About the winery
The production of wines is a family tradition for Domingos Alves de Sousa: his father (Edmundo Alves de Sousa) and grandfather (Domingos Alves de Sousa) had already been winegrowers in the Douro.
Contrarily to what it would be expected, Domingos Alves de Sousa held another career at the beginning of his professional activity. But after having his degree in Civil Engineering, he couldn't resist any longer to the double appeal (of the land and the blood), and abandoned its activity in 1987 to dedicate himself in exclusive to the exploration of the "Quintas" (estates) he received from his family inheritance and to other properties later acquired, where he executed a precise work of gathering and reorganization of the vines. The evolution of its winegrower activity has some interesting, almost paradigmatic, aspects and deserves a little of history.
For many years he supplied some of the most famous and prestigious Port companies like Ferreira and Borges Wines. But the problems that affected the sector in the end of the eighties that lead to an exaggerated increase of the production costs, and in particularly the catastrophic 1988 vintage, lead the family to question the models followed until that day. And this was the changing point.
Like many other Douro grape growers, affected by the depression that the Demarcated Region was passing, Domingos Alves de Sousa turned himself to the valuation of the "leftovers" of the Port Wine (as it was considered in that days), meaning, the Douro wines, until then traditionally forgotten in relation to the "generous wine" (Port).
But this radical change of attitude demanded not only simple good will and desire to be successful. It demanded also technical and professional formation. So he studied viticulture and winemaking and armed with all the knowledge gathered, launched hands to the the reorganization of his vines. Determined to make his own way as producer-bottler, it was build in the family's "Quinta da Gaivosa" the cellar where, from that day to beyond it was going to be vinified the production of Gaivosa and the other "Quintas".
Concluded some experiences with different grape varieties, it was selected the ones that revealed to be more appropriable to produce the best wines of D.O.C. Douro, and with them it was produced and launched in the market, in middle of 1992, that it would be its first wine: Quinta do Vale da Raposa white 1991. Soon it had the attention of wine lovers and it deserved the best references. It was the beginning of a trail filled of successes that came until the present days, and that we will certainly still hear about tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...
(Source: www.alvesdesousa.com)
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