The small stone-walled winery at Cavadinha was refurbished in 2003 with six modern lagares, which had proven their worth in the Malvedos and Senhora da Ribeira wineries since 2000 and 2001 respectively. These represented a major leap forward in Douro winemaking, replacing the previous autovinification tanks. For a full description of the modern lagar, see the Malvedos Winery.
At Cavadinha, the six lagares are complemented by three plunger tanks. All grapes received at the winery are first trodden in the lagares, in which most of the fermentation takes place before the must is transferred to the plungers. Large rotating paddles in the plungers force the immersion of the grape skins into the grape juice, ensuring additional extraction of colour, flavour and tannins.
The Cavadinha winery is responsible for making the top wines for Warre's Port and receives grapes from the quinta’s own vineyards as well as those from the neighbouring Alvito property and the Retiro vineyard, which is just 12 km away.
