Wine Castle organised a wine show to introduce their portfolio and the wines they work with. The event, which took place at Wine Castle's distribution facilities in Mexilhoeira da Carregação, was open to professionals from hotels, restaurants and catering sector.

Those who attended had the chance to meet winemakers and their masterpieces in a well decorated place with a humorous atmosphere thanks to entertainers and living statues.

Wide range of wines

From North to South as well as from abroad, such as the famous Champagne, we got to know producers who are very interested in the Algarve market. Starting with Bora Algarve, this wine made by Wine Castle in collaboration with Quinta dos Vales is the icing on the cake and represents very well the Algarve wine production.

On the other side, Quinta da Mariposa, situated in the Dão region, was present at the show. The owner and winemaker, Lúcia Freitas told The Portugal News that although her wine has a lot of success abroad where she sells nearly 70 percent of Quinta da Mariposa’s production, within the Portuguese territory their best market is the Algarve. In addition, she said that the foreigners see Portuguese wine as a good price-quality relationship.

Another exhibitor was Jorge Mata, winemaker at Ramilo Wines, who also said that much of the wine they produce travels to other countries, more precisely 60 percent of their production. “The Portuguese market is very competitive, on the other hand, the foreign market is easier to get in”, he said. Ramilo Wines are currently in the USA, Canada, London, Macau, among others.

Their wine, produced on just 10 hectares, is completely out of the box, especially their rosé wine, which, according to him, is the most expensive rosé in Portugal (€100 per bottle). As Jorge Mata explained, producers usually use the worst grapes to make rosé wine and reserve the best for the traditional and best-selling red. However, at Ramilo Wines they have decided to do something different, and have produced a tasty rosé wine, which uses their best grapes from the annual production.

Wine Castle Event

Winemakers betting on Portugal

The winemakers we found at the show were not only Portuguese, there were several foreigners betting on the Portuguese market. For example, Laurent Guilbaud, a French winemaker who produces Moyat - Jaury Guilbaud champagne, was at the fair to share his French products with Algarve restaurants. “It is a great pleasure for me to be here and explain our Champagne. I have noticed that people in the Algarve are very interested in Champagne,” he told The Portugal News.

At the end of our wine tour, we met Dorina Lindemann, a German, who gives her name to the wine that she produces in Montemor-o-novo in Alentejo. This family run business started a long time ago when her father Jörg Böhm founded the Plansel farm and passed on his great knowledge to his daughter.

Innovation and creativity are the watchwords of these wines. According to her, Dorina Lindemann's farm was the first to produce single-grape wine, as well as the first to produce sparkling wines in the Alentejo. In addition, it was the first winery with only women working.

Wine Castle organises two wine shows throughout the year. The next one will be open to the end consumer, so stay tuned!

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins