The Fitapreta team was first formed by the young Portuguese winemaker António Maçanita and the experienced English consultant and viticulturist David Booth with the launch of their first wine, Preta, in 2004. In 2008, the team is strengthened with Sandra Sárria who, in 2015, was invited by António Maçanita to embrace the Fitapreta project, as a partner.
Currently, the Fitapreta Vinhos team is led by the two winemakers António and Sandra. Together they form a passionate team dedicated to wine, to the recovery of grape varieties and to an old way of making wine.
Fitapreta was awarded Producer of the Year 2020 by Revista de Vinhos, an award for the whole team that reflects their spirit of reinvention and determination, always present since the beginning.
Sandra Sárria saw Fitapreta Vinhos grow from a very early stage and supported António Maçanita and David Booth, taking on commercial, manager, administrative and accounting functions, having a problem-solving spirit and the ability to adapt to any area.
In 2015, she was invited to be António Maçanita's partner and to embrace the Fitapreta Vinhos project as her own. Sandra Sárria is currently Production Director of Fitapreta Winery, being responsible for the production and maintenance of the spaces and being in charge of a permanent team of 19 people. She is characterized by being a very focused person with very clear objectives. Everything she does in life is done with great passion and always with a big smile!
Born in England, David Jeremy Booth was an Army officer for seven years, rising to the rank of Captain of the Green Jackets. He then studied Agriculture and Management at the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester, participated in demining in Mozambique and wildlife protection in Kenya. He studied viticulture at UC Davis in California, and became a disciple of Richard Smart in Portugal, where he introduced new trellising systems and brought a deep knowledge of viticulture that enabled him to convey complex concepts in a very simple way.
David Booth was also a vineyard consultant for several producers, such as:
As a guest speaker, David taught on the MBA course at his former school, the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester.
In 2004, he founded, together with António Maçanita, the Fitapreta project, to which he gave priority in his already busy professional life.
We, his friends and battle companions, miss his constant and contagious smile, his eternal optimism, his willingness to help, his ability to listen and his enjoyment of the simple things in life: fresh air, nature, time with his children, time with people, with pure life. We are sure that we will always honor and remember him, working each time harder, but with the same free and fresh spirit that he always transmitted.
The winemaking team, based at the Fitapreta winery, in Paço do Morgado de Oliveira, in the district of Évora, consists of António Maçanita, Sandra Sárria, Andrés Herrera, Leonor Frazão and three other young and dynamic winemakers with experience in Portugal and abroad. This is also where a team dedicated to managing the warehouse and orders is based, as well as employees focused on the daily maintenance and building work on the estate.
Side by side with the winemakers, Alexandra Leroy Maçanita and Filipe Mateus coordinate the wine tourism and events team, which totals five people.
Our sales team who is directly supported in logistics by Mara Mendes, in management by Sara Horta and in Human Resources and Accounting by Mariana Minhoto.
Alongside our administrative and commercial team, we have five other people directly linked to the other companies in the group: Maçanita Vinhos, Azores Wine Company, Wine ID e a LM Events & Tourism.