Red, white, or rosé, all with a limited production of 5,000 litres, from a single grape variety – Touriga Nacional. Today, Plansel's catalogue is vast, including olive oil and gin, and is produced on more than 50 hectares, which are constantly renewed to meet climatic conditions.

If the weather doesn't interfere, Quinta da Plansel produces around 400,000 bottles every year. Half stays in Portugal, and the other half goes abroad.

“It’s quite a long story, which began with a German man who, in 1961, bought a boat and wanted to sail around the world, but the boat sank off the coast of Lisbon. My father was stuck here for three months because his passport was underwater,” Dorina Lindemann, CEO of Quinta da Plansel and daughter of the founder, told Lusa.

That was enough time for Jörg Böhm to fall in love with Portugal and invest in the potential of Alentejo grape varieties.

“My father’s heart remained in Portugal. He said it’s the most beautiful country he’s ever known, with the most beautiful women and the best wine in the world,” she added.

Moving to Portugal

In 1975, after selling his possessions in Germany, Jörg moved permanently to Portugal, bought his first plots of land in Montemor-o-Novo, and founded Viveiros Plansel. The Böhm family has been linked to the wine sector since at least the 11th century.

Back in the early 90s, Dorina Lindemann, a university-educated oenologist from Hesse, decided to join her father and dedicate herself to production, taking advantage of the vineyards from Böhm's technical improvement program.

“When I arrived in 1993, I took charge of selecting the plants, and in 1997 I founded the Plansel winery. My first project was a sparkling wine,” she said.

However, the first years were not easy, since “nobody wanted to buy single-varietal wines.” Therefore, Dorina focused on exporting.

“It was only 10 years ago that we became known and that people started talking about Touriga Nacional or Alvarinho,” she noted. The business remains in the family's hands, with her two daughters already working at Plansel in production and marketing.

Main foreign markets

Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada, the United States, Angola, and France are among Plansel's main markets, along with new ventures in Jamaica, England, and Lithuania.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Plansel has also invested in tourism, renovating ruined houses.

The investment in rural tourism was around €800,000. The company also has a plan underway to create five ‘tiny houses’ and to increase the number of tourists in caravans.

In addition, Dorina imported the concept of a ‘wine bar’ into a winery from Germany.

“We started last year, but it’s been difficult. People are used to going for a beer, not going to a winery, looking at the countryside and drinking a glass of wine. We want to attract more people, especially young people,” she admitted.

Besides the investment in tourism, Plansel has dedicated €400,000 to improving the selection of clones and €30,000 to digitalisation and computer equipment.

Quinta da Plansel employs 15 workers in the winery and 20 in the nurseries.