Banda d’Além

Adelino Martins and Teresa Canas Martins live at Quinta da Estalagem, by the mouth of the Coina River. In 2017, they decided to restore wine production and revive the legendary Bastardinho do Lavradio. They planted a vineyard with the Bastardo, Fernão Pires and Castelão grape varieties. In 2022, they were joined by Virgílio Loureiro, an agronomist with a passion for wine history who became enthusiastic about the opportunity to revive one of the most famous fortified wines that had disappeared decades ago. This is how the Banda d’Além project was born.

To honour the historical and winegrowing richness of the region, Adelino, Teresa and Virgílio also decided to create replicas of its ancient wines, thus revealing the aromas and flavours of the past. From 2023 onwards, replicas appeared of Roman, medieval and modern wines, as well as the wine that CUF factory workers in Barreiro drank in the 20th century, in the dozens of taverns that once existed. Later, a white and a red wine from the 21st-century were added, to please those who find the wines of the past unusual.

They also launched the “Espaço Symposium Banda d’Além”, with the aim of hosting monthly cultural gatherings centred around wine, where participants fill the cellar where the Bastardinho ages, take part in lively sessions and taste wines related to the theme under discussion.

A rewarding adventure that eagerly awaits the release of the first harvest of the reborn Bastardinho do Lavradio. On that day, which draws ever closer, they hope to uplift the self-esteem of the people of Barreiro, Palhais and Lavradio, reminding them that their land was once one of the most important winegrowing regions in Portugal, whose wines enchanted medieval Europe and later travelled aboard caravels to the four corners of the world.