Rui Madeira was born with uncanny business acumen, which has translated into successful, profitable projects. Despite his strong links to the Douro and Beira, through both his parents, he was born in Lisbon and spent part of his youth there. He attended the well-known Colégio São João de Brito until the 12th grade and then, while in the 3rd year of his Economics degree at the Catholic University, fate played him a cruel hand. While walking along a Lisbon street, he was hit by the load of a lorry and struck on the head by a piece of iron, leaving him in a coma for days. To recuperate from his near-fatal head trauma, he went to Vilar de Amargo, in the Douro Superior, where his father was planting vineyards following a successful international career as a civil engineer. It was this that really sparked his interest in rural life, wine and the Douro Superior. However, his fascination with wine in particular went back to his childhood, when he would spend his holidays in Mêda, where his mother's family had large estates, from Freixo de Numão to Trancoso. He was awestruck by the arrival of the grapes at the Quinta do Barrocal winery and remembers the carbon dioxide from fermentation, which would sting his nose. The famous Mêda ‘palhete’ wine was then made by fermenting white and red grapes together.

During his convalescence, he took a young farmer's course and worked as a cellarman in the winery of some friends in Vermiosa, which is now the nerve centre of his Beyra project. His enthusiasm grew and the following year, after studying 12th grade Biology, he enrolled at the University of Trás-os-Montes (UTAD) to study Oenology. His destiny was now firmly sealed. After graduating, he travelled the world, learning about the latest developments in winemaking techniques, before returning to the Douro and throwing his heart and soul into the family venture. But that alone was not enough for him. He also became an oenology consultant for various companies, made lots of contacts, and began to really get a feel for the wine business. His leadership spirit, conviction and business acumen soon made him realise that he wanted his own project, which would be characterised by careful investments and a focus on commercial returns. Along with some partners, he set up Vinhos do Douro Superior (VDS) in 1999, based on outsourcing and selling large volumes of ‘wines to market tastes,’ mainly to modern retailers. Within a few years, VDS was on the lips of oenophiles far and wide and its wines became known both in Portugal and abroad. His decisiveness and emotional way of managing situations, never hesitating to put his foot down when necessary, forced him to break with some of his partners and collaborators, but the project continued to grow by leaps and bounds. In 2011, when he had already established himself as one of the leading figures in the Douro Superior, he felt it was time to pursue his dream of making wines in Beira Interior and honouring the legacy of his maternal ancestors. He began by buying the Vermiosa winery that held so many memories and applied all the experience he had acquired in the Douro to the ‘Beyra’ project. He quickly realised that the way forward was to invest in high-altitude old vines, classic oenology, indigenous grape varieties and a distinctive style of wine that broke with the stereotypical globalised one that had become the norm for wines in the early 21st century. The results were not long in coming and the wines that began emerging from the Vermiosa winery made Beira Interior a well-known name all over the world. Ten years on, it produces almost half a million bottles a year, which it distributes to the domestic market and 13 other countries.

Vineyards

Vineyard operations management: Rui Roboredo Madeira

Area of own vineyards: 79 hectares

Grape origin: Own and third-party grapes

Viticulture type: Integrated pest management, integrated production and organic production.

White grape varieties: Fonte Cal, Síria, Rabo de Ovelha, Moscatel Galego, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay

Red grape varieties: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Rufete, Pinot Noir, Jaen, Mourisco, Touriga Franca.

Wine cellar

General manager: Rui Roboredo Madeira

Oenologist: Rui Roboredo Madeira

Cellar master: José Carlos Santos

Types of wine produced: White, rosé and red

Wine brands: Beyra, RRM, Altos da Beira and Atalaya

Percentage of PDO/PGI production: 98% PDO, 2% PGI

Average annual production: 313,000 litres

Production destination: Domestic market (62%) and export (38%)

Wine tourism

Events, by appointment

Wine shop

Wine tasting, by appointment

Part of the Beira Interior Wine Route