Espera 'Era Uma Vez'

Espera 'Era Uma Vez'

Grapes — 90% Castelão, 10% Fernão Pires

Region — Alcobaça, Lisboa, Portugal

Tasting Notes — Bright ruby with an inviting warmth. Red cherry, wild strawberry, and ripe plum on the nose, with floral lift from the Fernão Pires and a whisper of fresh herbs and Atlantic sea salt underneath. The palate is juicy and round — medium-bodied, with supple tannins softened by the co-fermentation with white grapes, bright acidity, and a clean, food-friendly finish. This is a wine built for the table, for conversation, and for pouring generously without thinking too hard about it.

The Wine — A traditional-style Portuguese blend made in the spirit of the palhete — the ancient practice of co-fermenting red and white grapes together, a technique that softens tannins, lifts aromatics, and produces wines of natural freshness and easy harmony. Castelão anchors the wine with its dark cherry fruit and earthy Atlantic character; Fernão Pires — one of Portugal's most aromatic white varieties — adds the floral grace note that makes this something more than just a simple red. The name means "Once Upon a Time" — a nod to the stories told across the tables of the family tavern this wine was made to accompany.

Farming — Organically farmed across Espera's estate vineyards on the clay-limestone plateau of Alcobaça, 120 meters above sea level, where the Atlantic influence brings natural freshness, saline character, and cooling breezes that preserve acidity without irrigation. No herbicides, no synthetic pesticides, all vineyard work done by hand. Rodrigo describes his philosophy simply: the environment is always the first priority.

Winemaking — Natural fermentation with no temperature control, no fining, no filtration, and only low levels of sulfur at bottling. Nothing added, nothing taken away — just grapes, time, and attention. Each cuvée at Espera is released only when Rodrigo and Ana determine it is ready, with no fixed timeline and no formula applied vintage to vintage.

The Producer — Espera — the Portuguese word for "wait" — is a small family project founded in 2014 by Rodrigo Martins and Ana Leal in the Alcobaça region of Lisboa. Rodrigo, an agronomic engineer and Master of Oenology born and raised in nearby Óbidos, took over a parcel of old vines in Alcobaça and began farming them the only way he knew how: organically, patiently, and with deep respect for the terroir shaped by centuries of Cistercian monastic winemaking tradition. Today the project spans roughly ten hectares between Alcobaça and Óbidos, producing a small, tightly curated range of wines from indigenous Portuguese varieties. Era Uma Vez is the house wine of the family's tavern — the wine poured at the table, surrounded by the people depicted in its hand-drawn comic strip label, made to be enjoyed exactly the way wine should be: without ceremony, with good food, and in good company.

Drink It With — Grilled sardines, roast pork with herbs, bacalhau, a charcuterie spread, mushroom rice, or anything on the menu at a Portuguese tavern on a long, unhurried evening.