José and Daniel Saraiva are two very special brothers who, happily, get along like a house on fire and run numerous businesses together in blissful harmony. Their primary ventures involve agricultural product sales and fuel distribution, but they never shy away from new opportunities and adventures. Hence their foray into viniculture, and later wine production. When they inherited the family land, they decided to convert some of the vineyards and restore the rest. For a few years, they sold the grapes to the Adega Cooperativa de Pinhel, but one day while talking with friends in Aveiro, José came to the realisation that he wanted to make wine. And that was that. Upon his arrival in Pinhel, he purchased two vats and began putting his words into action. It was far from easy at first, but little by little, with José and Daniel's entrepreneurial flair, the project took shape and began to grow. They hired an oenologist – the renowned José Brandão –, built a winery with all the technical requirements and began to professionalise the activity and the business. In 2007, the first vintage of Aforista wine appeared and the results soon started to show. Competition medals became customary, demand for the wines grew and the Aforista brand emerged from the shadows. Sales, almost always the thorniest phase of any project, have not been a problem, as the agricultural product warehouse distributes a large portion of production. Later, they discovered the ‘nostalgia market’ in France and Switzerland, the Aforista and Militis wines serving to satisfy the longings of the many Beira natives who work there.

The company also seeks out an active role in the Pinhel community, for which the wine sector is extremely important. Of particular note is the labelling project organised in schools, which fosters children's creativity and has already resulted in prizes for 10 students.

José and Daniel remain enthusiastic about the project and are already turning their attentions to growth, not only in terms of vineyards and litres of wine produced, but also new customers and markets. Their secret can be summed up in a few short words: passion, hard work, business sense and high-quality wines. It almost sounds easy.

Vineyards

Vineyard operations management: Daniel Saraiva

Area of own vineyards: 12 hectares

Grape origin: Own grapes

Viticulture type: Integrated production

White grape varieties: Viosinho, Fernão Pires, Síria, Arinto, Malvasia Fina

Red grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Rufete

Wine cellar

General manager: Daniel Saraiva

Oenologist: José Brandão

Types of wine produced: White, rosé, red and fortified

Wine brands: Aforista and Militis

Percentage of PDO/PGI production: 40% PDO

Average annual production: 50,000 litres / 25,000 bottles

Production destination: Domestic market (50%) and export (50%)

Wine tourism

Wine shop

Wine tasting

Part of the Beira Interior Wine Route