Angolan wine wants to show what it’s worth in Portugal | wines
In a semi-desert valley refreshed by the Atlantic breeze off the south coast of Angola, in the province of Namibe, a “special” wine began to be produced in 2020 that wants to jump Angolan borders and try its luck “soon” in Portugal.
It all started about 20 years ago when Paulo Múrias accepted a challenge from a friend to buy a farm in the area, I tell Lusa Filipe Woodowner’s nephew on a visit to the Vale do Bero vineyards.
The agricultural entrepreneur started with an experience with olive groves – still without success – and turned to wine about four years ago, betting on Portuguese grape varieties, “the ones that are most successful in the Angolan market”, reports the youngcurrent deputy director of the Malheiro Múrias family farm.
“We went looking for portuguese castes because Angolans prefer Portuguese wines, we have Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Aragonez”, he details, adding that they also cultivate table grape varieties.
The farm covers 24 hectares – four more will soon be added – and is crossed by the Bero river, the largest in this southern Angolan province.
the riverbed, dry at this time, it only fills up again when the real rains come, flooding the meager plantations of some peasants who set up their fields there.
The heat of the desert, the sandy soils and the cold currents of Benguela give a characteristic “terroir” to the vineyards of Vale do Bero, whose qualities were worked on by winemaker Mário Andrade for wine production, points out Filipe Madeira.
“He is a reference in the sector and he is here for love”, because, underlined the person in charge, “to produce wine it has to be for love”.
thanks to the climatic characteristics and the light, the grapes are harvested twice a year – in February and in July/August – and the wine then ages for between eight and nine months before being bottled.
Currently, around 100,000 bottles of wine are produced per year, which are expected to be released on the market in 2020. For now, they are fully felt by the Angolan market, but export is in the producer’s plans.
Filipe Madeira highlighted that wine has been well received in Portugal and believes that, despite strong competition from Portuguese wines, there would also be a market for Angolan wine, which he considered would arouse curiosity in consumers.
“Portugal is certainly in our plans. That’s where the idea was born and that’s where the grape varieties come from”, he added, adding that the project was developed by South African specialists “with a lot of experience in the sector” who have transmitted their ” know how” to Angolan workers.
Without giving any dates for the arrival of Vale do Bero to the Portuguese market, he admitted that “it will be soon”even because the product has been receptive.
“People travel and want to take a box, two boxes, and every time they take it to taste the “feedback” is positive. When people learn that it is a wine produced in Angola, in the desert, they are curious”, stressed the businessman .
In order to increase production, they want to entice other farmers to also start planting vines.
“We want them to sell us the grapes, to gain scale and volume”, emphasized Filipe Madeira.
Another of the ideas that is being matured is the promotion of wine tourism: “We want to build some “bungalows” and organize tastings to receive tourists”, said the official, underlining the potential of the region, known for its desert and beaches.
The owners have already invested around five million dollars in the project – own funds, Filipe Madeira stressed – but, meanwhile, sales still do not compensate for the expenses.
Even so, he assured: “Business is going well, better than we expected”.
The deputy director of the company regretted, on the other hand, the difficulties created by banks in accessing credit, which hinder the development of Vale do Bero, which currently employs around 50 people and which will soon add another four hectares to its area of production.
“We are just waiting for material from South Africa to increase the vineyard, as the land is already prepared”, said Filipe Madeira.
“Namibe was already a land of wine and grapes and we don’t want to let that die”, underlined the entrepreneur, noting that the bottles are also produced in Angola.
And he concluded: “We want to make a contribution to the country’s economy.”