1st National Castelão Competition: Adega Palmela wins ‘Best Castelão Wine’ medal

The Vale de Touros Vinhas Velhas Reserva – DO Palmela Red 2019 wine from Adega Cooperativa de Palmela was awarded the ‘Best Castelão Wine’ medal at the 1st National Castelão Competition. The competition took place in Palmela and the awards ceremony was held at the Rota dos Vinhos Mother House. On that occasion, nine wines were honoured with the Gold Medal and 22 wines with the Silver Medal.

Luís Miguel Calha, Councillor for Tourism at the Municipality of Palmela, said that ‘the competition fulfilled its aim of increasing the value of our Castelão grape variety and reaffirmed Palmela as the Motherland of Wines, with our producers showing the country the excellence of their knowledge and their ability to produce wines of immense quality’. Unique in nature, the competition was aimed at wine producers from all over the country with 100% Castelão grapes. The judging panel tested 31 samples, representing the wine regions of the Setúbal Peninsula, Alentejo, Tejo and Lisbon.

As part of the Awards Ceremony, there was a public presentation of the Wine List Preparation Manual, as part of the co-operation project led by the Setúbal Peninsula Regional Development Association ‘Wine Tourism: A Mosaic of Experiences’. At the same time, a Masterclass on the Castelão grape variety was held at the Palmela Municipal Library, which was well attended by the public. The initiative, which was free to attend, covered the promotion of the Castelão grape variety, the identification of its various profiles and the Castelão grape variety in the Setúbal Peninsula wine region and in Portugal, ending with tastings of Castelão wines.

This event took place at the same time as the 19th National Sommelier Competition, a prestigious initiative aimed at honouring Portugal’s Best Sommelier, challenging participants to demonstrate their knowledge of wines, drinks and service. It brought together highly qualified professionals who work in wine service in restaurants, hotels and specialised establishments.

The programme included the Fernando Ferramentas National Competition. The contestants (who work in restaurants, hotels, wine cellars and wine tourism centres), who came from the north to the south of Portugal and, this year for the first time, from the Azores, were selected after completing the course of the same name in the cities where it was held. In the end, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the professionals who stood out the most in the different categories. These initiatives were promoted by the Associação dos Escanções de Portugal and the Municipality of Palmela, with the support of the Associação da Rota de Vinhos da Península de Setúbal, the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal and the ‘Mecenas de Palmela’ Programme. The Regional Tourism Authority of the Lisbon Region and the Hotel and Tourism School of Setúbal were partner organisations.