The JP Ramos group has announced a sales lift due to of a number of measures implemented to improve the quality of its wines in the Tejo and Alentejo regions.

The group has announced it has gone from producing 45,000 9-litre cases in 1998 to 65,000 in 2011, which it puts down to the phasing in of environmentally friendly processes to maintain soil health, new plantings and improved vineyard management over the past decade.

According to João Portugal Ramos, managing director of the JP Ramos Group, freshness can be difficult to achieve due to the region's naturally harsh climate. "First and foremost, the following varieties were planted in order to improve acidity, aromas and balance of the wines in the final blends: Alvarinho, Verdelho, Arinto with Verdejo rootstocks. The vineyard height was also increased in order to avoid radiation from the soils and rocks as well as to improve air circulation.

"This combined with other new canopy management techniques, such as semi-sprawl ensuring better shading of the grapes, has led to better phenolic maturation. The Ramos group has also increased its accuracy in harvesting the grapes and timing the picking for each individual variety, so no freshness is lost on the vine."

Ramos added it has also improved its soil protection as well as water management. "This clearly reflects an increase in demand for the white wines from these regions, which in turn shows the producers have done a lot to improve the quality of their wines in the past decade," he added.

The JP Ramos group has also recently started a project in Vinho Verde, which will further employ its skills in making Portuguese white wines.