The Baraças brothers – Manuel José, António José and José Francisco – epitomise an uncommon combination of unity, co-operation and harmony that comes from their upbringing. They are quite rightly known as the united brothers, because they have combined their efforts to run large businesses for almost four decades. They began by providing agricultural services, such as harvesting large fields, digging ditches and moving large volumes of earth, using an extensive fleet of machines. As the business grew, they invested the profits into land and used much of it to plant vineyards, selling the grapes to the Adega Cooperativa de Pinhel. The focus, however, was on services, which quickly shifted from agriculture to major public works. The more profits they made, the more land they acquired, and before they knew it the Baraças clan had more than 100 hectares of vineyards in a typical smallholding, employing mechanical harvesting. They eventually realised the time had come to move their agricultural business forward, making the decision to produce their own wine. They continued to sell most of their grapes to the Adega Cooperativa de Pinhel on an individual basis and used the company, created in 1987, to produce wine, since the cooperative's rules prevented its members from becoming producer-bottlers. Ever aware of the opportunities offered by the region, they bought the local fruit cooperative upon learning it was in bankruptcy, with a view to turning it into a winery. In the cold rooms, they installed fermentation tanks to control the temperature of the winemaking process. They hired the late José António Tojeiro as their oenology consultant and selected the best grapes from the vineyards to make the wine. The first wines launched onto the market were well received, especially the red Entre Vinhas Grande Reserva, aged for an extended period in oak barrels. The style is powerful and quite alcoholic, more akin to Douro reds than those from Beira Interior, but a good acidity gives it the desirable balance. The major challenge now facing the Baraças brothers is to market their entire production, but their faith in the future is unshakeable and they continue to plant more vineyards with the aim of increasing production.

Vineyards

Vineyard operations management:

Area of own vineyards: 27 hectares

Grape origin: Own grapes

Viticulture type: Integrated production

White grape varieties: Arinto, Síria

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

Wine cellar

General manager: Joana Baraças

Oenologist: Patrícia Santos

Types of wine produced: White, rosé and red

Wine brands: 7 Capelas, Entre Vinhas

Percentage of PDO/PGI production: 70% PDO Beira Interior

Average annual production: 75,000 litres

Production destination: Domestic market (70%) and export (30%).

Wine tourism

Wine shop

Part of the Beira Interior Wine Route