News

SOUL WINES – Douro Portugal exhibit in London

It was on the 29th and 30th of October that the Douro and Porto wine producers introduced in London their range of excellent wines. The producers, representing the group SOUL WINES - Douro Portugal were the following: Quinta dos Lagares, Alves de Sousa, Parceiros na Criação, Odisseia, Adega de Sabrosa, Quinta do Mourão, Quinta das Lamelas, Vale da Veiga, D’Origem, Monte São Sebastião, Coimbra de Matos, Vinhos de Favaios e Bulas.

On the 29th, was realized a wine tasting dedicated exclusively to professionals, in particular the On Trade channel. The venue chosen for the event was in the St Martins Lane Hotel, and has attended about 100 businessmen.

In parallel to the wine tasting, two masterclasses were held: the first one dedicated to Douro DOC wines, with the presentation of Dr. Jamie Goode, wine writer and columnist in several publications (The Sunday Express, Wine & Spirits, The World of Fine Wine) and judge in several international competitions. The second masterclass, dedicated to Port wines, was presented by Peter McCombie, Master of Wine, consultant, educator and trainer.

The 30th of october was dedicated to conducting an assessment panel, named as SOUL WINES EXPORT BRIEFING, about business opportunity in the UK, through the perspective of 8 market experts: Richard Siddle, chief editor of The Buyer magazine, Dr. Jamie Goode, wine writer and columnist, John Graves, Director of On Trade Channel at Bibendum, Alistair Morrel, Senior Consultant in the UK Wine Market, Harry Hunt, Southern Spain Wine Producer and Distributor in the UK, Well Appleton of the Portuguese Story Company, Lenart Cernelic wine manager of M Restaurants in London and Peter McCombie, consultant, judge and wine writer.

The event took the model of “round table" at M Restaurant, on Victoria Street, in which winemakers SOUL WINES joined the 8 market experts. The event was moderated by Richard Siddle and ran for over 2 hours. There was active participation from all present, which allowed for the sharing of ideas, experiences and suggestions for success in the British market. The wines of the producers were present at this event during the lunch period.
SOUL WINES will be present in London, UK, from 28 to 30 October 2018

SOUL WINES Douro Portugal travels to London on 28 October 2018, to hold another promotional event for Douro wines. The program provides for the 29th a Wine Tasting at Saint Martin's Lane Hotel between 12:00 pm and 18:00 pm. On the same day two masterclasses will be held, one dedicated to table wines and another dedicated to Port wines in the same place.

In the link https://www.soulwinesproject.co.uk/events, you will find more information as well the form for registration if you wish to attend the Wine Tasting or any of the Masterclass.
SOUL WINES crossed the Atlantic to conquer the American market

First promotional action outside Europe, realized by the Douro SOUL WINES group, was held in the United States of America in New York City from June 24 to 28, 2018.

Given the specificities of this large market, the program included a day of training about the market. Steve Raye, a consultant with extensive experience in the US wine industry, held an exclusive workshop for the winemakers who integrate the Douro Soul Wines group on this mission to New York. After the workshop, Steve Raye accompanied the group during visits to 3 wine stores owned by wine distributors in New Jersey and New York.

The second day of the trip focused on the presentation to opinion makers and journalists in New York, as well as the meeting with the managers of an online editorial and sale platform for wines - www.wineawesomeness.com , focus exclusively in Millennials.

The third day was filled with the masterclass conducted by May Matta-Aliah, followed by a wine tasting, which was attended by more than 40 importers, distributors, sommeliers and some bloggers and journalists. The President of the American Sommelier Organization also attended the wine tasting.
Douro Soul Wines presents itself in Brussels - Belgium, with 15 of DOC Douro and Porto wine producers.

The second initiative during the month of June, by the Douro Soul Wines group went to Brussels, in Belgium, from 10 to 12 June. The program included a masterclass and a wine tasting. The number of participants was quite satisfactory, according to the opinion of the participating producers, who confirm the realization of promising contacts for the future. The Belgian market is well aware of Portuguese and Douro wines, but the SOUL WINES group continues to surprise with its diversity and homogeneity in the quality of the wines presented. The producers that were present: Quinta do Mourão, PNC - Parceiros na Criação, Sobredos (Aneto Vinhos), Quinta dos Lagares, D'Origem Vinhos, Quinta da Barca, Adega de Sabrosa, Monte São Sebastião, Domingos Alves de Sousa, Quinta das Lamelas, Coimbra de Mattos, Vinhos Teoria, Bulas Family Estates, Quinta Dona Doroteia e Excellus.
Excellent participation in the SOUL WINES wine tasting - Douro Portugal in Amsterdam - Holland.

