Bernardo Estévez

After a career as an auto mechanic, Bernardo Estévez returned to his family village of Arnoia and planted his first vines in 2001. He’s been fully based in Ribeiro since 2009, and farms 3 hectares of white and red grapes using organic and biodynamic viticulture as well as the principles of Natural Agriculture laid out by Masanobu Fukuoka. To combat fungal and insect infections, he uses treatments based on other fungi and bacteria sourced from local soils. Farming this way in mildew-prone Ribeiro is extremely difficult and it’s common for Bernardo to lose up to two thirds of his crop in particularly complicated vintages. In the best years, he produces around 7,500 bottles, and in hard years the number is less than 2,000. He uses a low-intervention approach in the cellar, with no fining or filtration and only a small addition of sulfur at bottling.