Riccardo Cotarella Joins Forces with Luisa Amorim and Amorim Family Estates, Uniting Portugal and Italy's Unique Legacy

January 23rd, 2026 Porto, Portugal — One of the most respected winemaking voices in the world, Riccardo Cotarella will now bring his experience and sensitivity to the exploration of mountain viticulture in Portugal through a collaboration with Luisa Amorim and her Amorim Family Estates collection of properties.

United by the same passion for wine, the long-standing friendship between the Amorim and Cotarella families now transcends borders and knowledge, with the purpose of deepening the dialogue between two of the world's great wine countries: Portugal and Italy, which over the centuries have practiced an empirical observation of their rich genetic heritage and ancestral viticultural practices.

Challenged by the vast diversity of Portugal's native grape varieties, this would be Riccardo Cotarella's first collaboration in Portugal. He will work across the estates of the Amorim family (Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Taboadella), and Luisa Amorim's personal project Herdade Aldeia de Cima located respectively in three distinctive regions stretching from the north to south of the country: Douro, Dão and Alentejo.

"In Luisa Amorim's projects, I found a deep attention to detail and local craftsmanship, with each estate having its own winemaking and viticulture team, its own scale and philosophy, and mountain environments with a mosaic viticulture that explores nano and micro-parcels of native grape varieties," states Riccardo Cotarella. "Portugal has a truly unique intelligence for blending. The natural way in which winemakers combine dozens of indigenous varieties while preserving the balance and identity of each wine is a rare art in the wine world. Working here is inspiring: there is rigor, sensitivity and a natural harmony that transforms complexity into beauty, providing the conditions to create wines of truly global expression. I, myself, come here to learn and to share."

Deeply rooted in her family's cork heritage, Luisa Amorim is one of the most innovative figures in contemporary Portuguese wine. At just 26, she broke with tradition by launching a Port aimed at younger generations and creating the first unoaked red wine from the Douro, revolutionizing the perception of Portuguese wine on the international stage. Since then, she has pursued one of the most consistent paths of modernization and territorial enhancement. At the helm of three benchmark projects - Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Taboadella, belonging to the Amorim Family, and her personal project Herdade Aldeia de Cima, in Alentejo -, she drives an integrated vision of Portuguese wine, based on excellence, sustainability, and authenticity. She champions blending as an ancestral technique and promoting what she likes to call mosaic viticulture, exploring nano- and micro- plots of different native grape varieties, alongside a pioneering and avant-garde approach to wine tourism. Her work reflects a profound commitment to place, transforming communities and influencing Portuguese wine at its highest expression of quality.

"Working with Riccardo means working with wisdom, and with a great friend. His meticulous attention to phenolic ripeness, micro-vinification and varietal purity, combined with his vast experience in iconic Italian and international estates, makes him a true master at elevating each terroir to its highest expression of excellence," states Luisa Amorim.

Two distinct oenological worlds, two minds that respect the identity of each origin and its respective culture—together with a group of resident winemakers with vast experience, are now working as one. António Bastos and Eduardo Leite are the winemakers at Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Douro), Rodrigo Costa at Taboadella (Dão), and António Cavalheiro at Herdade Aldeia de Cima (Alentejo). More than a technical collaboration, this is an encounter between generations and geographies. A cultural and human alliance that reinforces Portugal's role on the world wine map.


ABOUT AMORIM FAMILY ESTATES
The Amorim family has been involved in the world of wine since 1870, when it began producing cork stoppers for the Port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. Today, the Amorim family is one of the most renowned family groups in Portugal, with businesses spanning many countries and diverse sectors. Since 1999, the fourth generation of the family has been involved in wine through the capable hands of Luísa Amorim, upholding a profound respect for historical heritage and the reputation of Portugal's most important wine regions. With estates located from the north to the south of Portugal, the Amorim family and Luísa Amorim oversee some of the country's most groundbreaking properties: Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo in Douro, Taboadella in Dão, and Luisa Amorim's personal project, Herdade Aldeia de Cima in Alentejo. The estates focus exclusively on indigenous grape varieties and embrace a parcel-driven approach, combining traditional practices with sophisticated technology to produce exceptional wines. Rooted in vineyards with deep ancestral origins, the estates also offer pioneering wine tourism projects in Portugal that preserve local culture and demonstrate profound respect for the historical heritage of these great wine regions.