Last June, the group of wine producers Douro SOUL WINES held a promotional event in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, from 3 to 5 of June. The event included a master class, a wine tasting and a lunch with journalists.

The event had high levels of participation by importers, distributors, sommeliers and opinion makers.

In Amsterdam, more than 40 people attend to the master class and more than 100 attend to the wine tasting, in which 15 Douro and Porto wine producers were present, namely: Quinta do Mourão, PNC - Parceiros na Criação, Sobredos (Aneto Vinhos), Quinta dos Lagares, D'Origem Vinhos, Quinta da Barca, Quinta da Rede, Monte São Sebastião, Domingos Alves de Sousa, Quinta das Lamelas, Coimbra de Mattos, Vinhos Teoria, Bulas Family Estates, Quinta Dona Doroteia e Quinta de Santa Eufémia.

The lunch was attended by 15 journalists and opinion makers. The opinion was unanimous on the excellence of SOUL WINES wines!
SOUL WINES - Douro – Portugal, will be in New York !!

In the days 25 to 28th of June, Soul Wines will be in New York represented by 11 wine producers (still and Port wines).
On the 27th of june will be realized a Masterclass lead by Ms. May Matta-Aliah (DWS, CWE), at 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, followed by a trade and media walk around tasting (12:30 pm – 15:30 pm).
The location is: CORKBUZZ 13 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003
To participate please confirm with Riccardo Frontini at rfrontini@colangelopr.com
SOUL WINES Group presents in Brussels – Belgium

Scheduled for June 11, the Soul Wines group will hold a wine tasting in Brussels for professionals from the horeca and retail sector.
The three-day business mission will also include a Masterclass about wines from Douro region and a meeting with a group of wine journalists.
SOUL WINES group travels to Amsterdam – Netherlands

On June 4, the Soul Wines group will realize a wine tasting in Amsterdam at the Arena Hotel between 14:00 and 18:00 pm. This event is intended to promote DOC Douro and Port wines. It will be invited importers, distributors, horeca channel, retailers and sommeliers. The trip to Amsterdam also includes a masterclass and a presentation to a group of 15 journalists specialized in wine and gastronomy.
Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

January 18: Wine Wednesday: Old Vines Great Reserva 2013 from Teoria Winery in Douro Valley (Portugal)

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SOUL WINES INTRODUCE IN MONACO - 13 DOURO AND PORTO WINERY PRODUCERS IN MONTE CARLO

Thirteen Douro and Oporto wine producers were present at the Monte Carlo Gastronomie 2017 in Monaco, as part of the Soul Wines project, which took place from November 24 to 27. Producers present: Quinta das Lamelas, Parceiros na Criação, Teoria, Monte São Sebastião, Quinta da Barca, Vinhos de Favaios, Quinta do Mourão, Quinta dos Lagares, D’Origem, Casa da Caldeira, Quinta do Granjal, Quevedo e Aneto.
NERVIR ORGANISED SHOWCASE OF WINES FROM DOURO AND PORTO IN IRELAND

Wine companies from Douro Region included in the Soul Wines Project, within the framework of the application to the Incentive System for the "Internationalization of SMEs – Common Projects", for 2016/2017, organized by NERVIR – Business Association, have attended an event held in Ireland to promote their wines.
The program included a Wine Showcase, on the 3rd November, at the Hotel Radisson Blu Royal, in the city of Dublin and was attended by several importers, press and wine retailers; during the five hours of the showcase, the guests tasted and simultaneously discovered the wines from the 16 different winemakers, namely: Quinta da Rede, Casa Agrícola Manuel Joaquim Caldeira lda, Quinta das Lamelas, PNC | Parceiros na Criação, Teoria Vinhos, Quinta dos Lagares, Monte São Sebastião, Coimbra de Mattos, Lda, Quinta da Barca, Vinhos de Favaios, Lda, Sobredos Lda ( Aneto Vinhos ), Quinta das Peixotas, Quinta Santa Eufémia, Quinta do Mourão, D'Origem Vinhos, Casa da Caldeira and Quinta do Granjal, Sociedade Agrícola, Lda.
The showcase was preceded by a Masterclass about the Douro Region wines to the importers, chaired by Mr. Tomas Clancy, renowned Irish wine journalist of the Sunday Business Post.
This Soul Wines event, targeted at wine importers, was included within several other events conducted during 2017, such as, a Business Mission to Cologne/Dusseldorf, Berlin, for a showcase, the In Douro Wine Export Business, carried out in the region and with the invitation to a few important Opinion Makers to visit some of the project acceding wineries from Douro Region.
33 IMPORTERS FROM 18 COUNTRIES DISCOVERING DOURO AND PORTO WINES

