To recount the story of Lua Cheia-Saven one must analyze the personalities of Manuel Dias, the businessman and Francisco Baptista, the winemaker. 

Everything started in reverse. Initially it started with the market products, then the wine, the wine cellars and finally the grapes. And that was how the Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas was created. Now renamed Lua Cheia-Saven it joined winemaker Francisco Baptista with the business entrepreneur Manuel Dias in 2009. It led them on a path through various regions of Portugal. 

They started with the notion of “making wine in reverse”. Targeting the client market or more precisely, the perception Manuel Dias had of the market given his accumulated experience with his Saven market business. (Saven’s netting about 12 million Euros over a 30-year history in wine and food products exportation). 

In reality, it was Manuel Dias who would say “I like to create businesses in reverse and with no funding.” So he was clearly the visionary behind the Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas brand; now known as Lua Cheia-Saven. It was his market know-how along with Francisco Baptista’s knowledge of the Douro that created the wines the national and international markets requested. It is the ideal quality to price ration that’s desired. The initial production started with the purchase of Quinta do Bronze, located in Vale Mendiz, Pinhão, Portugal. 

In 2010, work began on an investment in a winery in Martim, Murça, and today, at the sub-regions of Moncão and Melgaço, Vinho Verde region, Lua Cheia-Saven owns vineyards in Quinta da Carvalheira and Barqueira. It also owns a winery in Monção and a production unit in the Industrial Zone of Alijó, Douro. 

Recently the portfolio of the company also includes Alentejo and Dão wines. Without the relentless vision of Manuel Dias’s inverse strategy and Francisco Baptista’s singular winemaking knowledge, their wines would never have attained the quality and perfection that characterizes them. 

The administrative headquarters of Lua Cheia-Saven are in the Saven building in Ílhavo, which has historically been a codfish industry landmark. It was because of this special connection that Lua Cheia has a unique wine in its portfolio.

Poseidon wine was an experiment with the officers Club of the Portuguese Merchant Marines. The Poseidon name was inspired by the ancient mythical sea god. The wine is stored on a codfish fishing vessel land and travels on the high seas for months. It travels from Portugal to the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia. 

After its journey each bottle is numbered and certified by the captain and crew.  The Poseidon wine returns with a significant uniqueness and maturity.