SATURDAY, June 11
Visits in the Countryside
Meeting points at walking distance from the hotels. Buses will depart from Convento do Espinheiro. The estates are in the surrounding area of Évora, maximum 100km.
09:00am-06:00pm
This is the opportunity to discuss and witness first hand: wine, cork, quality food, breeding, heritage, tradition, landscapes and successful & inspiring businesses.
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YELLOW TOUR"VINEYARDS, ART & GASTRONOMY"
Quinta do Quetzal - wine and art + almond and olive farm
Quinta do Quetzal (60 km south of Évora)
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The present estate was founded by Cees and Inge de Bruin. Manager Reto Frank Jörg will accompany the group the whole day.
Wine production on the rich slopes of the Vidigueira with a microclimate of the foothills of the Serra do Mendro and soils rich in schist to produce a limited production of concentrated top quality wine. In 2016 a new building covered in schist plates with a contemporary restaurant and shop as well as a renowned art centre with an annual contemporary art exhibition was opened. by Aveline de Bruin, daughter of Cees and Inge. Quinta do Quetzal was awarded the Best Restaurant Award, Alentejo 2018 and Best Wine Tourism Award, Alentejo 2017. The group will enjoy a gastronomic lunch prepared by Michelin starred chef Pedro Mendes.
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After lunch, a visit to an almond and olive farm.
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GREEN TOUR "FROM BARK TO BOTTLE"
Coruche, Amorim Forestal, Equipar (90 km from Évora)
https://www.amorimcork.com/en/
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Owner Antonio Amorim is closing the Friday conference.
An in depth presentation of the manufacturing process of the cork industry from “bark to bottle” from the largest cork producers in the world!
The group will stop on the way to Coruche to a cork tree plantation to observe the cork harvest under way as well as a visit to an oak nursery with its special irrigation process. In Coruche, a visit to the raw-materials preparation unit, Amorim Florestal, to see how the cork planks (bark) coming from the forest are processed. At Equipar, belonging to the cork stopper division the group will witness how the planks are manufactured into cork stoppers for table wine (shanks and discs). 10 million cork stoppers are produced...a day!
All the waste cork resulting from the industrial process is reintroduced into Amorim’s raw-material supply to other units making different cork applications (flooring, memo boards and even components for space vehicles, etc.).
Amorim motto is “nothing is wasted, everything is transformed” … cork dust included!
Lunch will take place at Quinta Grande.
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BLUE TOUR "HERITAGE & ENTREPRENEURSHIP"
Herdade Outeiro da Esquila, Castelo Ventoso, Vineyard Dona Maria
Herdade do Outeiro de Esquila: (15km from Évora)
The owner and Young Friend Hein van Beuningen welcomes us to his beautiful estate for a coffee break and introduction to his development business. Hein’s father Herman, a member of the Friends, shall also accompany the group.
Herdade Castelo Ventoso: (15km from Évora)
A 16th century Jesuit agricultural retreat with a Baroque chapel set in 300 ha of cork forest, ancient olives and grazing land for sheep and black Iberian pigs. The housing is being converted into a high end private location for business off sites, weekly rentals and small intimate events. There are also several residences for long term rentals. The property is owned by the van Beuningen and Ramos families.
We will visit the main house, chapel, gardens and the cork farm and enjoy lunch here with our host Hein van Beuningen.
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Quinta Dona Maria vineyards
https://www.portevinho.be/dona-maria-julio-bastos-en
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Wine has been produced in this domain for more than 150 years. The current owners Júlio and Isabelle Bastos started in 1988 to market nationally and internationally the high quality wines produced using the treading technique at this Quinta. The group will enjoy a wine tasting.
RED TOUR "ALENTEJO, A UNIQUE REGION"
Ganaderia Murteira Grave, Herdade do Esporão
www.murteiragrave.com.pt
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Ganaderia Murteira Grave, Galeana estate (Mourão, 90km from Évora)
www.murteiragrave.com.pt
The Ganaderia Murteria Grave estate was founded by Manuel Joaquim Grave (grandfather of the current owner) in 1994. At Galeana, the bulls can be admired in all their splendour. The visit will include a briefing explaining the location of the estate, the way the bull is raised and the management of the estate and will show the lives of the bulls and cows on the estate while towed by a tractor. It will also include, exclusively for the group, a bull show in the newly built arena. The group shall be hosted by current owner and previous forcado Joaquim Grave. Lunch will be served in the Souvenirs Room.
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The Alqueva Dam
On the way to and from Ganaderia Murteria Grave, you will cross the Alqueva Dam - breathtaking in its beauty. Lying on the River Guadiana, this arched dam was financed by the European Commission and completed in 2002 to create the largest artificial lake in Europe (250km2). The lake allows the irrigation of 120,000ha of land and the production of a reversible hydroelectric power station (518 megawatt) as well as outdoor activities and water sports. As a water reserve it has met the needs of at least 3 years of drought.
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Herdade de Esporão (on the way back, 50 km from Évora)
www.esporao.com
Part of the Alentejo’s montado ecosystem (cork oak forests), in Portugal, Herdade do Esporão has extraordinary conditions for agriculture. With approximately 700 hectares of vineyards, olive groves and the other crops they grow using organic methods and integrated production. With around 40 grape varieties, 4 types of olive, orchards and kitchen gardens.