To provide new businesses and increase the exports of the wines from Douro Region, was the main goal of the 12th edition of In Douro Wine Business, included within the common project of internationalization Soul Wines, that took place in Vila Real, from 19th till 21st October, promoted by the Organization Nervir – Business Association.
These were two and a half days of intense business contacts between importers of 18 different countries and the Portuguese producers of Doc Douro and Port wines. These importers came from China, Poland, UK, Ireland, Canada, Japan, Austria, Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland, Lithuania, USA and Bulgaria.
Besides the wine tastings held in the Hotel Quinta do Paço, the importers had the opportunity to also taste the producers’ wines during the meals taken during their stay in Portugal and get to know better the region, by visiting the S. Leonardo de Galafura viewpoint and having made a small cruise in the Douro river, before returning to their countries.
At the end of this 12th edition, from that which is the unique professional exhibition in the region dedicated to the exportation, the general feeling of the producers that attended the event was that it was worthwhile, since the established contacts will certainly result in orders, enhancing the exports growth of the wines from this region.
The internationalization project – Soul Wines (Wines with Soul) it is a two years project and includes, besides the In Douro Wine Export Business event, the organization of several business missions, namely to Poland, Germany (Cologne/Dusseldorf) and Berlin, as well as some importers visits to the region.
Within this Soul Wines project a new business mission will be held both in 2017, in Ireland, Dublin, from November 02 to 04 and from November 16 to 20 in the UK, London.
NERVIR PROMOTED THE VISIT OF IMPORTERS TO DOURO WINERIES

NERVIR – Business Association organized a visit of Opinion Makers and Wine Importers to some wineries included within the Soul Wines – Wines with Soul, a common project of internationalization promoted by NERVIR and that gathered 5 Opinion Makers/Importers from Europe, 2 from Germany, 1 from Poland and two non-European from the United States of America and China:
- Philip Kampe from the United States of America, a wine journalist from Wine Hub and Chilled Magazine, member of Wine Media Guild. He also cooperates with Wine Entusiast online, Beverage Media, Berkshire Beacon, Luxury Web and The Tasting Panel.
- Axel Probst from Germany, invited professor of two of the top wine universities in Germany, Geisenheim and Heilbron. He writes wine articles for Journals and magazines, namely WeinWisser, Weinwirtschaft and wein.pur, as well as for Fine Wine Magazine in the UK. He is also the leading organizer and speaker of numerous sessions of presentation of Porto and Douro wines, such as Prowein, one of the major wine fairs in the world. He has recently published the book "Portwein", a prominent work in German language about the Wine of Porto.
- Still from Germany Andre Hartmann, from the company Vinho Iberico was also present, an importer owner of several wine shops in Berlin.
- Wenya Chen from China, a wine importer from Beijing Yqfuli E-commerce Co. Ltd, responsible for the identification and selection of new wines.
- Finally, Piotr Wolkowski from Poland, a blogger and wine connaisseur of Portuguese wines and with which he will most certainly work in the near future. His blog www.winnerefleksje.blogspot.com has been appointed by Czas Wina magazine as one of the best blogs.
The Opinion Makers have great importance and influence on buyers, since their vision is seen as a specialized and impartial view, thus, reliable for end consumers. The main purpose of this visit was to increase the Portuguese wines/wineries awareness and attract new customers from foreign markets.
This visit took five days and gathered thirteen wine producers of Douro DOC and Porto Wine, whom provided a unique experience to this group of Opinion Makers/Importers, namely: Vitavitis Unipessoal Lda, Quinta da Rede Sociedade Agrícola Lda, PNC | Parceiros na Criação, D'Origem Wines, Sobredos Lda, Maria Helena de Sousa Alves, Adega Cooperativa de Sabrosa, C.R.L, Mário Braga, Herdeiros, Mss Douro Wine & Gourmet Products Lda, Coimbra de Mattos, Lda, José António Fonseca Augusto Guedes Unipessoal, Lda., Quinta de Santa Eufémia and Domingos Alves de Sousa.
Through the visits, the Opinion Makers/Importers had the chance to express their admiration for the wineries they visited, enhancing their uniqueness and family’s legacy as well. Each visit was indeed a surprise and the wines offered during the tastings were the huge asset of this event, due to the immediate recognition of their great quality, combined with the history of each one, hence contributing to the awareness of these wines within the external markets.
WINES FROM DOURO AND PORTO IN GERMANY - BERLIN

