The Alentejo Wine Route will change its facilities in Évora and offer new, more interactive content thanks to an investment from the Alentejo Regional Winegrowing Commission.

The project is the result of a CVRA application approved by Turismo de Portugal, through the Valorizar - Tourism Support Program for the Interior.

"We want to change the paradigm that we have used at our Wine Route facilities", which have been "another wine tasting space", transforming them into a "more modern and interactive space" using multimedia, explains the president of the CVRA, Francisco Mateus.

The investment, whose first works have already begun, involves the relocation of the Alentejo Wine Route, from a building near the Garcia de Resende Theater to another on the city's tourist route, at Rua 5 de Outubro, near Giraldo Square , the Cathedral and the Roman Temple.

"We are positioning the route in the 'heart' of Évora and, therefore, we will gain much more visibility" and have a "much more accessible space, bigger and with new proposals of contents".

According to Francisco Mateus, the new facilities will provide information on the history of Alentejo wines, traditions and characteristics of the region in terms of soils, climate, grape varieties and the environment.

The work that has been developed by CVRA in terms of sustainability is another of the themes in focus, and the wine tourism component is also highlighted.

"We look at wine tourism as being a product beyond wine and this new space will have a strong bet in this field to help spread the 65 producers adhering to the Wine Route and who end up being the main actors of the Wines of Alentejo," he said.

On the ground floor of the building, visitors will be able to "scent some of the grape varieties, taste, watch movies about wines and search the region's wine tourism units through an interactive map," he said.

"We will also have a first floor, more oriented to hosting events, ours or the producers, training and tastingcourses", added Francisco Mateus.

The objective of the project, he emphasized, is that "people know the Alentejo better" and contribute to "increase the number of people who visit the producers", who have been betting more and more on wine tourism.

"In 2007, the wine tourism units in the Alentejo had about 50 thousand visitors, but 10 years later we were already in the 150 thousand. This means that there is interest on the part of tourists and that the producers understand wine tourism as a complementary product to the wine, "he said.

Created in 1989, CVRA certifies, controls and protects DOC Alentejo and Regional Alentejano wines and is responsible for its promotion in the national market and in international target markets.