Adega Mayor is located in the Campo Maior region of Portugal’s Alentejo, running immediately against the country’s border with Spain. It was founded under the direction of Commander Manuel Rui Azinhais Nabeiro, noted Portuguese entrepreneur, philanthropist, and regional leader who was born and raised in the region of Campo Maior and whose vision was to create a winery that celebrated and elevated the unique viticultural heritage and terroir of his home region of Portugal. Nabeiro, whose initial entrepreneurial success was achieved through his company, Nabeiro-Delta Cafés Group, served twice as the mayor of Campo Maior and has received multiple civil honors both from the President of Portugal (Commander of the Civil Order of Agriculture, Industrial and Commercial Merit, Industrial Class, and Commander of the Order of Prince Henry) and the King of Spain (Commendation of the Order of Isabella the Catholic). The first of Adega Mayor’s vines were planted in 1997 with the winery itself opening in 2007 and the first bottlings taking place that same year. The winery itself was designed by famous Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, whose striking and naturally-inspired design was intended to coexist in harmony with the landscape itself while at the same time elevating the wine heritage and profile of the Alentejo region. The stated mission of Adega Mayor is as follows: “It is the mission of Adega Mayor to celebrate Portuguese life and culture through its wines and its people, with a commitment to leave the land to future generations in a better condition than we found it.”
Adega Mayor sits on a 350 hectare (approximately 865 acre) estate in the Alto Alentejo region of Portugal, in the Campo Maior municipality, close to the Spanish border. The estate occupies a space immediately south of the Serra de São Mamede mountain range, on a landscape composed of riparian galleries, holm oak groves, and agricultural fields. The soil composition of the vineyards is largely granitic due to proximity to the Serra de São Mamede mountain range, but also includes fairly large swaths of clay-rich limestone and sandy-loam. The land of Adega Mayor is divided into two primary sections, the Argamassas Estate where the winery itself is located and the nearby Godinha Estate. The Argamassas Estate features clay-rich limestone soils and is focused on the production of red varietals such as Trincadeira, Castelão, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, and white varieties such as Antão Vaz and Verdelho. The Godinha Estate features more granitic and sandier soil composition and is better suited to the cultivation of varietals such as Aragonez, Trincadeira, Castelão, Alicante Bouschet, Roupeiro and Arinto.
Created out of the singular vision of an individual man, Adega Mayor exemplifies the desire of its founder to create a winery that helped to preserve the viticultural heritage of his own particular area of the Alentejo, while at the same time adopting practices and creating infrastructure that contribute to the ecological sustainability and economic prosperity of his own beloved community where he had lived his entire life.