Several wine companies from Douro Region included in the Soul Wines Project, within the framework of the application to the Incentive System for the "Internationalization of SMEs – Common Projects", for 2016/2017, organized by NERVIR – Business Association, have attended an event held in Berlin to promote their wines.
The program included a Wine Showcase, on the 28th June , in the THE WESTIN GRAND HOTEL, in the city of Berlin and was attended by around 60 importers, press and wine retailers; during the five hours of the showcase the guests tasted and simultaneously discovered the wines from the 9 different winemakers, namely, Quinta da Barca, Monte S. Sebastião, Vitavitis, Quinta do Mourão, H’Our – Parceiros na Criação, Alves de Sousa, Aneto, Quinta da Rede and D’Origem.
The showcase was preceded by a presentation made by Axel Probst, to present demarcated region of Douro and the characteristics of the Douro and Port wines.
Slawomir Sochaj Wroclaw, Poland

April 2017: It was published in Magazyn Wino in edition nr. 2 in april 2017, the first article about Douro region and Soul Wines producers that participate in activity Reception of Opinion Makers realized in September 2016 as activity of network project implemented by NERVIR , financed by the EU program - Portugal 2020. The producers described in this article are: Caves Santa Marta, Vieira de Sousa, Quinta do Mourão, Quinta de Santa Eufêmia, Quinta das Lamelas e Coimbra de Mattos.
Slawomir Sochaj Wroclaw, Poland

July 2017: It was published in Magazyn Wino in edition nr. 3 in July 2017, the second article about Soul Wines producers that participate in activity Reception of Opinion Makers realized in September 2016 as activity of network project implemented by NERVIR , financed by the EU program COMPETE 2020 - PORTUGAL 2020. The producers described in this article are: Quinta do Filoco, Quinta dos Castelares, Folias de Baco, Aneto, Monte de São Sebastião, Vitavitis, Quinta do Beijo, Quinta da Barca e Teoria.
Klaus Feldkeller talks about Douro

Klaus Feldkeller, german blogger, after visiting the tasting event realized in the past 16th January, in Excelsior Hotel Ernst am Dom in Cologne, under the scope of projeto Soul Wines, published in his blog a detailed post about the tasting, the wines and the producers of Douro valley.

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Business Mission to Germany ( Cologne and Dusseldorf )
15 – 18 January 2017

From 15 to 18 January 2017 , the business mission to german cities Cologne and Dusseldorf, within the framework of the joint Internationalization project SOUL WINES, which was attended by 15 wine producers from the Douro region.

In the context of the business mission, the highlight was the wine tasting event held on January 16th at the Excelsior Hotel Ernst am Dom in Cologne. The wine tasting event has registered more than 100 visitors between 14:00 pm and 7:00 pm, including importers / distributors, retailers, sommeliers, hotels and restaurants and some press. This event was also visited by the AICEP delegate in Germany, Dr. Pedro Macedo Leão.

Before the wine tasting, and in the morning of the 16th, a seminar was held for the presentation of the German market by Dr. Matthias Meichsner, technician at the AICEP delegation in Berlin.

The following two days were dedicated to visits to distributors' stores, and meeting with a journalist / blogger Axel Probst, an influent in the wine sector and recognized as an expert on the wines of Porto and Douro.

Also worthy of mention is the organization of a lunch on the last day of the mission at the D'Vine Restaurant in Dusseldorf, owned by Antonios Askitis, a well-known Sommelier in the German market, having won the Best Sommelier 2016 award in Germany. Antonios Askitis lunched with the Soul Wines group and tasted their wines having been very impressed by their excellent quality.
Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

December 22: Quinta Do Beijo: Kisses from Douro Valley

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Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

December 9: Women In Wine Fridays: An Interview with Justina Teixeira from Quinta da Barca in the Douro Valley

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Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

November 3:Quinta Dos Castelares – A Winery To Watch From Douro Valley

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Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

October 25: The Sweet Spot: Moscatel Galego Branco From Quinta Das Lamelas

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Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

September 30 : Women In Wine Fridays: Surprise At Meeting Many Women In Wine Industry In Douro Valley

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Quinta da Barca collects prize in Poland

Quinta da Barca, producer of wines from the Douro region and participant in events held under the network project SOUL WINES - Wines with Soul, submitted to the contest WINE EXPO POLAND AWARDS 2016 in Poland, its wines, and collected two prizes: for Bust Red Vintage 2013 the GOLD AWARD and for Busto Reserva Tinto 2011 the SILVER AWARD.

