06/12/2026
This week we were whisked away to the breezy slopes and enduring spirit of Portugal’s Douro Valley as Rui Martins of Família Carvalho Martins captivated NYC and the Hudson Valley with his wines of Mêda.
Mêda, a mountain-ensconced valley holds this family’s vineyards at 2,000 feet above sea level! Carvahlo-Martins is the only estate now fully converted to organic farming in Mêda and one of the few employing the ancient use of granite lagars - open fermentation structures that invite natural yeasts from the vineyards to start the fermentation process. Once graced by the wine deity Bacchus, and later resistant against Roman invasion, Mêda’s winemaking heritage spans over 2500 years.
A coiffable fresh light red Mêda wine called Palhete was enjoyed in the taverns of Porto from the 1920’s through 1970s. Rui and his brother Vasco have had immense success in reviving this traditional Portugese bistro wine along with their high quality red and white indigenous varietal wines. The grippy tannins and clean freshness of the reds, the undeniable minerality of the whites benefit from this unique mica schist over granite terroir where Beira meets the Upper Douro. Simply put, these are lower alcohol, indigenous varietal and wonderfully affordable wines to enjoy with friends and conversation at the table.
With many of the vines co-planted (a practice with Roman roots) “we play in the vines and not in the cellar.” High altitudes, winds and excellent drainage from Mêda’s rare mix of sandy schist and granite/quartz keep disease pressure low, allowing the family’s vines—some 40 years old for their white varietals, a true rarity in the Douro—to thrive on their biodiverse slopes.
One of only a few growers farming organic white and red grapes in the region, Rui showed us what true regional and traditional Portuguese wine can be: precise, expressive and meant to be enjoyed with friends.
Long live Mêda! (And Knicks in five!)
🍷🇵🇹☀️🌳🍇🏀🗽
Peter Weygandt Weygandt Wines
