What started as a family winery expanded into significant olive farming and oil production after a friendly challenge from an uncle to a nephew.
As Esporão celebrated its 50th birthday this year, the Portuguese company added two Gold Awards at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition to its growing collection of accolades.
Ana Carrilho, Esporão’s production director, told Olive Oil Times that the company had won 155 awards for its extra virgin olive oils since 2012.
What appeared to be the mere dream of two friends in 1973, 50 years ago, has grown into an international and generational project.- Ana Carrilho, production director, Esporão
Carrilho ascribed their success to Esporão’s mission: “to make the best products from what nature provides.”
“Esporão’s olive oils aim to adopt the expression of the land they come from, produced exclusively from olives of the Alentejo region, using native varieties,” she explained.
See Also:Producer Profiles“Our team plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and consistency of Esporão’s olive oils, from harvesting olives to the entire production process and finally delivering the olive oils to consumers,” Carrilho added.
She also praised the efforts of the company’s 60 olive farming partners, who “help us preserve the native varieties and the traditional agriculture of the Alentejo.”
In 1950 the company’s current owner, José Roquette, and Joachim Bandeira bought a 1,840-hectare estate in Alentejo, Portugal’s largest olive oil-producing region.
Esporão’s boundaries have been unchanged for centuries – since 1267. “It has unique agricultural conditions: wide temperature variations, seven different types of soil and extraordinary biodiversity,” she said.
Roquette and Bandeira initially planted vineyards, harvesting their first grapes in 1985 and producing their first wines shortly thereafter.
See Also:In Portugal, a Tough Season Ends with Stronger Determination“Esporão’s first two decades are a story of fight, faith and a vision so powerful that it has left indelible marks on the modern history of Portuguese wine,” Carrilho said.
Since then, Esporão’s wines have been exported internationally and have won multiple awards. Carrilho said the estate is now home to 441 hectares of vineyards with 40 grape cultivars. Aragonês, Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional, Antão Vaz, Gouveio and Roupeiro are the predominant local varieties, along with Alicante Bouschet from France.
In 1997, Esporão started writing a new chapter in its story when the company started producing olive oil. Carrilho said it started with Roquette’s uncle challenging him to produce olive oils of the same quality as their wines, and the rest is history.
“Currently, Esporão has 111 hectares of olive groves at Herdade do Esporão and Herdade dos Perdigões in Alentejo and at Quinta dos Murças in the Douro region,” Carrilho said.
Roquette’s son, João, followed in his footsteps by joining the company in 2005. “His vision and strategy have brought internationalization and sustainability to the heart of the company’s culture,” Carrilho said.
See Also:Portugal Enjoys Record-High Off-Year Harvest“Values passed down from generation to generation have contributed to a culture of responsibility, hard work and excellence, which is reflected in everything Esporão does,” she added.
In 2007, Esporão started expanding its organic olive groves, and today 93 hectares are certified organic.
The company’s organic ambitions began when they planted olives at Olival dos Arrives in 2007 with 80 hectares of Arbequina and Cobrançosa trees.
“The name Arrifes derives from where it stands: an area of cliffs with rocky soil, making the olive tree more resilient in a balanced ecosystem rich in biodiversity,” Carrilho said.
This grove was an addition to their organic Galega grove next to the estate’s historical Herdade do Esporão Tower which dates back to the Middle Ages and houses a museum. The company started growing another 9 hectares of Cordovil olive trees in 2019, Carrilho said.
“At Quinta dos Murças, in Douro, the organic olive grove of 15 hectares has around 6,000 olive trees featuring different altitudes, sun exposures, schist soils and the characteristic climate of the Douro Valley,” she said. “This olive grove has Galega and Negrinha de Freixo olive varieties.”
“What appeared to be the mere dream of two friends in 1973, 50 years ago, has grown into an international and generational project,” Carrilho concluded.
More articles on: NYIOOC World, NYIOOC World 2023, organic olive oil
Jun. 25, 2024
Turkish Producer Highlights the Distinctive Qualities of the Native Kilis Olive
The award-winning producers behind Masmana have overcome a range of climatic and socioeconomic challenges to bring their organic Kilis olive oil to the world.
May. 28, 2024
Monte do Camelo Wins Big with Sustainably Grown Native Varieties
The small-scale Portuguese producers earned a Silver Award at the 2024 NYIOOC for a Galega monovarietal. The company focuses on growing native olives sustainably.
Aug. 2, 2023
Education Vital to Success of Turkey’s Olive Oil Sector, Award-Winning Producer Says
After winning 10 awards at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the producers behind Oliva Malia are keen to share the secrets of their success.
Mar. 14, 2024
World Olive Oil Competition 2024 Live Updates
The world’s most prestigious olive oil quality contest is revealing award winners in the Northern Hemisphere division. We are following the results live.
Mar. 27, 2024
Technology Drives the Ambitions of Tunisia’s Largest Olive Oil Producer
The CHO Group was an early adopter of blockchain technology for traceability. Now, they are turning to AI to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
May. 14, 2024
Innovation and Sustainability Yield Winning Results for GangaLupo
Teamwork, the responsible use of resources and innovation underpin the success of the Apulian Coratina monovarietal.
Apr. 24, 2024
Officials Urge Croatia's Tourism Operators to Showcase Award-Winning Olive Oils
Olive growers and millers are being encouraged to showcase their products and processes to the country’s 20 million annual visitors.
Dec. 11, 2023
Small-Scale Farmers Celebrate Big-Time Success in Central California
Richard and Myrna Meisler have turned a passion project into one of California’s most-awarded extra virgin olive oils.