Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede hosts the Chairman of COMPETE 2020

Within the context of the initiative “COMPETE 2020: close to those who create value”, the president of COMPETE 2020 began, on the 25th of January, a one week visit to 16 companies of the wine sector, seeking to cover the whole territory of continental Portugal. The diversity of the sector and its regional representation allowed for a selection of company trajectories that we intend to get to know and analyze.

A brief history of the Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede

Being aware of the enormous potential of the soils of Cantanhede for the production of high quality wines, a group of 100 farmers founded, in 1954, the Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede.

At present, the co-operative has about 700 active member winegrowers and an average annual production of 6 to 7 million kilos of grapes, being the main producer of wine of the Delimited Winegrowing Region of the Bairrada, representing 30 to 40%of the global production of the region and certifies about 80% of its production with DOC Bairrada and IG Beira Atlântico, undisputed leaders of wine sales.

The defense of the indigenous varieties of the region – Baga, Bical e Maria Gomes – as well as the inclusion of vines from other noble Portuguese varieties (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Cerceal and Arinto) and also international varieties that adapt well to the terrain of the region (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot e Chardonnay), gives their wines a unique character, that allows one to assert that they are not just another wine, but an added value that is based on new aromas and flavors.

. The Option for R&D and Innovation

The perception of the enormous competitiveness that exists at both the national and international levels, and the constant preoccupation with the quality and safety of their wines, led the co-operative, in the last few years, to modernize their infrastructures and to obtain the certification ISO 9001: 2008 and ISO 22000:2005.

In the last few years they have developed various R&D projects in precision viticulture and enology, in collaboration with various scientific entities, namely BIOCANT and the IPN – Instituto Pedro Nunes of Coimbra.

Its portfolio includes a vast range of products. Their reds, whites and rosés go from table wine to Premium wines (DOC, Reserva and Grande Reserva). Additionally they also have a vast range of sparkling wines DOC, Spirits and Fortified Wines. It is a portfolio that, thanks to their great diversity, is able to meet the demand from different market segments, with differing quality requirements, resulting in the presence of their products in about 20 countries.

. Awards

The degree of recognition of the quality of their products has been confirmed by the awards that they have been attributed, thanks to the permanent participation in national and international competitions, which has resulted in the winning of several hundred prizes. Since 2010 their wines and sparkling wines DOC Bairrada were attributed various awards and accolades with more than 250 medals in the most prestigious international and national competitions, highlighting especially the London IWSC, Mundus Vini  - Germany, Monde Selection – Belgium, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Seléctions Mondiales des Vins – Canada, Effervescents du Monde – France and the Berliner Wein Trophy – Berlin.

In 2012 the Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede received the prize “Adega Cooperativa do Ano 2011” (Co-operative Cellar of the year 2011) within the scope of the initiative “Os Melhores do Ano” (The Best of the Year) of the prestigious Portuguese “Wine Magazine”, considered as the Oscars of Wine in Portugal. The same magazine attributed to the enologist of the Adega, Osvaldo Amado, the prize of the “Enologist of the Year 2014”.

In 2014 they were awarded with the prize W “Best Producer of Sparkling Wine 2013”, attributed by one of the most respected wine critics in Portugal – Aníbal Coutinho.

In 2015 the Adega de Cantanhede was included in the TOP 100 of the Best Wine Producers in World of Wines by the WAWWL - World Association of Writers and Journalists of Wines and Spirits.

For the president of the programme COMPETE 2020, Rui Vinhas da Silva, this visit to the wine sector, integrated within the initiative “COMPETE 2020: close to those that create value”, was to “bring this Programme closer to the companies, with the knowledge that the economic instruments at their service should contribute to position the Portuguese economy within the philosophy of the creation and addition of value to innovative products and services, based on an absolute awareness of the competitive nature of sophisticated international markets, seeking to reflect its heterogeneity and specificities.”

The initiative “COMPETE 2020: close to those who create value”

The objective of this tour is to get to know the reality of the wine sector, with the firm belief that the capacity for the companies of this sector to grow and expand lye’s in their investment in innovation, differentiation and especially through their ability to place their products in external markets, taking full advantage of the very positive acceptance of Portuguese wines in the international markets and in their greater purchasing power.

COMPETE 2020 asserts it’s slogan “COMPETE 2020: close to those who create value” and supports companies and projects whose vision is based on a structure of sustainable competitive differentiation, be it upstream of the value chain, through the excellency of processes and products that are barely replicable, be it downstream with a clear market orientation and a dynamic knowledge of the needs of the sophisticated clients in markets with strong buying power and that demonstrate a solid propensity for a product supply of high added value for which they are prepared to pay premium prices.

Within the scope of the initiative “COMPETE 2020: close to those that create value”, Rui Vinhas da Silva, president of COMPETE 2020 visited, on the 27th of January the Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede.