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The Portuguese company Symington Family Estates has unveiled plans for its new, environmentally friendly Quinta do Ataíde winery in the upper Douro Valley. From next year onwards, 691,000 litres of unsprayed dry premium wines will be vinified there. The capacity could be increased to 750,000 litres within five years. Among others, the port wine houses Graham's, Dow's and Warre's belong to the group.
A special feature of the winery, according to a company statement, is the roof, which will be planted with native plants and will serve as a temperature regulator. The building will generate much of the energy it needs itself from renewable sources, it said.
The investment sum is three times as high as originally planned in 2018, it said. On the one hand, this is due to the sharp increase in construction and material costs. On the other hand, Symington decided to significantly enlarge the plant "because we are convinced of the growing demand for premium wines from the Douro", explains director Rob Symington. He wants to double the sales of dry red wines by 2030.
To achieve this, the group will in future rely more on indigenous grape varieties such as the Donzelinho Tinto, as they are well adapted to heat and drought. Symington plants the grape variety on the Quinta do Ataíde vineyard, where an experimental variety library was already established in 2014.
(al / Source: decanter; Photo: Symington Family Group)
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