Hugo Mendes
Lisboa & Tejo
A Dynamic Talent Making Acclaimed Wines
Hugo Mendes originally trained as a biomedical engineer, but in 2004 he worked his first wine harvest and decided to entirely change his career. He became a winemaker, and for 11 years worked in cellars and consulted all over Portugal. In 2016 however, tired of making wines to other people’s specifications, he decided to strike out on his own.
The only problem is that he didn’t have any money.
He got a good deal on some friend’s grapes, made the wine in a friend’s winery, and pre-sold as much wine as he could over social media just so he could afford to bottle it. Since that first vintage, however, Hugo has skyrocketed to the heights of Portuguese wine culture. He has become well known for his efforts to help build up a new, younger, more dynamic Portuguese wine community and the endless creativity of his wine making.
In many ways, however, Hugo is also very traditional, working almost entirely with the indigenous grapes of the region (something that is particularly rare in Lisboa), and working to preserve the region’s natural freshness in his wines, as opposed to trying to pump up the alcohol or smother their natural flavors in fancy cooperage.