December 19th (AMSP/CGTN) – – When Wu Zhiwei and his wife Lao Chao Peng visited Portugal in 2013 they fell in love with the country.
A Macao entrepreneur and construction expert, Wu knew more about building offices than blending wine, but when they saw the Quinta da Marmeleira estate 40 minutes from Lisbon with its rolling green vineyards steeped in 500 years of history and culture, they were sold.
“In 2013, after the Belt and Road initiative proposed by President Xi, we came to invest in Portugal, we chose here because of the good relations through Macao.”
“When we arrived here in the Alenquer region it was late summer, and the vineyards were full of grapes, we were so happy, wow, that endless view of grapes, just looking at it makes you happy,” Lao Chao Peng, CEO of Quinta da Marmeleira Wines told CGTN.
The family chose to produce wine partly because 30 years ago they could see the potential for future growth in the wine industry, and partly for the lifestyle.
A new dream matured quickly. Now, that dream is a reality with award-winning wines, but tragedy struck last January when Wu Zhiwei passed away suddenly at age 57. The China-Portugal Chamber of Commerce in Macao called him “a dynamic example of Luso-Chinese relations,” and a “visionary businessman.”
His wife and his daughter Carmen, now run the family business, keeping Wu’s bridge-building legacy alive.
“On the 25th anniversary of the peaceful return of Macao to China, we think that the friendly relationship and close ties between our two countries will continue to develop positively, we are very confident of that,” the CEO of Quinta da Marmeleira Wines expressed her hope.
Nearly 95 percent of all wine consumed in China is red wine and Quinta da Marmeleira produces soft, smooth reds using syrah, castelao and touriga nacional grapes – perfect for the Chinese palette.
Over 300-thousand bottles a year are corked here with 65 percent going to China and Southeast Asia.
Locally, the company employs around 40 people, creating Portuguese wine with a Cantonese accent that is deeply rooted in family and close relations centuries in the making.
This Chinese woman and her daughters, who are making Portuguese wine with a Cantonese accent, are reaping the fruit of deeply-rooted relations between China and Portugal.
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CGTN