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Vinho dos Mortos
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Vinho dos Mortos

The tradition of burying wine remains alive on the Pereira family estate, where they manually bottle and bury around 5,000 limited editions per year.

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A LEGACY BURIED FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS
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More than two hundred years ago, in the area of what is now the village of Boticas, the inhabitants buried bottles of wine underground to protect them from Napoleonic troops. When they dug them up, they discovered that the wine had acquired unexpected characteristics. Thus, the Wine of the Dead (Vinho dos Mortos) was born; a wine with low alcohol content, light effervescence, pronounced acidity, great freshness, and notes of red fruits.

Today, this tradition is kept alive by the hands of the sole current producer of Wine of the Dead, Nuno Pereira. His family has produced this wine for as long as anyone can remember, with the ancestral house, Casa Sousa, dating back to 1792, predating the French invasions. With limited production and faithful to the traditional method, the producer preserves the wine's rusticity and singularity, also reflected in a design that transports us back to its historical origin.

In 2020, Nuno decided to continue the work of his father, Armindo de Sousa Pereira, and took on the Vinho dos Mortos project, giving it new life. He created a new visual identity for the brand and the product, while investing in the vineyard with sustainable and socially responsible practices, from manual cultivation of the vines to regenerative agriculture and communal harvesting (vindima comunitária). This harvest, in fact, has become a special moment of the year: a day of celebration and conviviality, which brings together family, friends, and visitors, and where tradition is lived authentically and shared.

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Vinho dos Mortos
The journey

Vinho dos Mortos

Historical Background

Two hundred years ago, locals from a tiny village called Boticas buried their wine underground when Napoleon's troops came marching in. Later, when they unearthed the bottles, they discovered a lightly sparkling, low-alcohol wine with fresh acidity and red fruit notes.

Continuation of Tradition

Today, the wine burial tradition lives on at the Pereira family estate. Armindo Pereira bottles and hand-buries around 5,000 very limited editions each year.

Next Generation and Innovation

His son Nuno Pereira, a tech entrepreneur, brings fresh energy and design-forward thinking. In 2020, he commissioned a soil analysis, redesigned the bottle and rebranded the typography with echoes of the early 19th-century local rebellion.

Sustainable Practices and Community

Nuno has also invested in sustainable and socially conscious practices, such as tending the vines by hand, letting wild herbs grow between the rows and promoting communal harvesting, welcoming guests to take part in the experience.
The technique

ABOUT THE PROCESS

One of the people's most precious possessions rested beneath the granite soil until it was safe, escaping looting and fermenting in the dark at constant temperatures. That is how it came to be called Vinho dos Mortos (Wine of the Dead). Later, when the bottles were dug up and opened to celebrate the good death, it was discovered that the wine had acquired unique and unexpected properties: low alcohol content and a subtle effervescence.
Handmade by Vinho dos Mortos

The pieces

TIMELESS
More than two hundred years ago, in what is now the town of Boticas, the inhabitants buried bottles of wine underground to protect them from Napoleon’s troops. When they dug them up, they discovered that the wine had taken on unexpected characteristics.
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