Jantar Tertúlia | Raul Riba d'Ave (entrepreneur and acclaimed winemaker | Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship: Growing Your Business While Preserving Family and Community

Raul Riba d'Ave

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raul-riba-d-ave-dipwset-aa7300/

With a technical background in Chemistry and a degree in Business Management, Raul Alexandre Lopes Ferreira de Riba D’Ave developed an early interest in the world of wine through family influence. He began his professional career in the wine industry in 2001 in Argentina, working for Finca Flichman (Sogrape).

During his time in Argentina, he authored a book on Argentine wines, published in both Spanish and English. Now in its fourth edition, the book has sold more than 25,000 copies.

Following his experience in the Argentine wine sector, he returned to Portugal and joined the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR), where he was tasked with strengthening the relationship between the cork and wine industries. During his two years at APCOR, he was also responsible for developing a technical book on natural cork stoppers, which is currently published in five languages.

In 2003, he was invited to join Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman, one of the leading Port wine producers, where he spent five years as Sales and Marketing Manager. At the same time, he worked as a wine journalist and critic, specialising in still and sparkling wines, for Blue Wine Magazine (now Revista de Vinhos).

In 2008, he embarked on a new professional venture with Direct Wine, a wine distribution company he had helped establish in 2006. In 2010, he became the majority shareholder, focusing primarily on international wines. In 2023, he sold the company to The Fladgate Partnership, owners of the Taylor, Fonseca and Croft brands, bringing this chapter to a close.

Following the sale, he was invited to lead a new company within The Fladgate Partnership group, a role he held from 2023 to 2025.

His involvement in education began in 2013 when he founded a school accredited as an authorised WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) centre, the world's leading wine education organisation. Today, under the name A ORIGEM, the school is the market leader in specialised wine education in Portugal and welcomes numerous students from other Portuguese-speaking countries, particularly Brazil.

Raul is a WSET Certified Educator and also serves as a Portuguese-language technical reviewer for WSET educational materials.

Before establishing the school, Raul pursued extensive wine studies. Among his achievements, he obtained the WSET Level 4 Diploma in 2010, becoming one of the first Portuguese professionals, alongside his friend Manuel Lima, to complete this prestigious qualification.

In 2012, he was awarded the Symington Scholarship to enter the Master of Wine Programme, where he remained for five years. He sat the final examination twice, coming close to completion, although ultimately without success.

In 2018, he was selected to participate in the inaugural Certified Port Educator Programme, which he completed with distinction.

More recently, in 2025, he was invited to join the ambassador programme of the prestigious VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) association in Germany, finishing the course among the top three participants.

Today, in addition to his educational activities as an instructor and partner at A ORIGEM Wine School, Raul produces his own wines in the Douro and Beira Interior regions. He has also launched a new project in the Vinho Verde region, based on a historic family property.

Outside his professional activities, Raul serves on the Board of the Narciso Ferreira Foundation, his family’s charitable foundation and the second-oldest philanthropic foundation in Portugal. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board (Definitório) of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Riba de Ave.