The origins of the Adega Cooperativa do Fundão go back more than half a century. Indeed, it was in 1949 that 30 partners created in the city of Fundão, in the beautiful and fertile region of Cova da Beira, what was seen as "their" cooperative. 54 years gone by, the number of members increased to over 1,000, with the winery producing wine grapes - exclusively! - from the vineyards of its associates. Reception capacity is around four million pounds of grapes/year, of which 70% is red grapes and 30% white grapes. The culture of the vine in this region is a part of the D.N.A. of the region, as ancient as the land itself, dating back to the time when the Romans occupied the Iberian Peninsula. As proof, it was found in a vineyard called "A Forca" ("The Gallows") in the outskirts of Fundão along with Roman millstones and bricks, a statue dating from the 1st century AD, depicting a man with a basket of grapes on the head. This statuette, which is exposed in the National Museum of Archaeology in Lisbon, became the institutional symbol of Adega Cooperativa do Fundão appearing on all their labels.