The most exported branded wine in Portugal after port and also one of the most successful and best-selling in the world. The Guedes family owned a Vinho Verde vineyard in the Douro region in the north of Portugal. In 1942, Fernando van Zeller-Guedes (1903-1987) founded Sogrape, now the largest Portuguese wine-growing company, and created Mateus Rosé. It was then launched on the market (two years later than the competing product Lancers) after the Second World War (1939-1945). The name Mateus is derived from the castle of the same name near Vila Real, near which a new winery was built by Zelle-Guedes at the time. The right to use the name and the image of the castle on the label was acquired with a one-off payment. Had the owner been aware of the huge sales volumes at the time, he would probably have insisted on a sales licence.
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