Rui Reguinga

Rui Reguinga is invariably alluring, with a gentle smile, yet he is a distinguished winemaker reputed for his expertise and his commitment to terroir. 

A native of Almerim, North of Lisbon, on the banks of the Tagus river in the Ribatejo wine region, from a young age Rui wanted to be a winemaker. His father and grandfather were winegrowers and from the late 1960s he grew up with them. Having absorbed their know-how, he studied at the local viticulture school and did his apprenticeship in Champagne. On his return, he took himself to the Lisbon Institute of Agronomy. A few years later, he also completed a course of Dégustations des Vins (wine tasting) at Bordeaux University.

In 1990, the young man began his career as a winemaker, working for producers in various wine growing areas of Portugal including Portalegre, where at the time there wasn’t much interest in making quality wine. Locals had been growing grapes and making wine for centuries for their family’s consumption. 

Ten years later, he created his own consulting company, which gave him the opportunity to develop many wine projects around the country including the Douro, Dão, Alentejo, and Madeira. He also consulted in countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Sri Lanka.

Reguinga had ample scope for producing his own wine with his own grapes and, in 2004, he finally found old vines that he had long been searching for, in the vast province of Portalegre in northeastern Alentejo,  consisting of rolling plains, cereals, and cork forests. There are mountains, rising to over 1,000m on the Pico de São Mamede, and instead of the huge estates that cover most of the south of Portugal, Portalegre’s hill farmers cultivate thousands of tiny plots.

The first two plots that Reguinga acquired in Serra de São Mamede are sitting at an altitude reaching 850 meters. These plots are often surrounded by dry walls (similar to the Aran Islands) giving them a French style comparable to a ‘Clos’. The well-established old vines are over 100 years old and consist of twelve different grapes varieties. That same year, Rui called his project Terrenus with reference to the earth and the terroir.

Today Terrenus covers more than 12 hectares in Altentejo, scattered in numerous parcels including terraced patches with considerable varying altitudes and soils, mostly schistous and granitic. The north-facing vineyard sites at Marvão are located at 600 meters above sea level, and in Porta Espada, the vineyards they planted at 850 meters provide truly breathtaking and magical views over to Spain. The unique micro climate allows for the production of wines that exude freshness, along with balanced acidity, and favourable alcohol content.

All varieties planted are Portuguese, including  Arinto, Fernão Pires, Roupeiro, and Bical, for the whites, and for the reds Trincadeira, Grand Noir, Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Alfrocheiro, and Castelão, to name but a few. In Rui’s old vineyards, these grape varieties are often planted side by side in the same parcel. Apart from the centenary vines in specific plots, the average age of the vineyards varies from 40 to 90 years old.

As the bearer of such an old vine heritage, from the beginning of Terrenus, Reguinga has always farmed organically, eschewing the use of any synthetic products, so as to respect the exceptional biodiversity, and lately he has been gingerly adopting biodynamic farming. There, in the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park, the exceptionally deep rooted bush vines, many of them resembling tree trunks, cohabit with the abundant wildlife, such as vipers, wild boars, and eagles. These vineyards are largely surrounded by woods and the vines are planted side by side with ancient almond, pear and olive trees, along with chestnut and cherry trees, two unusual varieties of trees in Alentejo.  

These beautiful, and sometime difficult to access, vineyards are tended manually by locals. It goes without saying that grapes are hand picked, and in the cellar, the winemaking is as natural as possible. The wines are aged either in stainless steel tanks, or in large oak barrels. Rui is also reintroducing the use of 1,500 litre amphoras dating back to the 19^th century. In love with his environment and his vineyards, he considers the technical aspect of a winemaker’s work cannot be neglected while first respecting the grapes.  

Rui Reguinga also produces wines under his own name from his native region in Ribatejo, as well as from the Douro Valley in the Valle Mendiz region. He has also partnered with winegrowers to produce his own wines from Dão and Monção.

When this extremely talented winemaker arrived in Alentejo it was like ‘a desert’. None of the locals had trained as viticulturists or winemakers. They just grew grapes which they sold to the local wine co-op or kept for themselves. Rui Reguinga is recognised as a trailblazer in Altenjo. He has given the region a chance to be placed on the map of world class wines.

Each of the wines he makes has a distinctive personality. They are sleek, with a vigorous and balanced profile. He has wrought a change towards fresher wines coming out of Alentejo.

A confirmed motor biker, Rui Reguinga is one of Portugal’s top winemakers who has realised, and consequently demonstrated, that the country known for its reds and its Ports can also produce outstanding whites. We are grateful to him for that.