The French group says the project represents a significant investment in the port industry.
The new facility, located in Alijo in the Douro valley in north west Portugal, comprises a winery, with an annual capacity of 6 million litres, and bulk storage for 20 million litres.
Sylvia Bernard, La Martiniquaise’s group international marketing director, says this will cement the company’s commitment to develop port sales worldwide and expand the Porto Cruz brand.
Currently Porto Cruz sells 6m litres in more than 50 countries. The company claims it is the leading port brand in France, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Russia.
The group, which operates in 110 countries and has doubled its turnover in 10 years to €920m, says Gran Cruz has cellars where more than 65m litres of port, including more than a million litres of over 20-year-old, are aged. It has a production capacity of 25m bottles a year.
