The Alentejo Regional Winegrowing Commission (CVRA) presented today, in Évora, the new space of the Alentejo Wine Route, with a multimedia and interactive concept, and the aim of increasing wine tourism in the region.

In this space, tourists are invited to travel through the history of wine in the region, the ancestral tradition of Amphora wine, the soils and grape varieties, the sustainability of the region and the various wine tourisms that make up the Alentejo Wine Route.

For Francisco Mateus, president of CVRA, “the launch of this new space conveys CVRA's vision and ambition for the coming years, with the aim of making Alentejo a world reference in the area of ​​wine tourism.”

CVRA already used a space in Évora, operating since 1997, which is more targeted at wine tasting and where it received 7,000 tourists a year, aiming for this new space to grow by 2022 to reach the number of 50,000 tourists a year, and to capture greater recognition by the tourism industry.

Francisco Mateus adds that “since 2014 the Alentejo has received 9 successive distinctions as a wine tourism destination, where the most recent, in November 2019, was from Condé Nast Traveler, the North American magazine for luxury travel and“ life style ”published by Condé Nast, based in New York, which considered Alentejo to be one of the six “Best Wine Regions to Visit in 2020”, so CVRA sees the investment made as the right step to grow in wine tourism, making the region's unique character known of wines. ”

The project started in 2017, involving an investment of 750 thousand euros, which had the support of Turismo de Portugal in the scope of the Support Line for the Tourist Enhancement of the Interior, in the amount of 320 thousand euros, with CVRA having held a tender to present proposals for creating experiences and wines in Alentejo, where Llorente y Cuenca Portugal, based in Lisbon, was selected to develop, monitor and implement the creative and content aspects.

For the architectural design and renovation works for the building, CVRA opted for Alentejo companies, which Francisco Mateus, president of CVRA explains “is due to the guidance that the Commission took on, whenever possible and provided that the appropriate technical skills are evidenced, privilege local suppliers, for reasons related to our commitment to sustainability and environmental quality ”, having chosen the companies Arquitecturar and Yábura, both based in Évora.

The new space of the Alentejo Wine Route is located at Rua 5 de Outubro, nº 88, on the route from Praça do Giraldo to the Cathedral of Évora and the Roman Temple.