begin the fermentation process. This is when the sugar of the grapes turns to alcohol and where the unique characteristics of the wine begin to develop. The red wine ferments with the grape skins and is pressed afterwards. Then, the wine is fermented for a second time to eliminate remaining bacteria and reduce its vinegar-like acidity. After the second fermentation, the young wine is filtered and drawn into barrels for conservation. The white and rosé wines, on the other hand, are immediately filtered after the first fermentation to maintain freshness and to avoid bacteria growth. Until the wines are bottled, they remain in barrels (to avoid exposure to sunlight and air), except for periodic filtrations to improve clarity. Manecom Chã's best-known wine, however, is called Manecom, a traditional, semi-sweet or -dry, house-made wine. (It should not be confused with the “Chã” label red, white, rosé, and passito wines.) Most households make Manecom for commercial production and personal consumption. The wine can either be a red or white, dry or sweet, but the sweet red variety is by far the most popular. Manecom gets its name, legend has it, from a man named Manuel Montrond, supposedly the first person to live in Chã. Manuel Montrond in Portuguese, took a liking to the strong, sweet red wine he made. Other inhabitants coined Manuel's wine Manecom. The name stuck and remains to this day. Vinha Maria Chaves wines New since 2012 is the harvesting of grapes and the production of wines by "Vinha Maria Chaves", a new vineyard created during the last 10 years. The vineyard is about 25 hectares of surface and is located just beneath the crater. Adjoining, there is the newly constructed winery "Adega de Monte Barro", for the vinification, aging and bottling of the wines. 4 qualities of wines are produced : santaLuzia (white), sanVicente (rosé), sanTiago (red) and sanFilipe (red). These wines are produced with the grapes from the Maria Chaves vineyard and grapes from Chã das Caldeiras . These wines will be mainly exported. During the festivities of April 30, 2013, the "Adega de Monte Barro" was inaugurated and the new wines were presented to the President, the prime minister and other officials of Cape Verde. Pomace brandy After the white wine is fermented, the remnant pomace of moscatel grapes is distilled to produce a pomace brandy : destilado de uva (label “Espírito da Caldeira”), that is