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Algarve Wine producers
are working together to launch an Algarve wine route, Rota do Vinho do
Algarve, to promote the regional wineries and wines for tourists and
visitors. The idea is to follow the example of other
regional routes already operating in the country and to involve the 19
wineries in the region. Through this new promotional tool, the wines
produced in the Algarve will be better advertised inside and outside
the region.
The issue was debated at a symposium held during
the Fatacil exhibition last month with the regional board of
agriculture, Direcção Regional de Agricultura (DRA), and the new
regional tourism board, Turismo do Algarve (TA).
Wine board
Some
administrative issues, such as choosing the board that will lead and
manage it, are still to be resolved before the initiative can start.
At
present, only seven of the 19 wineries operating in the region have the
infrastructures to host wine tastings and guided visits. The reduced
number of wineries with conditions to offer promotional events is also
pointed out as one of the aspects delaying the start of the project.
Castelão
Rodrigues, director of the DRA in Faro, said: “Ideally, the wine route
will start with the wineries that are prepared to be involved and the
others will join when they can.”
Teresa Chicau, former member of
the Alentejo wine tour, Rota do Vinho do Alentejo, who is helping
Algarve producers, said: “it is important to have an interesting, well
planned route, with quality events, so that visitors, many of them
foreigners, buy the products and take the information back home.
“This way, Algarve wines have more of a chance of being recognised abroad.”
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