The passion that crossed the Atlantic and fuels wine production in Portuguese lands

The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.

Free access: download the PÚBLICO Brasil application at Android or IOS.

Brazil is one of the main destinations for wines produced in Portugalincreasingly appreciated by consumers. They differ in terms of quality and, some, because they are produced by Brazilians themselves. They are investors who invested in Portuguese landsinvested in planting grapes and bottling the drink. “It’s my life. I have never felt so fulfilled” says Fernanda Zuccaro, 46, owner of Quinta Alta, in Douro, from São Paulo.

Fernanda’s desire to produce wines in Portugal is long-standing. It all started when she and her then husband, publicist and marketer Chico Santa Rita, who died last year, decided to cross the Atlantic to get far enough away from Brazilian politics. The two had participated in many electoral campaigns and were already fed up with that life, with the impoverished debate. “In 2016, we packed our bags, put our things in a container and started a new life”, he says.

Quinta Alta produces, each harvest, around 40 thousand bottles of wines that, in part, supply Portugal, and, in part, go to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada and Luxembourg, among others. “We have had a lot of resilience to face market adversities, such as higher temperatures and prolonged droughts. These are the forces of nature that we are always learning to deal with”, says the winegrower. Such difficulties, however, did not come close to the size of the blow that Fernanda suffered with her husband’s death. “That’s why I stand firm. Quinta Alta was a joint project. We were partners from the beginning”, he adds.

The day doesn’t even dawn and Fernanda is already up, ready to run her business. She is fully involved in the process, until the wine is delivered to buyers. “I like the winery, the schist, the terroir, the smell of fermentation, because it has a connection with nature. My soul is here”, he emphasizes. “I have a spiritual relationship with the vineyards, I always kneel and pray before them. Everything to thank you for what you have given me all this time”, he adds.

Gratitude is what is not lacking in the Brazilian woman’s words. “I am extremely grateful to Douro for allowing me to become who I am, do what I do, live off what I produce. I created a very strong relationship with Portugal. Despite the difficulties we went through, I didn’t give up, because everything is very rewarding”, he says. She highlights that she developed such an affinity with wine production that, alongside Francisco Montenegro, 55, she took on the role of winemaker on the farm. Commercial management has been in charge of Nuno Moronho, 48, since 2020.

Pure elegance

Juliana Kelman, 49, from Rio de Janeiro, has led Quinta Kelman since 2013, in Nelas, district of Viseu, in the Dão wine region, on an area of ​​seven hectares. Descendant of Portuguese, she identified a favorable economic momentcombined with a certain amount of boldness, to invest in viticulture in Portugal.

“Observing the opportunity that presented itself, the question came to me: why not invest in wine production in Portugal?”, he says. However, before making the decision, she prepared herself for the business, studied several wine regions in the European country, until putting down roots in Dão. “It was a big surprise, as it is an area that has all the conditions to produce quality wines”, he highlights.

Juliana doesn’t mince words. “The wines produced in Dão are elegant, with properties difficult to find elsewhere”, he says. The particular characteristics of the region were unknown outside and even within the country. The entrepreneur states that the first harvest, in 2013, resulted in the production of three labels from the Encruzado, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz grape varieties. The drinks went to several countries in Europe, the United States and Canada.

Juliana has no doubt that it was with a lot of struggle that she built the reputation of the wines she produces, which are not sold in supermarkets, but destined for restaurants, special wine cellars and wine clubs. With 30 thousand bottles annually, Quinta Kelman presents, this year, a rosé harvest, 100% from the Touriga Nacional grape, whose production is small, “but of excellent quality”.

For some time, Juliana exported to Brazil, however, due to commercial strategy, she temporarily suspended shipments to the country. She believes that she will soon return to serving Brazilian consumers.

In the winegrower’s assessment, two variables influence wine production. The first is climate unpredictability, the implications of which are significant for the results of grape harvests. “It’s a permanent challenge, every year,” he says. The second is dictated by the consumer market, which periodically changes its preferences and behavioral trends. “No specialist can determine what these trends are”, he defines.

Juliana, who travels from Brazil to Portugal every two months to monitor her business, highlights that the relationship between the two countries remains firm and strong. And he says: “Many Brazilians entered the world of wine because of Portuguese wines, and the future is one of growth”.

The owner’s eye

For Otacílio Soares da Silva Filho, 58, born in Teresina, but with a business background in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, producing wine in Portugal has become a love affair. And this is reflected in Quinta Domínio do Açor, in the Dão region, with around 50 hectares, from which quality wines come out, bearing similarities to those made in the Burgundy region, in France.

The businessman says that, four years ago, he became interested in the world of wine, even though his main activity is in the financial market, where he does wealth management. “I have loved wine for a long time, I participate in institutions such as the Commanderie des Cordons Bleus and the Commanderie de Bordeaux,” he says. He points out that his winery has already been awarded as a revelation in several competitions, with the drinks being classified on some labels with a Robert Parker rating of 95, “one of the most important in the world”.

To maintain the quality and respect acquired in the market, he hired winemaker Luís Lopes, 40, who has already worked in France, especially in the Burgundy region, Switzerland and Australia. It also has specialist João Costa, 35. Both develop the production of indigenous grapes, which enhance the elegant style present in the wines. Encruzado, Touriga Nacional, Baga, Tinta Roriz and Bical are among the more than 20 grape varieties on the property.

The farm’s exports do not measure distance and are directed to Brazil, the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy. “I know how to surround myself with good professionals, Portuguese and Brazilian, who manage very well and manage a production of 60 thousand bottles every year”, declares Otacílio, who lives in Lisbon, but constantly travels through Brazil and Switzerland, as a way of keeping up with his various professional duties.

“I manage money, but I always have to know what is happening, whether in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, where I live, or in Geneva, Switzerland, where I am a financial manager, or on the farm, in Oliveira do Conde, in Dão, and in Lisbon. It’s the owner’s eye that makes the ox fat”, he teaches.

All original

Another successful case of Brazilians producing wines in Portugal arose from the partnership between Bahian Marcelo Lima and Briton Tony Smith, who formed the company Lima & Smith, producer of Quinta da Covela, in the Douro. The property where the drink comes from is in the southeast of the Minho region. There are 300 thousand bottles annually. The two — one, a businessman, the other, a journalist — invested in a project of passion and entrepreneurship.

Quinta da Covela is run today by Camilo Mello Azevedo Lima, 45, Marcelo’s son. For him, the good production results result from the area’s ability to recover and the reunion of the original team that worked in the company, but which had been disbanded during the 2008 economic crisis in Portugal.

According to the executive, the project “has always been about balancing wines and rationality, because it is not a hobby, but a business.” He cites important labels such as the wines of Baião and Tecedeiras, as legitimate representatives of the Quinta. It also states that winning awards reflects the good reputation of the wines they produce.

“We were not afraid to develop new labels, especially Covela Avesso, produced with the Avesso grape, a pioneer in the region”, highlights Camilo. He adds that the profile of the property’s wines is aligned with international taste and the Brazilian market, particularly São Paulo, “definitely our biggest consumer”. In his view, “cultural ties with Brazil increase familiarity with Portuguese wine”.