João António Cerdeira worked in the Finance Department, and Palmira Cerdeira was a primary school teacher in Melgaço. In their early years of marriage, they lived with João António’s parents, whose house, like almost all at the time, had farmland — in the region it is common for fields to have names, and this one was called Soalheiro due to its generous sun exposure. In Melgaço, vines still occupied the borders of the fields, usually mixing Alvarinho with other native varieties. Cereals grew in the center, mainly corn, used for bread and to feed animals. Families practiced subsistence farming. Only in 1974 was a plot fully dedicated to Alvarinho in the municipality: João António Cerdeira and his family planted the first continuous Alvarinho vineyard in Melgaço —Soalheiro.