For Aline Domingues, who was born and raised in France, the village of “Uva” in the Northeastern region of Trás-os-Montes is a special place. Not only it is where her family roots are and where she spent many summers as a child, it is also a place where she has chosen to settle pursuing a dream of becoming a winemaker.

After a Diploma in fermentation, Aline moved to Portugal. She begun with working for few months at Quinta do Romeu (Douro), shortly after moving on to make her own wines, naming her project “Menina d’Uva” (A girl from Uva). The first years were very challenging – as she worked “against all odds”, trying to overcome mounting scepticism of her family, as well as gradually gaining the trust of the locals from whom she rents the vineyards. Aline looks after 10 small plots of old vines, totalling 3 hectares. Her focus is on maintaining a healthy, living soil to support the vines in this arid and hot climate. She does not apply any treatments to the vines, relying only on nature. In the cellar, full bunches ferment spontaneously and pressing is done manually in a vertical press. Depending on the wine, the ageing takes place in stainless steel, glass jars or neutral oak barrels. Ever since tasting them couple of years ago, we were really impressed with the purity and sincere character of Aline’s wines. We admire her determination, stamina as well as her enthusiasm and love for Uva.