“Sete Cavaleiros do Castelo” is the name of the wine that the company ArtGilão and Casa Santos Lima will present this Friday, July 12th, at 19 pm, at the event “Tavira, os Dias do Vinho”, which will take place at Rua do Ribeira Pier and Market.
A white, a red and a rosé will be the new proposals developed within the scope of this partnership between the important wine house that has production in this Algarve county and the company from the Paróquias de Tavira, which thus seek to associate an excellent product with the heritage of this city.
«The idea came up over a year ago, when we were looking for new products to introduce into our merchandising lines», explains Father Miguel Neto, parish priest of Tavira and manager of ArtGilão.
"We understand that we have to make known the local products, those that are truly cultural marks of our city and region and wine soon emerged as one of the most interesting to us," says the priest.
«From the very beginning, Casa Santos Lima showed great receptiveness to this project and we started working to make the idea materialize and this “Seven Knights of the Castle” emerged, created with a name that has everything to do with the history of these parishes and the city of Tavira», he adds.
The name refers, in effect, to the time of the Christian reconquest, when Portuguese forces arrived in the Algarve, around 1238.
Tavira was conquered on June 11, 1239 (May 1240, according to Alexandre Herculano or even 1242 according to other sources) by the hand of D. Paio Peres Correia, master of the Order of Santiago and tradition says that this conquest was a retaliation for that Order for the death of seven of its knights in an ambush that they were victims of when they hunted in the site of Antas (Freguesia da Luz).
Since then, these young fighters by their names D. Pedro Pires (Peres or Rodrigues, Commander of the Order of Santiago de Castile), Mem do Vale, Durão (or Damião) Vaz, Álvoro (Álvaro) Garcia (or Garcia Estevam), Estêvão (Estevam) Vaz (Vasques), Beltrão de Caia and another Jewish merchant named Garcia Roiz (or Rodrigues) are part of the city's imagery and legends.
“The image chosen for the label of these wines takes us, precisely, to the Castle and to the Church of Santa Maria, where these knights are believed to be buried”, recalls Father Miguel Neto.
«It was intended that this very strong connection to the heritage existed, not least because ArtGilão was born with the objective of financially exploring all the possibilities that may arise in this parish, in order to apply the revenues generated in the recovery of the religious heritage, which that's what we've been doing», he adds.
The priest's idea is that the wines can be sold, not only in the company's stores, but in other places in Tavira, working as one more business card Of this city.
«What we want is that this wine, which has a very high quality, can be enjoyed by the people of Tavir and by all those who visit us, national or foreign, and that it will be another differentiating element in the proposals that have been developed to increase its attractiveness. of this territory”, he explains and concludes: “Tavira is the nerve center for the defense of the Mediterranean Diet and this product of ours is another complement, in our perspective, which reinforces the importance of promoting these strategies to defend the intangible heritage”.
These wines, made from the Arinto, Crato Branco, Touriga Nacional and Syrah varieties, and classified as Regional Wines of the Algarve, result from manual selection and harvesting processes, followed by winemaking in the cellar.
With very contemporary characteristics and great flavors and aromas, they were created by the team of winemakers at Casa Santos Lima, a family business that has a very wide portfolio of wine (reds, whites, rosé, sparkling, sparkling, light and late harvests). which allows it to have great dynamism in the national and international market.
«The wines produced in Tavira, in the Algarve, although they are a relatively recent bet, have had an excellent reception both in Portugal and abroad. Tavira is a region where the culture of vines and wine is centuries old. However, in recent years and before this Casa Santos Lima project, this activity was largely forgotten, having a very limited expression».
Who says it is José Luis Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva, great grandson of the founder of the House and owner of it.
«Given my great passion for Tavira, its architecture, its gastronomy, its climate and its people, we decided to expand our activity here. Over the past six years we have been strengthening our presence in the region in various projects to promote its wine. When this collaboration with ArtGilão took place, it was with great enthusiasm that we embraced this idea and we are confident that “Os Sete Cavaleiros do Castelo” will contribute to promoting the excellent aptitude and great potential of the region's vineyards and wine».
During the three days that the exhibition “Tavira, the Days of Wine” will take place, this wine can be tasted and purchased at the Casa Santos Lima stand, during the event hours (from 18:00 pm to 24:00 am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 18:00 pm to 23:00 pm).
Afterwards, all those interested can buy the wine at the ArtGilão stores located in the Churches of Santa Maria do Castelo and São Paulo, in Tavira, and can order it through the company facebook page, for shipping anywhere in the world.
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