Viníca is one of those things life brings

Maria met Zé Paulo in Turkey, sometime in the 2010s, and Hugo met Maria in Braga, in 2025. Between crossed paths, mutual friends, occasional encounters in Ottoman lands, and dinners on Roman pavements in Braga, Kombucha Viníca, by Aquela Kombucha and TAU!, had a long journey before it could be born.

Just like the story of wine itself — from its inception somewhere in the Caucasus to its arrival in Iberia — the Viníca Kombuchas of Alvarinho and Vinhão were born. Daughters of their own context, and of a few mishaps that we now remember with affection.

TAU! lives from the context it inhabits and from a deep awareness of the importance of ancestral know-how. For this reason, the Alvarinho vineyard from which the grapes for the white vínica were harvested is treated entirely organically by TAU! — a vineyard cared for with great attention and low yields. The Vinhão vineyard belongs to a small producer from the same Vinho Verde sub-region — Cávado. TAU!’s ongoing work with small local producers, in a region deeply marked by minifundio, led them to meet Mr. João, who tends his vineyard like a true home garden — where we know what we consume because we know how it is cared for.

The grapes from these vineyards were harvested by TAU! and friends, with great care, at the end of September, when they were fully ripe and rich in flavor. They were quickly transported in small fruit crates, where they remained intact, aerated, and fresh, to the cellar, where Maria was already waiting to receive them.

Maria carried the wonder-must from Barcelos to Maia — but not without trouble. The van broke down along the way, as if the day had not already been long enough. From that moment on, full emergency mode was activated between TAU! and Kombucha. With some stress and bitten nails, the must finally arrived intact and immaculate at the Kombucha Factory, where Aquela Kombucha’s magical fermentation process began.