History
João Póvoa started producing wines in 1991 with Quinta de Baixo, being the first individual reference producer in the municipality of Cantanhede. Since 2005 the company is called Kompassus, and today it still has a philosophy of wine production based on family roots and traditions. It is dedicated to the production of wines of excellence sustained by production methods and viticulture practices with minimum intervention. The company is owned by
João Póvoa, an ophthalmologist by profession, but a farmer out of passion. The enthusiasm for wine started when he was only 8 years old, and since then the Bairrada terroir is part of his life, the soils, the climate and its grape varieties. Baga as the main variety of the region is his passion and the base for all its red and sparkling wines. Much of the grapes are still today from old vines over 70 years old. They are essentially wines of small productions, in practice they are 30 years of dedication to wine
production. His family was already producing wines in Bairrada, and it was from his mother and father that João Póvoa learned the first secrets of this region and developed a passion that followed him throughout his life. Over the years, extraordinary wines have arrived on the market, today, true relics, wines that exhibit finess, refinement, concentration, depth. Those who cause real pleasure. And for these attributes, multiple recognitions and important distinctions of merit have been achieved since 1991.
Brand concept
The design of the Kompassus brand is explained by the practice of installing vineyards in a compass or a tighter planting density between rows, which is around 6000 feet / ha. This technique results in narrower corridors that are about 1.70m apart. It is an old practice, always used in the Kompassus vineyards, but nowadays on the verge of extinction.
VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGY
CONCEPT OF ORIGINAL WINES
The vineyards are located in a privileged location in Cordinhã, the soils are predominantly clay-limestone with strong sun exposure to the south. Baga grapes come from old vines that are approximately 70 years old. The base of grape varieties are native varieties, such as; Baga, Bical, Arinto, Cercial and Maria Gomes. In addition, Touriga Nacional and Pinot Noir, Verdelho and Alvarinho. The vineyards are oriented according to sustainable viticulture with minimal
intervention. Since 2012, the oenology has been guided by the winemaker Anselmo Mendes, a specialist in fresh and Atlantic whites, a master at Alvarinho, and has long been an admirer of the most genuine wines in Bairrada, who works closely with the resident winemaker Magda Costa. His participation is responsible for the planting of the Verdelho and Alvarinho varieties exclusively on calcareous soils, and the result was surprising.
WINE CONCEPT
Boutique wines Boutique wines. Kompassus wines are produced according to what the climate gives us more than any market/marketing demand. They are wines produced in limited quantities, always with the aim of preserving the maximum potential of the vineyards and the quality of the wine in that specific year. With a small area of vineyard the grapes are
entirely harvested manually, and come in the vast majority from vines over 70 years of age. The wine category is positioned in a medium-high qualitative segment, across all product lines. The quantities vary between 600 and 25,000 bottles, for a total of 80,000 bottles / year.
