FitaPreta’s project begins with António Maçanita's first wine, which would never have happened without the indispensable help of another great presence: David Booth. António and David met at a family dinner, where António made a provocative statement that sparked the beginnings of a great friendship.
History
The wines produced at FitaPreta reflect the character of the Alentejo region with the intention of preserving its culture and local grape varieties. To elevate the Alentejo terroir, FitaPreta faces new challenges and shows the world new paths and new blends. FitaPreta produces wines with an absolute sense of responsibility to love them, and the hope that their aesthetics will be shared in the wine and for life.
When they met, David Booth was a consultant for various wineries and had a philanthropic background dedicated to the protection of wildlife in Kenya and to demining Mozambique. António's provocative statement to David, "the problem of the industry is the consultants", sparked the beginnings of a great friendship.
In the following months, António Maçanita followed David Booth on his consulting visits to various Quintas in order to learn more about vines, viticulture and producers. In 2004, António challenged David Booth to make a wine with him, and although the Englishman refused at first, he eventually agreed.
2004 was also the year they made the first edition of Sexy Tinto, an Alentejo wine that conquered the national and international market thanks to its bold image and unquestionable quality.
For three years, the Fitapreta project vinified their creations in other wineries, taking advantage of excess grapes from Alentejo. In 2007, they moved to Outeiro da Esquila, where they started by producing 70 tons and ended up with a production of 440 tons 10 years later.
In this decade, the Fitapreta project gave birth to very relevant wines: Fitapreta Branco 2007, Tinto Castelão 2010, Baga ao Sol 2013, but above all the Vinho de Talha, in 2010, of which they were pioneers - especially the Branco de Talha - prior to the legislation that currently exists. It was in 2008 that, for the first time in Portugal, a Branco de Tintas was born, a wine to protest the exception regime created by the CVRA to be able to buy 20% of white grapes outside the region.
In 2015, the Fitapreta project made its first contact with what would become its home: the Paço Morgado de Oliveira, a medieval 14th century Paço in Nossa Senhora da Graça do Divor, in Évora. The new winery's land was acquired in 2016 and a year later, this new space was inaugurated with the 2017 harvest.
Continuing to explore the terroir and history of Alentejo, in 2017, António Maçanita found 20 hectares of a vineyard that was over 50 years old. In its vineyards he found: Tinta Carvalha, Alicante Branco, Moreto, Trincadeira das Pratas, among others. This discovery took Fitapreta's project on a deep journey into old Alentejo. In 2018, the collection "Chão dos Eremitas" was born, a tribute to the other Alentejo, where the monocastes produced speak for themselves of this Alentejo of yesteryear.