Pure chance brought Brenda to Quinta do Convento de São Pedro das Águias and the Kranemann Wine Estates team. Brenda had plans for an adventure abroad, but the unusual worldwide circumstances of the last two years kept her at home in Portugal. After her first contact with Kranemann Wine Estates and Quinta do Convento de São Pedro das Águias, her relationship with the team and Estate blossomed. So much so that she's already on target for her fourth harvest with the team. "Well, I liked it so much, and I just ended up staying put!". We present Brenda, the youngest member of our winemaking team.
It all started when Brenda was finishing her Master's degree at the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro University in Vila Real. She needed to do her final internship. After meeting Susete Melo, the Head of Viticulture and Oenology at Kranemann Wine Estates, she had the opportunity to participate in her first harvest and follow the activities at the winery. "Who would have guessed? I love making Port wine, although it's not exactly my favourite wine. I prefer table wines, especially white wine", she says.
Brenda studied biology in Faro and fell in love with the world of wine thanks to the tastings she did with her friends. Winemaking became the primary focus of her learning, another step in the journey that brought Brenda to the Douro Valley. Author Miguel Torga described the region as a "geological poem." I wasn't familiar with this region, and I fell in love with the breathtaking scenery right away," she says, always smiling.
Who would have guessed? A young person from Vila Nova de Milfontes in the Alentejo, Brenda studied in the Algarve and fell in love with the Douro Valley. There's something the Douro Valley can't give her. "We've got the River Távora in the valley, but it's not the same. Sometimes I miss the sea…". Fortunately, the sea is never far in Portugal with its long coast. In time Brenda will head off on dream trips to Australia, New Zealand or the States to expand her winemaking. Brenda will take with her experiences and memories of the Douro Valley, its landscape and wines.
