First edition of Aqua Wine Fest was a success

The first edition of this event entirely dedicated to the wines and waters of the Alto Tâmega and Barroso region, held on October 6 and 7 at Largo da Feira in Valpaços, exceeded all expectations.

Over the two days, the Aqua Wine Fest brought together 25 wine exhibitors and three water companies from the region, as well as musical entertainment and the debut of the Banda Musical de Loivos project “Nove Aldeias, Um Povo” (Nine Villages, One People), made up of half a hundred musicians from the band and a community choir of 100 people from nine villages in the region. Local gastronomy was not left out of this initiative, which celebrated the best that Alto Tâmega e Barroso has to offer.

All the stands, as well as all the visitors, were given a book, the “Aqua Wine Book”, which lists the wines and waters that took part in the event, a document that will now be distributed throughout the region’s restaurants. It should be noted that these same wines and waters will be promoted on the CIMAT stand at the next fairs where it will be present, namely Xantar in Ourense, INTUR in Valladolid and BTL – Lisbon Tourism Exchange.

The official opening session was attended by the Mayor of Valpaços, Amílcar Almeida, the President of the Alto Tâmega e Barroso Intermunicipal Community (CIMAT), Alberto Machado, the First Executive Secretary of CIMAT, Ramiro Gonçalves, the President of the Trás-os-Montes Regional Wine Commission, Francisco Pavão, and the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Isabel Ferreira.

The audience included mayors and other members of the executive of the other CIMAT municipalities, members of the CIMAT Intermunicipal Assembly and members of the CIMAT Strategic Council for Intermunicipal Development.

Number of visitors exceeded expectations

According to CIMAT’s First Executive Secretary, this event served as an “integrated promotion”, which could not have had a more satisfactory outcome. For Ramiro Gonçalves, the first edition of this initiative, which combined water and wine, “was a huge success” and “the feedback from the producers who took part could not have been better”.

For the two days of the event, 1,300 glasses were made available for the wine tastings, but these were sold out on the second day, hours before the end of the initiative, and it is estimated that around 3,500 visitors passed through the Largo da Feira de Valpaços.

The Aqua Wine Fest was organized by CIMAT, with the support of the Municipality of Valpaços and the Trás-os-Montes Regional Wine Commission.