Vitor Claro

Vitor Claro was head chef at a well-known restaurant owned by Dirk Niepoort, considered by many to be the Portuguese wine guru. There, he came into contact with high end wines. Inspired by the wines from Burgundy, which have elegance and finesse, Vitor Claro gained a clear idea about what he finds important in a wine, finesse!

In Alentejo, a south-central region of Portugal, he got the chance to join the harvest on a vineyard. The wines he tasted there did not suit his taste, not how he would make a wine from there. Vitor Claro approached a winemaker to start making a wine together, swapping the kitchen for the wine cellar.

Nowadays, Vitor Claro has his own cellar in Portalegre with his partner Rita. They make wine from vineyards in Colares and Portalegre (Alentejo), among others. They show that you can also make wines from local grapes that are fresh, bright and fruit-driven, with a significantly lower alcohol percentage than most wines from these areas.

They own 3.5 ha of land with vineyards that have an average age of 80 years. The vineyards consist of small plots where up to 20 different varieties are grown.

By tasting and learning from older generations in the area, Vitor and Rita are gaining more understanding of the terroir. They work naturally to convey the purest character of the local grapes and terroir. The wines are not clarified nor filtered, and no sulphite is added.

Rita and Vitor’s wines are mineral, clean, elegant and exciting. Outstanding Portuguese you must try!