Portuguese wine distributor Lusovini has invited more than 40 foreign wine critics, journalists, and representatives of restaurant and hotel businesses to visit Portugal’s vineyards and wine cellars.
The trip began on Tuesday, September 1, and will go on until Sunday (September 6), with guests flying in from the USA, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, China, France, Poland and the UK.
“We know out of our own experience that if we bring people to our country, they will be surprised by our culture, gastronomy, landscape and wines as well,” said the president of Lusovini, Casimiro Gomes.
He explained that Lusovini’s guests will be visiting vineyards and cellars in the Alentejo, Tejo, Bairrada, Douro and Dão wine regions, where around 80 wines distributed by Lusovini are produced.
“It’s important that they learn about the wines in their own environments,” he said, adding that by visiting the vineyards themselves, guests will learn why for example “green wine is completely different from a Douro or Alentejo wine”.
Gomes explained, however, that the trip will be about “more than just Portugal’s wines”, instead focusing on promoting the country “as a whole”.
“This national circuit will show a variety of landscapes, cuisines and local cultures which are fascinating,” he told Lusa news agency, adding that it’s as if “Portugal was made up of several smaller countries”.
Chinese interest in Portuguese milk
While Lusovini is busy promoting Portuguese wines, nine business groups from China will be in Portugal during the same period to find out more about the country’s milk production and agro-food industry.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Sea, they will be looking for “business opportunities,” especially in the milk sector.
The trip, which also started on Tuesday, September 1, and will last for a week, follows a number of promotional campaigns carried out in May by the Portuguese government in China, where it “showcased national products, focusing especially on dairy”.
