Santarém will be the stage for the 2024 Portuguese Wine Tourism Award

The APENO / Ageas Seguros Portuguese Wine Tourism Award (2024) will take place on May 24, 2024, from 6pm, at Quinta dos Anjos, in Santarém. As its name suggests, its main sponsor is the well-known insurance company, and is also sponsored by the Regional Tourism Entity of Alentejo and Ribatejo; Santarém City Council; the Wine Cities Network; and also from recognized companies such as the Amorim Group, Schott Zwiesel; Alug’Aqui, Gifts4Wine, Biosphere, Abreu Advogados and YonWine. Finally, it also has the institutional support of the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho and will have EXAME magazine as its media partner.

«The first edition of this award in 2022 took place in Lisbon, but one of APENO’s objectives is to decentralize whenever possible, to generate a flow of people and publicize the potential of our national regions. Therefore, in the second year it was held in Alentejo, in Redondo; and now it is with great joy that we hold the event in Ribatejo, in Santarém», stated the President of APENO, Maria João de Almeida. «As happened last year, our party will have many new and unusual surprises, it will be an out-of-the-box event, where professionals in the field and other guests, regardless of whether they take home a prize, will have the opportunity to mingle, to be surprised and have fun», he concludes.

Ageas Seguros, which has been supporting this award gala since its first edition, reaffirms its enthusiasm for the sector, increasingly asserting itself as the insurer for Wine Tourism companies: „It is indeed relevant for Ageas Seguros to be part of this project since its first edition. Supporting the best in Wine Tourism in Portugal is an honor for us, coupled with the fact that we are contributing to making it a protected, safe, sustainable, and inclusive sector. I emphasize the importance of investing in business protection by providing, at no cost, the Prevention and Risk Analysis (PAR) service, which allows assessing the risks of companies and acting on their prevention”, says Hugo Julião, Marketing Channel and Digital Manager of Ageas Portugal Group.

Located 5 kilometers from the historical center of Santarém, Quinta dos Anjos was the chosen property to host the National Wine Tourism Award. This villa is not a wine producer, but it is a traditionally Ribatejo rural tourism, nestled in its 130 hectares, of which 50 are covered with pine and cork forests, offering visitors a unique landscape. On its grounds, it also has a chapel, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Anjos, from the 13th century, with a worship license, allowing the celebration of Catholic weddings. The houses and the chapel are integrated into an area surrounded by centuries-old trees.

„It is with immense satisfaction that we receive in this municipality an award of great importance, recognizing the leading companies in the Wine Tourism sector, an industry that has gained prominence both nationally and internationally. We are confident that everyone will enjoy exploring our region and tasting the best enogastronomy of what is the National Capital of Gastronomy and Wine City 2024,” says Ricardo Gonçalves, Mayor of Santarém, which, along with Almeirim, Alpiarça, and Cartaxo, were elected Wine City 2024.

Meanwhile, the Alentejo and Ribatejo Regional Tourism Entity, which for the second consecutive year joins APENO in this event, also expresses satisfaction at once again being able to draw attention to its territory: „Wine tourism is gaining greater strength in Ribatejo, with new projects and a dynamism felt in the wineries and producers, combined with the high quality of Tejo wines. That is also why, from the outset, we urged APENO to bring the 2024 edition of the National Wine Tourism Award to Ribatejo, which this year is also Wine City in our country” says José Santos, President of the Alentejo and Ribatejo Regional Tourism Entity.

Given that the Ribatejo region is a producer of wines of recognized quality, CVR Tejo has also embraced the initiative with great enthusiasm, being responsible for the welcome drink, which will be served before the gala at Quinta dos Anjos. „One of the priority objectives defined by the Tejo wine region is to work together with the Tejo wine route and our producers to enhance wine tourism in Ribatejo. This event will be an excellent moment to promote our wines and showcase the work done in wine tourism. We are very happy with this partnership and ready to welcome the award guests with open arms” says the president of the Tejo Wine Commission, Luís de Castro.

Fifteen Awarded Categories

The APENO / Ageas Seguros 2024 National Wine Tourism Award will thus reward Portuguese businesses/projects that have distinguished themselves as successful cases, framed within the following fifteen categories: Best Wine Tourism of Portugal; Best Professional; Best Stay; Best Restaurant; Best Chef; Best Sommelier; Best Tasting Room; Best Tourism Company; Best Inclusive Project; Best Sustainable Project; Best Store; Best Art and Culture; Best Innovation and Culture; Best Hospitality; and Best Urban Wine Tourism.

Voting is conducted online and will take place from May 1st to 19th, through a specially designed digital platform, where each juror will vote in each of the existing categories.

The panel of over 250 jurors includes recognized wine and tourism journalists, official wine and tourism bodies (Regional Wine Commissions and Regional Tourism Entities), chefs, sommeliers, and even APENO associates (official bodies will vote in different regions, while industry professionals and associates will vote for people and projects outside their own). Nominees and winners will be announced during the event in Santarém.

It’s worth noting that APENO was founded in February 2021 with the aim of organizing and supporting the development of Wine Tourism, a sector without official definition, legislation, or numbers; and since its establishment, it has worked to alert the Government to this need. Its already extensive list of associates includes some of the largest wine-producing companies (which already represent over 80% of national wine production), travel and tourism agencies, hotels, and wine restaurants.