Bojador from Espaço Rural is the personal project of Pedro Ribeiro. Pedro established Espaço Rural as an independent venture from his duties at Heredade do Rocim, where he is the General Manager and assistant winemaker. His goal is to express his own interpretation of winemaking in the Vidigueira sub-region of Alentejo, where so many larger, and high-volume producers are located. Pedro and his wife Catarina moved to the Alentejo knowing that this was a land and region in which they saw opportunities and had a strong desire to make wines true to the historical traditions of the area.
Unlike many modern wineries in the area, the newer vines here are no longer irrigated…and the old vines…never have been. The low-yields, careful pruning, and early harvest paired with slightly cooler microclimate in an otherwise hot region lead to some high impact, if unfamiliar wines.
In their words: “In Espaço Rural we made selection of blocks that we believe express more the terroir of Vidigueira-Alentejo wine region. The idea is to have grapes that show the minerality and freshness of our soils. For that we have totally organic procedures and the vinification is done with minimal intervention. It’s always field blends, co-fermented and wild fermentation wines….The wines are fresh and vibrant. The idea is to have an extreme representation of our terroir that we love. We have a very small production of amphora wines (Vinhos de Talha), our tribute to this ancient vinification method so traditional from our wine region.”