Being one of the Soul Wines project's target markets, this producer participated in the contest whose outcome is a decisive step towards the construction of the image and brand of wine Busto in Poland, which will impact on the promotion on the Polish market, foreseeing promising comercial contacts in short-term.
SOUL WINES - IN DOURO WINE EXPORT BUSINESS,
20-22 October 2016

The event took place in Vila Real, during the days 20 to 22 October 2016, and NERVIR was responsible for organizing this event which is already the 11th edition.

There were 2 and half days exclusively for commercial contacts with importers coming from various countries in Europe and outside Europe: Germany, Austria, Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Japan and Poland.

In this edition participated 32 wine producers, which in the local of the event – Quinta do Paço, presented themselves in a room with all the conditions to present and taste their wines. There were also moments of tasting wines by the importers during the meals eaten each day, where importers and producers were always present.

In general, producers that participate in this event classified the participation as very positive and it is expected in the short term the confirmation of orders. This business perspective is a further contribution to the increase in exports of wine from the Douro region.
Opinion makers Reception, 24 – 29 September 2016

During the days 24 to 29 September, SOUL WINES - Wines with Soul network project realized the reception of Opinion Makers, from United States of America and Poland to visit 15 producers of wine from Douro region: Caves Santa Marta, Coimbra de Mattos, Quinta de Santa Eufémia, Monte São Sebastião, Sociedade Viticola Foz do Távora, Vitavitis, Quinta dos Castelares, Vieira de Sousa, Quinta do Beijo, Folias de Baco, Vinhos Teoria, Quinta da Barca, Quinta do Mourão, Quinta das Lamelas e ANETO.

This action aims to increase awareness of the wines of the Douro region through outbound communication and addressed to an existing strategic public in defined target markets, with the ultimate purpose of obtaining new customers in foreign markets. The Douro region itself is defined by its unique characteristics, to which was added excellent wines presented by the producers participants in this action.

The 5 opinion makers who visited the region, 1 Sommelier / Chef, 3 Journalists and 1 Sommelier / Public Relations, highlighted beyond the single Douro environment, the quality of the wines tasted, their distinguishing characteristics that come from the fact that each wine It is produced by each producer with its "soul."

Taking the words of Susannah Gold (opinion maker dos EUA) “(…) One of the things that I found so interesting on this trip was how different people were at each winery, their grapes, their aspirations, their outlook and presentations (…)” (https://avvinare.com/2016/11/03/quinta-dos-castelares-a-winery-to-watch-from-douro-valley/)
Business Mission to Poland 01-04 June 2016

Business mission to Poland, in the dates 1 to 4 of June 2016, was the first mission realized under the Network Project for Internationalization SOUL WINES – Wines with Soul, by NERVIR. The main objective of this Network Project is the empowerment of SME’s producers and exporters of wine from Douro region, beneficiaries of this project, to external markets, throught specific promotional activities of the national offer in foreign markets helping to increase the competitiveness of Portuguese companies in the sector.

This business mission had the participation of 14 companies producers of wine from Douro region.

The group of participating companies presented in the Polish market as representatives of the brand SOUL WINES - Wines with Soul.

The business mission program had a special focus on B2B meetings, which were held in the Hemisphere Room at the Intercontinental Hotel, where the show and tasting of wines also occurred. The dynamic created in the room was similar to a Wine Fair, where importers, distributors, press, bloggers, sommeliers guests could taste the wines while they knew the producing company.

Were also carried out visits to specialty stores, to identify and meet the diversity of the offer, the segments offered in different retail chains - specialty stores, supermarkets and large retail chains. Direct contact with the current supply in the market allowed the participants perceive the proper positioning of its wines as well as the pricing policy on the market.
Susannah Lynn Gold, New York, USA

December 28: Wine Wednesday: Coimbra De Mattos 1858 Port Valriz

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