Vinhos Aparte Ambar

About Vinhos Aparte Ambar

Vinhos Aparte Ambar is one of the exciting limited projects that Vinhos Aparte has up its sleeves. From 2 vineyard sites grown organically on sand at 100m of elevation. A blend of 65% Moscatel Setúbal (aka Moscatel of Alexandria) and 10% Moscatel Roxo (from Palmela) & 25% Arinto (from Alenquer).
Moscatel Roxo handpicked in Setubal and brought to Horácio Simões winery (close distance). Mechanical crushing and destemming of grapes and transferred to an open lagar. Indigenous yeasts fermentation with skin contact for approximately 7 days. Blended with Arinto. Gentle pressing into old French oak barrels (4-8th year use) where it completes malolactic for about 6 months. Racking before bottling, unfiltered and 60mg total sulfur added. Only 2,100 bottles were produced. A delicious and irresistibly aromatic orange wine with a medium body, smooth texture, and soft tannins. A joy to sip on!

About Vinhos Aparte

Y’all remember Slipknot? Well, this is the Portuguese vinous version of them. In an attempt to highlight the farmers they source from, they have decided to keep their identity anonymous.

The project was founded in 2018 and the name comes from a forgotten barrel of skin contact Moscatel de Setubal which was forgotten and left “apart”. When they tasted what was inside, it was liquid gold, and alas the Vinhos Aparte concept of winemaking was born. Giving wines the necessary time and peace for them to be fully expressive became their modus operandi.

Skin contact Moscatel is nothing new in Setúbal, they have been making wines like that here for ages. It allows the aromatic grape to gain some texture and complexity. After realizing that doing less was actually a good thing the guys took a more hands-off approach to winemaking and began experimenting with native grapes in various plots allowing them to express themselves.

They work with native varieties from around Lisbon and ferment their wines wildly in an old warehouse turned winery. All of the grapes are handpicked and the wines are made without additives of any kind. Very similar to “Amor Per La Terra,” they are also buying grapes from local farmers that they know are working naturally.

Luis, Diego, & Guillermo, while all still having day jobs, have worked in various sides of the industry before, as sommelier, winemaker, and viticulturist. Both Guillermo and Diego’s families owned vineyards and made wines, like many people in the area, but it was not until the guys got together over a forgotten barrel of Moscatel which became “liquid gold” after 6 months undisturbed that their name was first realized and the vision took place.

All of their bottles are limited editions with art created by their friends based on the idea of the harvests. Everything we’ve tasted from them has been outstanding, and we look forward to each new release they have coming.