AGUARDENTE MARIANES
Agostinho Ventura
MARIANES
282 955 433
37°17’32.27”N 8°42’38.45”W
Agostinho Ventura lives with his wife, Isabel Lourenço Martins, in the borough capital, but most of their days are spent at Marianes. It is here they kill time, with their hands in the earth or in the lees from the medronho. Three little chickens, some potatoes, peas, garlic and a little more do not make up a fortune but they are enough to make ends meet. The same thing goes for aguardente: it is a supplement to the couple’s other income. Only living from the land and the mountains is an old formula even though modern times demand modern ways. If in the past you could set up a still in any old place, now cleanliness and regulations are required that Agostinho and Isabel insist on complying with.
By legalizing their distillery they have separated things very well: the aguardente that runs to the pitcher from the running water that comes out of the tap. Even the fruit after it is picked ferments in a different space from the one where the distillation process takes place, and the drink, once distilled, is kept in a specific place. The only thing that is not governed by law is the table standing in the centre of the cellar, with a good spread and a crocheted tablecloth and glasses always ready to toast the visitor with a drop of good aguardente.