Barwell & Jones is to distribute and market Esporão wines in the UK.

Esporão's wineries include Herdade Do Esporão in Alentejo and Quinta dos Murças in the Douro, Portugal.

Wine production at both estates is overseen by winemaker, David Baverstock.

Esporão was the first wine company in the world to sign the "Countdown 2010" initiative, with one of their commitments being to encourage and protect the cultivation of a wide range of original genetic grape varieties.

The company has a "lab-vineyard", planted with Portuguese traditional grape varieties which are said to be in danger of becoming extinct.

Fiona Juby, marketing manager at Barwell & Jones said: "The company's strong commitment to the preservation of the environment and biodiversity will have particular resonance with the UK consumer. We very much look forward to working with Esporão to grow the awareness of their portfolio in the UK, develop the distribution and drive consumer pull through via the implementation of a targeted marketing and sales strategy."