Joao Camizao left a career in telecommunications to return to his family's vines near Porto and reinvent the wine of his region.
Backstory
Joao's family has grown grapes in the Vinho Verde area since 1780, and he represents the fourth or fifth generation. After studying telecommunications engineering and spending years working abroad, including two and a half years in Bangalore, India, he and his wife Leila returned home to launch Sem Igual, whose first vintage appeared in 2012. In 2021 the couple built their own winery and made their first vintage there.
The Region
The estate is in Meinedo, Lousada, in the Sousa subregion of Vinho Verde in northern Portugal, about 25 kilometers from Porto. The vines sit in a valley at roughly 220 to 280 meters of altitude on predominantly granitic soils.
Vineyards and Farming
Sem Igual farms around 10 hectares, including old vines more than a century old. The couple stopped using herbicides in 2017 and focus on soil health and biodiversity, working toward organic or biodynamic certification. Irrigation is used only in exceptionally hot years.
Winemaking
The philosophy is minimal intervention: no added gas, no residual sugar. The cellar processes around 30 tons a year using stainless steel fermentation, French oak aging and traditional-method sparkling for some cuvees.
The Wines
Whites built on Arinto and Azal lead the range, made in both oaked and unoaked styles, alongside Pet Nat, rose, red and Blanc de Noirs. The wines defy the cheap, fizzy image of old-school Vinho Verde and argue for the region as a source of serious, distinctive white wine.
