DFJ VINHOS SA : The New Portugal, Create Wines that People Enjoy

DFJ VINHOS was created in 1998, has 250 ha of vineyards, mostly in the Lisbon region. In 2008, ten years on from its foundation, DFJ Vinhos is proud of how far it has come: the Portuguese company holding one of the largest shares of the British market, equivalent to the export of one and a half million bottles annually. In just these few short years, the company has had a global impact in an increasingly competitive sector and now exports some 90% of its production, representing some 5.4 million bottles, the overwhelming majority targeting the medium segment with a highly competitive pricing strategy.

Eng. José Neiva Correia is the owner of the company and the chief winemaker, producing wines since 1974. José Neiva Correia had two training ports : Gesenheim in Germany and Bordeaux in France. This allowed him to discover different methods of production, to compare them and to be inspired later to make his own wines. Today, he is still a consultant for four competing companies (50 million liters).

At all times, José Neiva Correia, a descendant of several generations of winegrowers, has followed the family tradition. However, he has never stopped doing research, inventing ways to modernize his work and improve the quality of wines, or creating solutions for winemakers from here and elsewhere. His products respond to modern issues, both from the point of view of consumers and producers.

For 35 years, he worked with the engineer Octavio Pato, one of the best Portuguese winemakers in the 60s, 70s and 80s. With this experience and his laboratory work, José Neiva Correia learned how to analyze wine, water, earth, leaves, etc., and all this has allowed him to deepen his knowledge. He is particularly distinguished thanks to a patent he has filed for a method of disinfecting corks.

The climate in the Lisboa (Lisbon) wine region is temperate, soft, with rain and humidity during the appropriate season. However the many valleys and hills in this region give rise to the most diverse microclimates. The quality and characteristics of the soil also vary leading to different terroirs. Finally, the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean moderates the climate so that there is little variation in temperature, with moderate Winters and Summers, and the nocturnal dew leads to regular maturation.

The 200 hectares of vineyard belonging to Rui Abreu Correia, Herds., (RAC) in the Lisbon region, are prepared for mechanical grape picking (12 to 15 ha/day), in order to avoid the Equinox (September 21st), when 90% rain is predicted.

In the RAC vineyards the plants are fed with organic material produced from domestic residue. All this material is tested for heavymetals. The nutrition of the vines is done in a rational way without excesses or deficiencies. The vine’s needs dictate the dosage of water and nutrients conceded.

The final result is high quality production well above the average production in Portugal.

All the wine is made in accordance with the client’s wishes and the demands of the market in matters of taste. This results from 20 years of partnerships with foreign distributors, namely the British market, the most demanding and difficult of world markets.

DFJ uses only French oak barrels bought from Seguin Moreau and restores them in its own cooperage.

Quinta da Fonte Bela – Cathedral of the Wine

Located in Vila Chã de Ourique – Cartaxo, 80 km north of the city of Lisbon, it is a unique centennial property. Most of the buildings belong to the so-called “Cast-iron architecture” used in the second half of the 19th century by the followers of Eiffel. All the facilities were designed by engineers of the atelierof Eiffel, who at the time were in Portugal to design public works, such as the Santa Justa elevator in Lisbon and the D. Luís bridge in Porto. The owner of the Quinta at the time (António Francisco Ribeiro Ferreira) took advantage of the presence of these engineers and commissioned the plans of what would become the center of his agricultural activity. The first building came to be the cellar completed in 1897. The exterior architecture is also unique in Portugal because it is characteristic of southern France and Balearic Islands that were certainly the origin of engineers.

Also known as the Cathedral of Wine, Quinta da Fonte Bela is composed of several buildings, among which we find the headquarters of the DFJ where are the offices, a vinification center, a bottling line, warehouses, a cellar with capacity for 9.3 millions of liters, cooperage, laboratory and living room. All in a total of 17,197 m ² and a covered area of 8,063 m ² .

DFJ WINES received 564 awards in 2019 including 38 trophies and 197 gold medals. Since 2010 we won 3145 awards.

“The Eng. José Neiva Correia, owner and chief winemaker of the company, stated that: “We are very proud because it is an excellent recognition of the effort of our working group that every day strives to get the best price and quality in all our wines. They aren’t an end in themselves, but they are a strong recognition of our work, helping those who work with us around the world to get the message to their customers of the excellence of our work.”

Very recently, DFJ VINHOS SA has joined Singapore Awards 2020 and win 16 Gold Medals and 4 Silver Medals, DFJ Wines are indeed the best quality wines.

PORTADA Winemakers Selection white 2019 – LISBOA REGIONAL WINE