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 fortifi ...
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 wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
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 Ta ...
. 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''.
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 and
Douro Valley 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 lette ...
tradition of
fermenting wine 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, 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 opposing ...
.
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
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