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Frade Family History
From Alexandre Frade's passion to the founding of Talha de Frades — a journey through the ancient tradition of Alentejo's clay-amphora wine.
Alexandre Frade
Born in Marmelar, in the municipality of Vidigueira, Alexandre Frade, in 1966/67, at the age of 12, began to help his father — a small farmer in his land who, after working as a seasonal emigrant, had bought a tavern on Biscainha street in Beja.
Later, alongside some of his friends and other producers, closely following the important work they were doing to preserve Clay-Amphora Wine, particularly with the organisation of VITIFRADES, a festival dedicated to this ancestral wine, he committed himself to launching a project that would commercially value clay-amphora wine, helping to support the economic foundations for its preservation.
After some experiments started in 2011 on the estate where he lives, and later in 2014 after enrolling in the Higher Professional Technological Course (CTSP) in Viticulture and Oenology at IPBeja, the conditions were set to begin fulfilling the promise made to his VITIFRADES friends — continuing his passion while honouring the memory of his Father.
In the second half of 2015, ACV — VINHOS DE TALHA was launched, and in 2023, after a rebranding, it became known as TALHA DE FRADES.
The vision behind TALHA DE FRADES is based on 3 fundamental aspects:
- The deep millennial cultural roots of clay-amphora wine production and consumption across various Alentejo territories, particularly the region of Vidigueira, Vila de Frades, Cuba and Alvito.
- The growth of "wine tourism" in our time is a reality. Clay-amphora wine can be a great reason for foreigners to visit us, and also for the Portuguese to come to our winery.
- Clay-amphora wine cannot be a mass-market product — it will not compete on price, but on quality, and so can be an opportunity for small producers.
So we set our objectives:
- Characterise, consolidate and certify this winemaking method used by the Romans more than 2000 years ago.
- Economically valorise this product, with added value for producers in the Alentejo region.
- Promote clay-amphora wine as a product, increasing production and ensuring fair remuneration for everyone involved in the production process, particularly small producers.