When Norway Meets France in Alentejo

Vicentino was born from the watchful eye of Ole Martin Siem, a Norwegian who fell in love with Portugal in the late 1980s after discovering the ideal conditions for developing his agricultural projects in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. The wine adventure began years later: the first experiments began in 2007, and after a few more years testing the unique ecosystem, the first Vicentino wine was born, a 2014 Sauvignon Blanc.

In 2015, longtime friends and investors Antoinette and Olivier Lemens joined the project, a structure that remains in place to this day.

The name Vicentino is a tribute to the region and the legend that gave the name to part of the Alentejo Coast. According to the story, D. Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, sent an expedition to the Sagres region to recover relics of Saint Vincent, believed to be buried along the coast. During the voyage, the ship became lost, until a group of crows appeared and guided the crew to the burial site. Two of these birds, considered faithful guardians of Saint Vincent, accompanied the ship with the relics on the return trip to Lisbon. The crows, popularly known as Vincent, are remembered in the region to this day.