Basic HTML Version
73
MARCH 2014
In effect, the origins of this wine-growing
project go back as far as 1927 and the Casa
da Calçada cellars with the production of
vinhos verdes
with Lago Cerqueira as its
proprietor.
Almost fortyyears on, betweenhisAngola-
Portugal frequent trips, Manuel António
da Mota fulfilled his dream of acquiring
Casa da Calçada along with some of the
vineyards. According to Inês Mota, the
granddaughter of the founder of the
Group and currently manager of this part
of the business, “this was the first major
step for the family into the wine-making
business". She then adds: "One of my
grandfather’s first concerns was always
to identify business opportunities while
preserving production techniques along
with the associated history, the Quinta
da Calçada being a fine example, now
that we are on the way to achieving the
classification of the Calçada vineyard as
the oldest in the
vinho verde
region. This
is the legacy which we seek to preserve`.
Caring for the preservation of the quality
of the wine on the basis of a love for the
land and the great things that come from
it rather than making wine-growing into a
business was the reason – almost a secret
- why knowledge of the production of the
wine and the sparkling wine produced by
the Mota family was restricted to those
who visited the Hotel Casa da Calçada, in
Amarante.
A NEW DEVELOPMENT PROSPECT
In 2013, exactly one century after the
birth of Manuel António da Mota, it is
implemented a new development stage
in the wine production business by the
Mota Family and under the label Adega
do Salvador is created a new business
project based on the exploitation of
a local agricultural holding of some
42 hectares of vineyards.
Regarding the selection of the “Adega do
Salvador” label (www.adegadosalvador.
com), Inês Mota explains that one of the
family’s largest estates is in the parish
of Salvador and that she still recalls her
grandfather’s friends referring to the
estate by the name of the parish and
so it made sense to associate it with
Adega do Salvador “as an appealing and
up-to-date identity which also reflects
the concept of ecological production
and respect for the environment that
was adopted for the processes used in
wine-making.”
From a project which has been under
development for several years just as if it
were itself a wine, investments have been
made recently in the choice of varieties,
improvements to vine productivity and
the conclusion of a new wine-making
In 2013 is implemented a
new development stage in
the wine production business
by the Mota Family and
under the label Adega do
Salvador is created a new
business project