Visit Alto Tâmega e Barroso

For the second year running, the Aqua Wine Fest exceeded all the expectations that the organisation had set for it. The event, which took place on 28 and 29 June at Alameda do Tabolado in Chaves, counted 6,446 tastings.

The time set for the opening ceremony (5pm on 28 June) predicted the worst scenario for this festival, with rain making its presence felt and creating a bit of a waiting period, but it actually ended up “blessing” it. As night fell, the heavy clouds dissipated and the weather provided the perfect setting for a good time outdoors.

The opening session was chaired by the Secretary of State for Local Administration and Spatial Planning, Hernâni Dias, accompanied by the Mayor of Chaves, Nuno Vaz and the President of the Alto Tâmega e Barroso Intermunicipal Community (CIMAT), Fernando Queiroga.

All of them recognised the importance of this event, which brought together water and wine in an integrated promotion of the Alto Tâmega e Barroso region. The Mayor of Chaves highlighted the quality of the wines produced in the region, many of which have won awards, and where the municipality of Valpaços stands out due to the number of producers it has, and the renown that the region’s waters already enjoy. He added that “the idea of organising a water and wine festival is only too late”, as these are two extremely important resources for the development of the region.

“That’s what this event is for: for people to come, taste and take away. These are dividends that stay with our farmers,” emphasised Fernando Queiroga, who also took advantage of the Secretary of State’s presence to address some demands to him with a view to greater cohesion in the northern region.

He [the Secretary of State] congratulated the organisation on the investment made in the Aqua Wine Fest. “We have to praise this type of initiative for its ability to better project products abroad, at a national level, for the region as well, and possibly abroad [referring to neighbouring Spain],” said Hernâni Dias.

The final balance of the event is very positive. “We exceeded our objectives. We wanted to double the numbers of the previous edition and we actually exceeded them. More than 3,000 people passed through the event site, many families, many residents, a lot of young people and even some tourists and visitors, especially from Spain and France. Even more important than the number of visitors who came to the event is the total number of tasting vouchers that the producers gave us: 6,446 vouchers to be precise, plus the bottles that the producers managed to sell directly to visitors and all the networking that was established, both with them and with the catering trade,” said Ramiro Gonçalves, CIMAT’s First Executive Secretary, noting that towards the end of the festival some producers were running low on bottles (also a very positive indicator).

“We’ll be holding the usual debriefing meeting with the 27 wine producers and the three water companies in the region in a few days’ time. We want to hear their feedback and hope that we can count on their presence again at the next edition, as well as that of more wine producers in the region,” added Ramiro Gonçalves.

It should be remembered that this was a CIMAT initiative, in partnership with the Municipality of Chaves and the Trás-os-Montes Regional Wine Commission.