Wine producers from various regions of Portugal are betting on the "difficult" Spanish and Latin American market, through an Iberian contest that takes place annually in the Raiana village of Trabanca, in the Spanish province of Salamanca.

National producers, especially smaller ones, guarantee that the event is an open door to international markets such as Spain, the United States or Latin American countries in South America.

For the Chamber of tasters of the Iberian Vindouro / Vinduero Competition, which is made up of about 60 people, divided equally between men and women, there is a guarantee that Portuguese wines "are growing in quality".

However, experts leave the certainty that "there are nectars of the gods" from the Douro Demarcated Region, passing through the Dão, or from the region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Beira Interior, Trás-os-Montes, Bairrada, without forgetting the green wines and wines produced on the islands of the Azores and Madeira.

"We still do not have the results of the tasted wines. However, I can anticipate that we have tasted Douro wines that will score very high. What is clear is that the Douro is the backbone in terms of quality, rivaling what is best. does in Spain ", the international winemaker Isabel Mijares exemplified to Lusa.

The specialist, who has already held a position as an advisor in the United Nations for food, stressed that "Portugal is a country with a diverse range of wines and is managing to conserve its native varieties".

"Portugal is protecting its native varieties, which has great interest in the world of wines. It is necessary to encourage Portuguese producers to carry out this work. On the other hand, Portuguese wines, due to the effects of the pandemic, are get closer to consumers ", said the specialist.

For Isabel Mijares, to conquer international markets, the Portuguese are making more wine for consumption than for "philosophizing".

"As wine consumption habits are changing, Portuguese producers are on the right track. This new world has had a great influence on both producers and consumers, and younger and less elaborated wines are gaining market share," said investigator.

Believing in this opportunity launched by the International Wine Route, integrated in the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Duero / Douro, Portuguese producers were represented with 53% of the more than 900 samples that were available to international specialists.

For his part, Jorge Alvares, a taster from the Douro region, said that this contest is a "magnificent competition" between Portuguese and Spanish wines.

"There were many wines in the tasting. It is noted that there are ambitious wines that intend to go further, and it is natural that this type of event brings opportunities for promotion in the international market for Portuguese wines. And we need to promote our wines in Spain, since the Spanish know little about the Portuguese ", emphasized the member of the jury of this Iberian contest.

The president of the Wine Commission of Beira Interior, Rodolfo Queirós, said that it makes sense to hold a wine contest in the interior of the peninsular, being a low density territory.

"This type of initiative also helps to promote the Raiano territory, since there are people who came from all over the Iberian peninsula and islands, to get to know the best that is done in the world of wines, both in Portugal and in Spain", he stressed .

Rodolfo Queirós said that with the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, there were practically no other international competitions, which will give new opportunities to the tasters who collect one of the three medals of the Vindouro / Vinduero awards.

"Like other sectors of activity, wine production is also experiencing difficulties. But, an internationally awarded wine always has another highlight in the market and in the eyes of consumers", stressed the also taster.

Helena Mira, who was the first Portuguese woman to join the jury of this international wine contest, believes that this initiative is growing rapidly, becoming a window of opportunities for the national wine market.As this is a contest based on a "blind test" there are no known scores yet, which should happen within a week or two.