Sir Cliff starts first crush

By DAISY SAMPSON [email protected]

Partners of the Adega do Cantor winery near Guia celebrated the first crush of 2010 as grapes were ceremoniously loaded into crushing machinery at the boutique winery on August 20.

Nigel and Max Birch were joined by Sir Cliff Richard as the partners toasted the event with glasses of the Vida Nova Espumante Bruto Rosé sparkling rosé wine, created to mark Sir Cliff Richard’s 50 years in show business.

Workers at the winery were busy preparing the 2010 Adega do Cantor red wine, which Nigel Birch hopes will become a firm favourite with residents in the Algarve and is already one of his personal top wine choices.  

Sir Cliff chatting to visitors about the new Adega do Cantor red wine.

He told the Algarve Resident: “In the past, the Adega do Cantor wine has been bad but things have improved greatly as time has progressed, especially as this wine is one that needs time to develop; for example when I tried the 2007 wine a couple of years ago it was terrible. However, now it is lovely.”

He added: “We produce nine different wines here and this is by far my favourite. My family and I drink a bottle of the Adega do Cantor red each evening and as it is so hot at the moment, we like to drink it chilled from the fridge. There is nothing better than sitting down in the evening and enjoying a bottle of the wine with a curry!”

However, although many visitors to the winery have discovered the Adega do Cantor, Nigel is eager to encourage local drinkers to enjoy the wine.

“We are keen to tap into the resident market in the Algarve and soon residents here will be able to receive special discounts on our wine.

“Already the number of local residents who visit the winery is increasing and we have a number of regulars who come in to buy wine, but we would like to increase this further, especially with the Adega do Cantor wine,” said Nigel Birch.

While the praises of the Adega do Cantor wines were being sung by Nigel, Sir Cliff spoke of how the winery has helped to raise the profile and the quality of wines in the Algarve.

Sir Cliff Richard told the Algarve Resident: “When we first began producing wine here, the Algarve had a bad reputation. I remember reading that wine here was produced by locals as ‘bottled headaches for the tourists’ but thanks to this winery and the new ones that have emerged recently I think this perception is changing.

“We called the first wines Vida Nova, meaning ‘new life’, and I can honestly say that I think it has also brought new life to the wine industry of the Algarve. The people here are not stupid and just needed to be shown how to improve on what they already had and now, where we were once one of the only quality wineries in the region,  many others are hot on our heels.”

For further information about the wines available or to arrange a tour of the Adega do Cantor please call 968 776 971 or visit www.winesvidanova.com (available in English).
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