Tiago Teles
Barriada & Vinho Verde

In the late 2000’s Tiago Teles was one of Portugal’s foremost wine writers. His speciality was covering Europe’s new generation of wine producers striving for honesty and energy in their wines via organic farming and minimal intervention in the cellar.

Originally an electrical engineer, Tiago began writing about wine in his spare time, eventuating in the launch of multiple wine websites and wine guides that focussed on the vanguard of new wave producers. After becoming disillusioned with a lack of ambition within Portugal in pursuing the level of organic agriculture and hands-off winemaking he was seeing in neighbouring Spain and the rest of Europe, he decided to turn his hand to making the stuff.

Returning to his native region of Barriada in 2012, he planted a two-hectare vineyard with his father. Planted to Alfrocheiro, Baga and Trincadeira, this has been worked organically since day dot, with zero till farming allowing wild cover crops to boost biodiversity and soil health. Only 30km away from the Atlantic, Barriada is known for its powerfully structured but fresh reds. For his Gilda label from this site, Tiago follows a relatively short (7-10 day) maceration for his wines from this site, allowing the aromatic potential to shine, rather than the tannic.

Tiago has a separate label (RAIZ) that he farms the fruit for in Vinho Verde right on the northern border with Spain’s Galicia. This is where his mother hailed from originally. Again working organically, he farms Louriero to make a long-macerated orange wine with a freshness and energy that belies its savoury depth.  

Winemaking is very minimal, with fermentation happening in traditional lagar (flat concrete or stone troughs) before transferring to large-format concrete or smaller concrete eggs. Small amounts of sulphur (20-30pmm) are used at bottling but only when deemed necessary.