Vales do Marão Douro White 2020 is born from the vineyards protected by the mountains of Serra do Marão.

The Serra do Marão is the seventh highest in mainland Portugal is the mountain range that separates Douro and Trás-os-Montes from the rest of the country and is the barrier to cross, when coming from mainland Portugal, to reach the sea and the rest of the world. The history of the region was shaped but the ways of transportation that crossed the Marão; first the train around it, then the road, and then better roads, narrowing the gap between the coastline and mainland cities. It is an inherent part of the landscape and stays in the mind of every local; mountains mean home, and Marão means mountains.

The dark ambiance is inspired by the story the producer told us: that the profile of the mountain has an apparent face and that face belongs to the monster of Marão, a giant, watchful creature, as high up in the mountains as part of it, and that watches what is around it, all the valleys and villages, including the one where the Vales do Marão vines are growing.

Graphically, the silhouette of the Marão is the focal point of this label; the inspiration is the shadow over the deep green valleys, tucked between the high mountains. We took advantage of the bottle’s dark glass to camouflage the label and make it an integral part of the object; we perceive the boundary of the paper but don’t see it. It’s only the green and black gradient that uncovers the name of the wine and the technical information, the varnish gives it texture and dimension, the golden notes create new layers of interest and small pockets of sunlight, as one can see in the distance on the mountains.

The label is printed on Sirio Pearl Ice White paper (Manter), it has hot stamping in gold and high varnish on top. Produced in Portugal by Etiquel.