QUATRO CRAVOS
Quatro Cravos produces high quality wines with Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) Bairrada and Geographical Identification (GI) Beira Atlântico.
Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos manages the wine production of Adega Cravo, Adega Original and PositiveWine, adding wine tourism activities and providing spaces for private and corporate events.
The vineyards grow in two different kinds of soil, the clay, loam and limestone soils and sandy soils of varying degrees of grain with moderate clay content.
As a result of the type of soil in the region, the wines made are distinguished, balanced and with aromatic sophistication inland while light and lively in the coastland.
The brands are presented in the market with the seal “Quatro Cravos” as a commitment to quality assurance and to assume the company's institutional responsibility for its products.
HISTORY
Martinho da Silva Cravo, founder of Adega do Cravo
Father Manuel Pinto de Aguiar, a native of Vila Boa de Quires de Marco de Canavezes, took over as parish priest of the church of São Bartolomeu do Troviscal in the year 1722. The priest was Sebastiana Pinto da Mota's maternal uncle and his niece came to live with him in Troviscal, marrying Manuel da Fonseca Carvalho from Póvoa do Carreiro on 31 August 1732. The uncle/priest was well connected at the time and supported the young couple, with Manuel da Fonseca Carvalho being promoted to lieutenant in 1741 and once again to captain in 1755. This was a position of great prestige in the society of the region and placed the family at the top of the social hierarchy, in addition to guaranteeing considerable financial security.
The couple's youngest child, José da Mota Carvalho, married Bárbara Joaquina dos Santos in 1770 and it this original branch that the Cravo family joined upon the 1906 marriage of Martinho da Silva Cravo to Maria Rosa Domingues Martins, the daughter of Sebastião da Mota Domingues Gala, a farmer with extensive experience in the art of winemaking and a winecellar made up of two dozen casks of wine. The first winery in the Cravo branch, “Adega Cravo”, was built in 1911 with a capacity of four mills and equipped with the most modern equipment at the time. The casks of wine would leave the winery in ox-drawn carts that travelled along the road to the Boco stream, where they were loaded on to Moliceiro boats for delivery to their destinations in the riverside regions of Furadouro and Ovar. The success of the business and the large amounts of income involved resulted in the founder, Martinho Cravo, falling into an irresponsible lifestyle and neglecting the vineyards, which ended up compromising his economic potential and gave rise to the slow decline of the farm and the winery.
Despite the difficulties, the winery remained in the family for another two generations until the great-grandson, Alberto Cravo, founded “Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos, Lda” in 2014 as a means of modernising and restructuring the business.
DESENVOLVIMENTO
The merger with the company PositiveWine and the construction of the Adega Original allowed Sociedade Quatro Cravos to take its definitive form with activities extended to the viticulture, wine-growing, wine tourism and provision of spaces for holding events.
Entrepreneur Alberto Cravo
With a view to gaining technical skills and enhancing the standard of quality of the company´s wines, “Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos, Lda” acquired a stake in the company Positivewine, Lda. in 2015, with the winemaking side of the business being entrusted to the experience of oenologist Nuno Bastos.
In 2016, “Adega Original” was built due to the fact the premises of the old “Adega Cravo” provided no room for growth. To complement production from the old grape vines, clay-limestone land was acquired on which to plant new vines, thereby expanding the operation and ensuring consistency in the production of top-quality still and sparkling wines.
The two companies merged in late 2021 with the incorporation of PositiveWine into the assets of “Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos, Lda.”, while “Adega Cravo” was incorporated into “Adega Original”, thereby enabling the company to take on its definitive form with activities extended to the areas of grape-growing, wine-making and wine tourism.
“Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos, Lda.” is committed to implementing a combination of modern professional management and the traditional winemaking values of the Cravo family to produce authentic wines under the “Pé de Ganso”, “Original”, “Flutt” and “Positivo” brands, from grapes harvested at the vineyards located in Bairrada, in the villages of São Lourenço do Bairro, Ancas, Amoreira da Gândara and Troviscal.
TODAY
Steering Committee: Aniceto Santos, Nuno Santos, Alberto Cravo, Manuel Coelho
The first concern of the company was to keep intact the legacy of the Cravo family concerning the work on the vineyeards, interfering the least amount possible in the production stage. A decision was made to only keep the production of the traditional grape varieties of Bairrada.
Ancorada nesse saber ancestral, a empresa assentou o desempenho na qualidade e dedicação dos seus recursos humanos, no acerto no perfil dos produtos, na escolha cuidada dos mercados, respeitando o meio envolvente e na definição clara dos processos estratégicos e operacionais.
A “Sociedade Agrícola Quatro Cravos, Lda.” assume o compromisso de fazer a comunhão entre a gestão profissional moderna e os valores vinhateiros tradicionais da família Cravo para produzir vinhos autênticos com as marcas “Pé de Ganso”, “Barrelo”, “Original”, “Positivo”, “Flutt” e “Vivo” a partir das uvas colhidas nas parcelas de vinha localizadas na Bairrada, nas povoações de São Lourenço do Bairro, Ancas, Amoreira da Gândara e Troviscal.
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