New technique for aging wine in a lighthouse brings Carcavelos barrels back on market

Oeiras (Portugal), Jul 16 (EFE) - After being on the verge of disappearing after 500 years of history, Carcavelos wine has returned to the market thanks to an initiative of the City Council of Oeiras (Portugal), with a technique inspired by the country's sailing tradition: aging in barrels inside a lighthouse.

At the end of the 20th century, this wine was practically extinct with less than ten hectares of vines, but through the management of the city council it has managed to reach forty and “the wine is recognized nationally and internationally”, explained Alexandre Eurico Lisboa, coordinator of this project, to EFE.

CAMERA: ROCÍO MUÑOZ

FOOTAGE OF THE CELLAR OF THE MARQUES DE POMBAL PALACE IN OEIRAS, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF PORTUGAL, AND THE LIGHTHOUSE WHERE THE WINE IS AGED IN BARRELS IN PORTUGAL. SOUNDBITES AND TRANSLATION :

António Oliveira, deputy director of the Directorate of Lighthouses (an entity of the Portuguese Navy): “So we are going to transfer 4,000 liters of wine to barrels, barrel by barrel, in a short space of time, because you can't stand next to Bugio. So what did we do? Calculate and size the pumping system to make 1,000 liters every 15 minutes. So we put the barrels there, the vessel approached with 1,000-liter containers and it took 15 minutes.”

Alexandre Eurico Lisboa, technical coordinator of the Oeiras City Council's Vine and Wine project: “The question of the price and financial aspect of the project is interesting, because you might think that a public project doesn't have to worry about financial performance. But in this case it does. Why? Because our main concern is to recover the whole region and to demonstrate to individuals and to the market that it is possible to have a financially profitable Carcavelos wine project. This is very important. Right now, our sales, we are exporting to 14 different countries. We are exporting to Spain.