João Ventura da Silva (1976 a 2002)

Short profile

• Adega Cooperativa de Borba’s third President
• Profession: Winegrower and Olive Grower.
• Elected to the board when he was 50 years old.
• He had relevant connections in Borba, since he was manager of Banco Português Atlântico (Borba’s branch).

Main events during his mandate:

• João Ventura da Silva started a new investment phase in 1976 with the construction of balloons for wine and brandy, a storage pavilion, and a continuous press. On the other hand, he bought the first automatic wine bottling line with a capacity of 8,000 bottles/hour and acquired other production equipment.

• In 1977 the technician from Junta Nacional do Vinho could not respond to the amount of wine tasting requests, which made Adega Cooperativa de Borba hire a resident enology professional.

• In 1979 the number of employees increased to 43.

• In the same year about 7,000 tons of grapes were delivered, distributed by 188 members.

• New awards from Junta Nacional do Vinho: 1st prize for the best wine (1970 harvest) and several honorable mentions.

• Adega Cooperativa de Borba was also internationally recognized by winning the Honor Diploma at the 28th Foire Internationale Viti-Vinicole in the white and red wine categories (1977 harvest).

After the 80’s…

• During this decade there was an expansion of the Winery’s facilities. Besides, João Ventura da Silva agreed to purchase more production equipment to increase the company’s turnover.

• He also acquired a new automatic bottling line with a production capacity of 8,000 bottles/hour, to raise the productive capacity and also the wine export.

• In 1984, there was a concern to improve the wine quality, so the board approved the “Internal Regulation of Discipline to Quality” which recommended different procedures to be adopted.

• The number of employees increased to 51 in 1981 and, to 88, in 1987.

• New awards for Adega Cooperativa de Borba delivered by Junta Nacional do Vinho: 1st prize in the best red wine and best white wine categories, and the Cup for the best red wine (1983 harvest). Besides, thanks to the 1989 harvest, the company won the Gold Medal of red wine VQPRD category during the “Monde Selection” competition.

From the 90’s…

• This decade was mainly characterized by Adega’s continued expansion. Within the investments, it’s important to highlight the distillery modernization, the acquisition of a new bottle line, as well as, new equipment for the water treatment network, a new press, and a new wine fermentation vats.

• The board also approved the purchase of an urban building located in Largo Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral where, after being remodeled, the “Loja da Adega” opened. On the other hand, a warehouse was acquired, in Rossio de Cima, for the subsidiary materials storage, as well as a plot of land, to build a new cellar for regional wines.

• In 1993, the iconic Montes Claros brand from the Mendonça family was bought. Nowadays it is still available in the market and known for the same high-quality standards from that time.

• At the end of this decade, the construction of a winemaking area began, aimed to be a modern winery equipped with the most modern grape processing equipment.

• In this decade, Adega Cooperativa de Borba counted 70 employees.

• New national and international recognitions, as the Gold Medal in the “Monde Selection” competition for the 1990 harvest VQPRD white wine.