We visited the vineyards of Almeida Garrett winery today with João Santos. The vines are content here, in the valley of the Serra d'estrella (Mountains of the Stars). And it's not a new idea: the Romans started cultivating grapes in this area thousands of years ago. At this point in the spring, the wood of these 35-year old vines is still quite bare.  It begs the question: how could something so gnarly and ugly produce something as beautiful as Almeida Garrett wines?