Portugal

PIWI International has kindly invited me to represent them in Portugal to help inform wine growers and winemakers here about PIWI grape varieties, with the aim to increase confidence leading to planting and producing portuguese wines made from these vines.

In addition Portugal has one of the largest numbers of native varieties and research into breeding PIWI vines using these Autoctone varieties as part of a successful PIWI variety would be very important not only for Portugal.

I am an engineer by training having worked in heavy industry, but moving to film and television in the 70s as a sound engineer and later developing products for this industry in my company in Munich.

I and my wife Helga moved to Portugal and started an organic winery in 2001 called Vinhos Cortém. We were certified organic in 2010 and with 4.5 Ha. of vines and 16 different international and portuguese grape varieties, made organic wine until 2019 when we sold the winery. But we are continuing making wine on a small scale with about 2 Ha. In this way, we can continue our passion making wine in our terroir and remain in the wine community here. We welcome all Piwistas to visit us if they are in Portugal!

See details on www.wineeccentrics.com