Hoboken, NJ, October 1, 2024 – Portuguese powerhouse Esporão Group has new leadership spearheading and expanding its presence in the U.S.
Relaunched with a new team, a new name, and an expanded mission, U.S. importer Cultivamos Inc. (“We Cultivate” in Portuguese) is responsible for U.S. distribution and marketing for all three Esporão Group estates: Herdade do Esporão (Alentejo), Quinta do Ameal (Vinho Verde), and Quinta dos Murças (Douro), as well as the company’s famed collection of world-class extra virgin olive oils.
Cultivamos is led by industry veterans Ben Carson-Brown (pictured) in the role of president and CEO, and Lisbon-based Rui Abecassis, Director of Business Development, Wines & Olive Oil.
Priorities include renewed emphasis on Esporão Group’s super-premium wines, retailing for $25 and up, and on the company’s growing portfolio of Portuguese extra virgin olive oils. Heightened focus will be placed on Esporão’s place at the heart of Portuguese winemaking and agriculture, and on the company’s role as one of Europe’s leading innovators in the fields of organic, sustainable winegrowing and eco-tourism.
Carson-Brown joins Cultivamos after 15 years at Olé & Obrigado as General Manager. Abecassis, founder of Obrigado Vinhos and more recently a partner at Olé & Obrigado, is known industry-wide for his pioneering role in introducing U.S. consumers to a new level of super-premium quality Portuguese wines and olive oils.
João Roquette, chairman of Esporão’s board of directors, said “Ben and Rui have a proven history of success breaking into new markets and generating enthusiasm and increased sales for Portuguese wines. Equally important to us, they share Esporão’s ethos and deep commitment to sustainability and stewardship.”
One of the U.S. wine industry’s foremost advocates for Portuguese wines, Carson-Brown foresees significant potential for growth in the U.S., both for Portuguese wines in general and Esporão Group in particular. “With its hundreds of indigenous grape varieties and millennia of winemaking tradition, Portugal’s diverse offerings are backed by the country’s rich winemaking and culinary heritage and spectacular tourism opportunities. All are on display at the three Esporão properties, where American tourism has become a force, and enthusiasm for the wines comes home with these visitors,” notes Carson-Brown, adding: “The Cultivamos portfolio spans three of Portugal’s finest regions. It’s an exciting hand to be dealt!”
For more about Cultivamos, visit www.cultivamos.com
Esporão Group: Founded by José Roquette and Joaquim Bandeira in 1973, Esporão is one of Portugal’s premier wine companies, with wines sold in 50 countries. Esporão is also an eco-wine tourism pioneer, starting with its namesake Herdade do Esporão property in Alentejo. In 2008, Esporão acquired Quinta dos Murças in the Douro, followed by Sovina Craft Beer in 2018 and the Quinta do Ameal estate in Vinho Verde in 2019. Tourism opportunities exist at all three wine estates. Esporão’s portfolio also includes estate-produced olive oils. https://www.Esporão.com
