the Atlantic Ocean - creating the perfect
climate to ripen varieties such as Avesso, Loureiro and Alvarinho.