Aveleda Winery

Founded in 1671, Aveleda is a family-owned winery with more than 300 years of winemaking tradition. Preserving its familial character, Aveleda has evolved and developed its winemaking by adapting to market demands and investing in new technologies at every step of the way. A short walk through the Quinta da Aveleda estate shows that the search for perfection and love for winemaking is a natural value for the Guedes family. It has been so for over three centuries and we work hard to keep the tradition of innovating, just like our ancestors did. Aveleda has received numerous top ratings by U.S. wine media, as well as awards and medals, year after year, showing its commitment to consistent superb quality. Recently, Wine & Spirit gave Quinta do Aveleda Vinho Verde a 92 score. In 2008, Wine Enthusiast awarded Aveleda with a 90 score (Aveleda 2007 Alvarinho) and an 89 score (Aveleda 2007 Quinta do Aveleda Vinho Verde); in 2007, Wine Spectator gave Aveleda an 88 score (Aveleda 2006 Alvarinho) and an 87 score (Aveleda 2007 Quinta do Aveleda Vinho Verde); and in 2006, Wine Enthusiast awarded Aveleda’s 2005 Quinta do Aveleda Vinho Verde with an 89 score. Aveleda wines are widely distributed throughout the U.S. US Importers: California HGC Imports 1045 Pepitone Avenue San Jose, California Tel: 408-947-8511 Florida Opici Wine Company 1425 Watertower Road Lake Park, Florida Tel: 561-842-3113 New York Tri - Vin Imports One Park Avenue Mount Vernon, New York Tel: 914-664-3155 Texas Republic National Distributor 1010 Isuzu Parkway Grand Prairie, Texas Tel: 210-639-9458 Winery History: Aveleda’s history began in 1671, when the earliest records available began to document the estate's agricultural and wine production. The estate was founded by the Guedes family, which still owns it today. Near the end of the 19th Century, the estate was transformed when Manoel Pedro Guedes da Silva da Fonseca – Mayor of Penafiel and Deputy to the Parliament – decided to leave his life in Lisbon and moved to the Aveleda estate. There, he re-focused the estate’s production solely on winemaking and, defying the archaic habits of the region, he ordered all existing vines replanted using the Cordon method and divided each parcel by grape variety. He also added a large and modern winery (with the capacity of over 300 barrels, quite a feat for that time!) and invested heavily in the winery and the winemaking process; these efforts were recognized by many national and international awards, including a Gold medal at the Berlin exhibition (1888), in Paris (1889) and later in Seville (1929). His two sons. Fernando and Manuel continued their father’s legacy as wine producers. Through the harsh times of both World Wars and the depression, they worked relentlessly to keep the business afloat, and in 1946 their work paid off when sales rose significantly and Brazil as well as other world markets opened for Aveleda. Around the same time, Fernando's son - Roberto Guedes - happened to meet Eugène Hélice, a French winemaker that was coming back from the Douro Valley by train. He offered his services to Roberto Guedes, who invited the Frenchman for lunch. After a long conversation, Roberto hired Mr. Eugène Hélice and he started producing 30,000 liters of wine. That wine was served among friends, family, some oenologists and they all liked it. The wine was named Casal Garcia, after the name of one of the vineyards in the estate. The peculiar packaging of a blue toned bottle and the deep blue label with a traditional lace (typical from the Minho region) gave an important contribute to its incredible success. With the total control of the modern vineyard and the new techniques applied by the French winemaker, Casal Garcia became an immediate hit and has remained the flaship wine of Aveleda. The second half of the 20th Centurey was an important epoch for the creation of a brand new cellar, a vinification center, the mechanization of the bottling process, the building of large tanks, the acquisition of an alambic to distill wine and produce “bagaceira” were only some of the diverse investments held at Aveleda. It was also the time of the opening of the first gourmet shop in Oporto, under the name of Aveleda. This store was very important for the success of the products originating from the estate and it was famous for the lovely décor of its window, displayed with colorful flower structures. Today, Aveleda is considered to be one of the three major wineries in Portugal, selling its wines to over 90 countries in the world and the largest Vinho Verde producer. It is with pride that we continue to exist as a family-owned company through all of its aspects.

 



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