José de Mello Group launches WineStone to boost growth in the wine sector

Investments extend presence to the Douro and Vinho Verde regions

The José de Mello Grupo has set up a new business platform, named WineStone, to strengthen its business operations in the wine sector, thus furthering its ambition to grow in different areas of economic activity.

The decision stemmed from the rapid growth trend displayed by Ravasqueira in the past few years, which led to identifying the wine sector as an area with strong development potential for the José de Mello Group.

As an asset manager, WineStone is now carrying out its first operations with a view to expanding its portfolio: Quinta do Retiro Novo, Krohn, Quinta do Côtto and Paço de Teixeiró.

Following these investments, WineStone now manages wine production assets in Alentejo (Ravasqueira), Douro (Quinta do Retiro Novo and Quinta do Côtto) and Vinho Verde region (Paço de Teixeiró), thus expanding its production and exporting capabilities, entering new markets and new segments. Acquiring the time-honoured brand of Port wine Krohn also enables the entry of WineStone into a new wine category.

WineStone cherishes the ambition of becoming one of the major players in the wine sector in Portugal, under its Executive President, Pedro Pereira Gonçalves, who has led Ravasqueira’s development and market affirmation process in recent years.

In the words of Salvador de Mello, Executive President of the José de Mello Group, “the launch of the new business platform WineStone represents one more step towards achieving our growth ambition. It also constitutes a challenge for us to take on a leading position in the wine sector, as we have done in the other business areas where we operate”.

For Pedro Pereira Gonçalves, “our main goal is to develop a growth strategy that is ambitious, consistent and sustainable, with a long-term perspective, so that we are able to produce and market top-quality wines in all the regions where we operate, with brands that are admired by the consumers of the different sectors in the domestic market, and that have a strong impact in the international markets.”