José Maria da Fonseca, also known as JM da Fonseca, is the oldest

table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortif ...

company in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, though some

Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...

houses pre-date it. The family-owned company was founded in 1834 and is based in the village of Azeitão on the

Setúbal Peninsula The Setúbal Peninsula (Portuguese: ) is a peninsula in the Lisbon Region of Portugal. The peninsula is named after one of its larger cities, Setúbal, and is bordered by three bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and southwest, the Tag ...

. It is now in its 7th generation and most of its production is exported internationally. Among its best known wine brands are ''Periquita'' and ''

Lancers A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

''.

History

José Maria da Fonseca started the business in 1834, and the family has maintained it since then. In addition to its vineyards on the Setúbal peninsula, the company operates a number of vineyards in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

and

Douro Valley The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro () is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the ''Comunidade Urbana do Douro'', created in 2004. It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. D ...

regions. The company's winery based in the Alentejo town of

Reguengos de Monsaraz Reguengos de Monsaraz () is a municipality in Évora District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,828, in an area of 464.00 km2. The City of Reguengos de Monsaraz proper has a population of 7,308. The present Mayor is José Calixto, el ...

, uses the ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

tradition of

fermenting wine The process of fermentation in winemaking turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeasts transform sugars present in the juice into ethanol and carbon dioxide (as a by-product). In winemaking, the temperature and spe ...

in clay pots along with modern technology.

Brands

The company introduced its ''Periquita'' wine brand in 1850. The brand was initially produced from the Castelão variety of grape at one of the company's estates, Cova da Periquita. Unusual for the time, Periquita wine was bottled rather than sold in bulk. It went on to gain international recognition and by 2016 over 1.5 million bottles of the brand were being produced. A related brand of aged wine, ''Periquita Reserva'', was introduced in the early 2010s. The ''Lancers'' wine brand, a

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

, was introduced by JM da Fonseca in the United States in 1944. The company was looking to capitalize on wine drinking habits American soldiers had developed in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. JM da Fonseca sells

Moscatel de Setúbal Muscatel ( ) is a type of wine made from muscat grapes. The term is now normally used in the United States to refer to a fortified wine made from these grapes rather than just any wine made from these grapes. This fortified muscatel became pop ...

wine under the ''Alambre'' brand.

References

External links

* (in Portuguese)
Official website
(in English) Food and drink companies established in 1834 Wineries of Portugal Portuguese brands 1834 establishments in Portugal {{Portugal-stub