The Azores Wine Company was founded on April 3rd, 2014, by the partners António Maçanita, Filipe Rocha and Insula Vinus, Lda. The story of three people profoundly connected to the Azores who crossed paths by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, brought together by a passion to which they dedicate a significant part of their lives: wine and gastronomy. Amongst the several projects they are involved in, we find wine production in Pico, the recovery of an endangered grape variety, as well as the promotion of the Azorean wine and gastronomy. In 2010, António Maçanita began, along with the S. Miguel Agricultural Development Services, the winemaking work of the Terrantez do Pico grape variety. Unique in the world, this nearly extinct caste reveals a surprising freshness, mineral quality and salinity. The small production of this identity and authenticity filled wine, travels to several countries and becomes available to some of the best wine shops and top restaurants. The Azores come in big! Afterwards, in 2013, there was a joint venue on Pico island, put together by Fita Preta wines and Insula Vinus, in order to produce a wine based on one more autochthon grape variety of the Region: Arinto dos Açores. The team work, the friendship and the common vision to bring back to the Azores, Pico island in particular, the notoriety of past times challenged them into a new project. This is how the Azores Wine Company was born and in 2014, the first year, it was already producing 10.000 bottles. The single varieties white wines Arinto dos Açores and Verdelho O Original of the Rare Grapes Collection represent more than half the production. However, the red and rose wines are also quite surprising. The first Azorean sparklings are also a part of this story. It was made in 2011 by António Maçanita in the Terrantez do Pico project (in S. Miguel island) and in 2014 the first Arinto dos Açores sparkling, already under Azores Wine Company signature. Lastly, there is the work already being developed in the fortified wines domain, in search of the famous Pico wines that travelled the world over 400 years ago. The Azores Wine Company is recovering about 100 hectares of vineyard on the island of Pico, and will soon become the largest private producer in the Azores. Beyond the vineyards themselves, the company is connected to about twenty local winegrowers. On the medium term, the company will come to produce about 150.000 bottles a year, highlighting the excellence of the autochthonous grape varieties of the Region, namely the Arinto dos Açores, Terrantez do Pico, Verdelho and Saborinho. The rose and red production will also be important because the Azorean terroir brings them and a fresh profile that meets the new worldwide preferences.
