During my trip across Alentejo, it was a pleasure to visit the cooperative Adega de Borba. Winemaking in and around Borba has a long pedigree and is even mentioned in ‘Murray’s handbook to Travels in Portugal’, published in 1864, with reference to ‘A considerable quantity of wine is produced at Borba..’

And so it is to this day with Borba producing around 10 million bottles per year.

The co-op is also renowned for its quality with their very popular Adega de Borba Reserva being a top seller with its iconic label printed on cork.

During my visit I was given a tour of the winery and the cellars by Helena Ferreira, the director in charge of production and quality control. Helena has been implementing an impressive suite of sustainability protocols right across the organisation.

These include training the 300 growers, covering over 2200 hectares of vineyards, to improving energy, water, and waste management. All of this work is to ensure that the one thousand families who rely on Adega de Borba for their living, have confidence that they will be producing wine there in the years and decades yet to come.