At the José de Sousa winery, some ancestral winemaking techniques are still used, the most emblematic being the use of carving in the fermentation of grapes. The essentials of carved winemaking have changed little in more than two thousand years. In this process, the white grapes are lightly crushed by foot and de-stemmed by hand on a ripping table. Fermentation takes place, without stems, in jugs with an average capacity of 1,600 liters at a temperature of around 28ºC, being controlled by watering the jugs 4 times a day. Fermentation takes approximately 8 days, with the wine remaining in contact with the dough until November. Aging in amphorae for a period of 4 to 10 months, depending on the harvest. During this period, a film of olive oil is placed to prevent oxidation.