The proposal of Carlos Cupeto, professor of the Department of Geosciences of the School of Sciences and Technology of the University of Évora, «Tabernas do Alentejo - art and science», whose motto is "Wine is the only work of art that one can drink" , was one of the winners of the Participatory Budget Portugal (OPP).

In presenting his candidacy, the author justifies the idea, stating that "in the Alentejo there is a lot to do, the product has to be structured as a wine region, many of those who are outside have to be inside (the offer has to be known and accessible ), you have to train people who know how to convey all the history and knowledge around the wine (it is not enough to say a few generalities, the tourists are more and more demanding and want to experience and know everything that is possible, since it is not for tell the dinners with friends), the whole region has to say something, local / regional media have a very important role in creating culture and dissemination and the industry must consider them. The Alentejo, as wine country, is distinguished positively from the other regions, in quantity, quality and tradition. The "taste of this place" where we live is in wine as in no other food ".

With an approved budget of € 72,200 and an expected duration of 12 months, this project aims to "contribute to the citizen's awareness of the cultural importance of wine, namely through the dissemination of useful knowledge and good practices; bring the wine, its culture / tradition and science to the conversation; realization of a small film in each session, with the aim of optimizing the dissemination and perpetuating the event; edition of a bilingual publication, documented with images, that synthesizes the sessions held; development of an online collaborative platform open to all actors and citizens that constitutes a true repository of useful information. "

Maria Fernanda Rollo, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, took part in the Presentation of Winning Projects of OPP - Ciência 2017, held at the Centro Ciência Viva of Estremoz on May 18, "that the Tabernas of Alentejo illustrate how people are becoming aware of the importance of knowledge and how science will be useful for enhancing territories and their endogenous resources ", satisfied that" in this Participatory Budget Alentejo emerges to innovate, using what are its resources and that are not exhausted in this region, "adding that" the great bet and the revolution that happened in the wines in our country in recent years was due in part to the result of the contribution of science and universities through oenologists ".

The OPP is a democratic, direct and universal deliberative process through which people submit investment proposals and choose, through voting, which projects should be implemented in different areas of governance. Through the OPP people can decide how to invest 5 million euros.