Beverages

DFJ VINHOS : The New Portugal, Create Highest Quality Wines that People Enjoy

DFJ VINHOS was created in 1998, has 250 ha of vineyards, mainly in the wine region of Lisbon. Today it’s very proud of how far it has come: the Portuguese company exports more than 99% of the 8 million bottles produced annually to more than 50 countries. Most target the middle segment with a highly competitive pricing strategy with rich and elegant wines full of flavor.

Mr. José Neiva Correia is the owner of the company and the chief winemaker, producing wines since 1974. José Neiva Correia had three training ports: Dois Portos in Portugal, Gesenheim in Germany and Bordeaux in France. This allowed him to discover different methods of production, to compare them and to be inspired later to make his own wines. Today, he’s no more wine consultant like in the 80’s and 90’s when he’s been responsible for around 10% of the Portuguese production.

José Neiva Correia born at home’s family in the middle of a vineyard and today it’s home continues being in the middle of a Pinot Noir vineyard near of the Atlantic. It’s a descendant of several generations of winegrowers and it has followed the family tradition. However, he has never stopped doing research, inventing ways to modernize his work and improve the quality of wines, or creating solutions for winemakers from here and elsewhere. His wines respond to modern issues, both from the point of view of consumers and producers.

In 1974 he begin working with Mr. Octavio Pato, one of the best Portuguese winemakers in the 60s, 70s and 80s. With this experience and his laboratory work, José Neiva Correia learned how to analyze wine, water, earth, leaves, etc., and all this has allowed him to deepen his knowledge. He is particularly distinguished thanks to a patent, the first method really effective of disinfecting corks.

The climate in the Lisboa (Lisbon) wine region is temperate, soft, with rain and humidity during the appropriate season. However the many valleys and hills in this region give rise to the most diverse microclimates. The quality and characteristics of the soil also vary leading to different terroirs. Finally, the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean moderates the climate so that there is little variation in temperature, with moderate Winters and Summers, and the nocturnal dew leads to a long and regular maturation.

The 250 hectares of vineyards owned by DFJ VINHOS, mostly in the Lisboa wine region are prepared for mechanical grape picking (12 to 15 ha/day), in order to avoid the Equinox (September 21st), when 90% rain is predicted.

In the DFJ VINHOS vineyards the plants are fed with organic material produced from domestic residue previously tested for heavy metals. The nutrition of the vines is done in a rational way without excesses or deficiencies. The soils are analyzed to determine the organic material necessary to help the vine’s needs.

The final result is high quality production well above the average production in Portugal.

All the wine is made in accordance with the client’s wishes and the demands of the market in matters of taste. This results from several years of partnerships with foreign distributors, namely the British market, one of the most demanding and difficult of world markets, the first that DFJ VINHOS begin to work.

DFJ uses only French oak barrels bought from Seguin Moreau and restores them in its own cooperage.

Quinta da Fonte Bela – Cathedral of the Wine

Located in Vila Chã de Ourique – Cartaxo, 80 km north of the city of Lisbon, it is a unique centennial property. Most of the buildings belong to the so-called “Cast-iron architecture” used in the second half of the 19th century by the followers of Eiffel. All the facilities were designed by engineers of the atelier of Eiffel, who at the time were in Portugal to design public works, such as the Santa Justa elevator in Lisbon and the D. Luís Bridge in Porto. The owner of the Quinta at the time (António Francisco Ribeiro Ferreira) took advantage of the presence of these engineers and commissioned the plans of what would become the center of his agricultural activity. The first building came to be the cellar completed in 1897. The exterior architecture is also unique in Portugal because it is characteristic of southern France and Balearic Islands that were certainly the origin of engineers.

Also known as the Cathedral of Wine, Quinta da Fonte Bela is composed of several buildings, among which we find the headquarters of the DFJ where are the offices, a vinification center, a bottling line, warehouses, a cellar with capacity for 9.3 millions of liters, cooperage, laboratory and living room. All in a total of 17,197 m ² and a covered area of 8,063 m ².

DFJ WINES received 564 awards in 2019 including 38 trophies and 197 gold medals. Since 2010 won 3145 awards.

“Mr. José Neiva Correia, owner and chief winemaker of the company, stated that: “We are very proud because it is an excellent recognition of the effort of our working group that every day strives to get the best price and quality in all our wines. They aren’t an end in themselves, but they are a strong recognition of our work, helping those who work with us around the world to get the message to their customers of the excellence of our work.”

This 3rd Session of Japan Awards 2020, DFJ VINHOS has been recognized and awarded 14 Gold Medals and 6 Silver Medals Awards:

PORTADA Winemakers Selection white 2019 – LISBOA REGIONAL WINE