THE COMPANY

Delfim Costa, an agronomist with a degree from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in Lisbon and post-graduation on marketing and business. I was born (03.03.1956) in Porto. Over the many years of my professional life I have worked in areas as diverse as investment banking, the meat processing industry and the ceramic tile industry. Lastly, wine, a real return to my origins as an agronomist and where I feel extremely comfortable, particularly because it brings together 3 pillars I believe are important in my life: culture, Portugal and pleasure. I set up this company at the end of 2004 with the aim of sharing the best of this region – the Alentejo – with today’s global world. The building of brands of products as captivating and complex as wine has a very personal seal and is, deep down, the huge challenge that I have taken on.

I used to play several sports, but today I am more of a ‘stands coach’ for my favourite club – Benfica. I am passionate about football (soccer), as a spectator, since when it comes to actually doing sports today I devote myself mainly to walking and cycling. Music and books, particularly about history and detective novels, fill a large part of my free time, as well as space in my suitcase. My favourite author is Michael Connelly and his almost real character Harry Bosch. In the summer I have no doubts: beach, beach and more beach.

I see wine as an eminently cultural product, as the result of history, the legacy of the peoples who lived in a region, of the specific traditions and environmental circumstances of each region.  All this is the terroir, all this helps to distinguish one wine from another. In Portugal, we all feel the weight of history. The same thing happens with wine. And for me that is the captivating challenge that the wines of the Alentejo pose: to share this world with the world.

José Fonseca, 57 (20.06.1952), agronomist and winemaker. I developed an interest in wine while I was a student at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia and worked with my Technology lecturer at the time – the engineer Manuel Vieira – on a first project on the production of Port Wine.

I was a lecturer on the Wine Technology and Oenology modules at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia between 1976 and 1984. I work in Estremadura, where I live, and have also been working in the Alentejo since 1982.

I can say that for me, wine is a passion and even the essence of my life. I have devoted 33 years of direct work to wine, as well as much related work, as founder of the Confraria dos Enófilos do Alentejo (Society of Wine Lovers of the Alentejo), founder of the Confraria dos Enófilos da Estremadura (Society of Wine Lovers of the Estremadura), official wine taster of the O.I.V. for International Competitions and, for the last twelve years, Director of the Portuguese Oenology Association, six of which as President (2003 to 2009).

Isabel Ramos, I am 32 years old according to my identity card and 26 in my mind! I entered the world of wine in 2005 and have never left it... It’s great when work is no longer seen as a ‘burden’ and becomes something we do with passion, pleasure and dedication!

I love sports and love the sun, beach and water, essentially the sea! One of the things I most enjoy doing is contemplating the ocean and the skies! ANOTHER thing I enjoy very very very much is spending a summer afternoon with FRIENDS in an outdoor café enjoying some great snacks and savouring a fine wine...

I graduated in Economics and later completed a Post-graduate course in Business Finance. I began my professional career in the metalworking industry; I spent a long time working in the energy industry – production of photovoltaic energy. In the various sectors in which I have worked, I was always in the financial area and, at the same time, in the logistics area. Hence this is the reason for my personal fondness for logistics.

Well, after this came wine... where knowledge stemmed from the experience of the senses... Wine is something cultural. The words Portugal and Wine have always been closely connected and I, as a Portuguese woman with a passion for my country, really enjoy good wine... 

Ever since I started working in the world of wine, I have developed an even better understanding of the importance and the contribution that a good wine can make to special occasions in our lives. I have started to pay closer attention to the small gestures, the details and feelings that a good wine can arouse...

Luís Ribeiro - (29.10.1981) - I am a Food Engineering graduate from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto. Wine has been a part of my life from an early age, since my family has been tied to it for many generations.

I have a passion for new experiences. I love everything new, from meeting new people, new cultures, new ways of living, new foods, even radical experiences fascinate me.

During the last year of my studies I had the opportunity of doing an internship in Sweden at a food research institute for about 6 months, and then returned to Portugal to complete my course. After living in Sweden, travelling was in my blood, so I decided to set off on another adventure and travelled to Australia, where I worked in a wine cellar in  Geelong (a city next to Melbourne), which was an amazing experience! I returned to Portugal, but I still had that thirst to discover new peoples and new places, so I decided once again to set off into the unknown. I went to work at one of the wine capitals, the Napa Valley. I worked at one of the best wine cellars in the Napa Valley - Cakebread Cellars, another experience I look back on fondly.

Wine has played a key role in my life from the start and at a professional level for about 5 years, and my passion has grown day by day. What a glass of wine with a friend can offer us is something that cannot be described. In 2007 I started working at Enoforum and moved to the Alentejo. I had lived my whole life in the North of Portugal, so this was yet another adventure!