The production of Esporão’s olive oils comes from the will to apply the knowledge obtained in the production of wines into the production of high quality olive oils. All oils, exclusively extra virgin or virgin, are produced using natural methods and entirely traditional processes, preserving the pure juice of the harvested olives. The visit will include a guided tour of the winery and tastings of Esporão Colheita White & Red.
ORANGE TOUR- YFCS"VISION FOR THE FUTURE"
Monte Da Serralheira (Evora)
www.monterserralheira.com
Introduction to Farming and entrepreneurship and settling in Alentejo. We shall be welcomed by Dutch couple George and Lucia van der Feltz who settled on this farm over 40 years ago. George will present the New Holland Braud's machinery that harvests the grapes, olives and even almonds. Lucia, who is an official guide of Evora, will discuss settling in Portugal as foreigners.
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João Portugal Ramos- Vila Santa winery (Estremoz - 45 km from Évora)
www.jportugalramos.com
Designed in accordance with the traditional architecture of the Alentejo region, Vila Santa winery has put Estremoz on the map of the great wines, welcoming visitors from all over the world. The group will start with a delicious rustic lunch served with Portugal Ramos wines and will enjoy a tour of the wine estate and production facilities where wine is still treaded in marble vats!
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08:30pm YFCS Informal dinner at Fitapreta
https://www.antoniomacanita.com/en/wines/fitapreta
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Alexandra Leroy Maçanita will greet the group and share information about her and her husband Antonio's journey of starting wine production in Portugal, the renovation of the beautiful medieval house and the building of the cork covered wine factory and cellar. Fitapreta was awarded Wind Producer of the Year in 2020 by the Revista de Vinhos.
Drinks will be served in the courtyard as the sun sets followed by a buffet dinner in the disused chapel. After dinner there will be music and dancing among the wine barrels!
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Evening
You will be back at the hotels around 06:00pm
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from 07:00pm Drink and visit of the Palacio de Cadaval and St John the Evangelist Church, Evora
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08:45pm Dinner at Pousada de Evora located next to the Palacio
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Palacio Duques do Cadaval
www.palaciocadaval.com
Visiting the Cadaval Palace is to feel up close what is also the history of Portugal. The ancestral home and the property of the Dukes of Cadaval family, since its foundation in the 14th century until today, the Palace was built on the ruins of a Moorish Castle in the heart of Évora, and has been able to extend itself over time in all its essence through careful intervention programs.
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The Church of the Cadaval Palace, a private property and a place of worship, is also known and referred to in books and guides as the Church of Saint John the Evangelist or as the Church of Lóios, for having been part of the Convent of the Order of Saint Eligius, where Lóios was the corrupted form of the Portuguese word for Eligius. Founded in 1485, it was built on the ruins of an Moorish castle, destroyed by the revolts of the Grand Master of Aviz in the 14th century.
As an important cultural platform, the Cadaval Palace has promoted and welcomed, over the last years, several artistic events that enrich the city’s and the country’s cultural agenda. Annually, a wide audience visits the building’s rooms, attending exhibitions and events that touch on different cultural dimensions. Due to its historical heritage, the Cadaval Palace also occasionally receives soloists, national and international choral and musical groups, for public performances, and art exhibitions – painting, sculpture and photography.
On June 11 you will discover the exhibition "LOVE"
It is the exhibition that brings Yves Saint Laurent’s infinite passion for Marrakech to the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval. The bonds that unite the French fashion designer and Morocco resonate with endless possibilities and lead to new aesthetic approaches and creative connections. These moments are presented in LOVE in a line-up of three distinct and uniquely narrated chapters..
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The first chapter illustrates the unmistakable role of Morocco as the French designer’s muse. Stephan Janson is the curator responsible for transforming the Church of São João Evangelista into the stage for an exhibition that features 15 outfits, on exceptional loan from Fondation Pierré Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent in Paris and private collectors. Fifteen carefully selected ensembles that reveal the nuances of YSL’s creative imagination.
The second chapter is curated by Mouna Mekouar and it is held in the heart of the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, taking visitors on a journey to discover Morocco’s contemporary art scene and the shared influences that contemporary artists have with Yves Saint Laurent. The couturier’s creative vision – particularly his daring use of colour and space – can be found in the work of thirteen contemporary Moroccan artists from different generations and disciplines. The springboard for the exhibition are Yves Saint Laurent’s famous annual greeting cards, in poster form, made over a 27-year period, which invariably – and prominently – featured the word LOVE.
The grand exhibition is completed with the third chapter: a tribute to Pierre Bergé, who encouraged and supported the artist and couturier Noureddine Amir by presenting his work at Fondation Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent in Paris in 2014 and at Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech in 2018. Noureddine Amir was the first Moroccan designer to present a haute couture collection in Paris at the invitation of Fédération de la Haute Couture, in July 2018. Curated by Alexandra de Cadaval, this chapter of the exhibition showcases Noureddine Amir’s sculptural dresses, which blur the lines between fashion, art, and architecture.
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