The Association of Wine Growers of the Municipality of Palmela – AVIPE, was formed in 1984 by a group of wine growers from the region, with the aim of defending the interests of its members in the field of economic and social promotion, research, experimentation, demonstration and dissemination of all the actions techniques aimed at improving viticulture and the professional training of its members, either on their own initiative or in collaboration with official or private entities, national or foreign.

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 Until the end of the 80's, its activity was mainly related to the defense and promotion of viticulture in the municipality of Palmela, promoting technical visits to wine-growing companies and state entities linked to research into viticulture.

  From 1998 onwards, and with the impetus of Agri-environmental Measures, in particular Protection Integrated from the Vineyard, AVIPE underwent an important increase in its activity . It was in that year that the entire process necessary for the accreditation of AVIPE as a recognized association for the practice of Protection began Integrated Vineyard.

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 These measures, subsidized by the European community and the Portuguese state, boosted viticulture in the region, paving the way for a change in mentalities that is reflected in new forms of production, more sustainable. This change in mentalities is not unrelated to the quality of technical support provided to the winegrower, provided by the technicians, at the service of the Association of Winegrowers of the Municipality of Palmela (AVIPE), whose contribution has proved fruitful in the attempt to integrate new technologies of production with the most traditional cultural practices.

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  In 1999, the agro-environmental measure with the most implementation in the region was the Protection Integrated with about 300 hectares, currently around 3000 hectares in Integrated Production are monitored by Avipe.

  These measures are intended , in the case of Protection Integrated, the use of alternative means of control, against pests and diseases, limiting the application of plant protection products to certain periods of risk, based on forecasting methods and selecting products whose impact on ecosystems is minimized. Integrated Production aims to combine the measures associated with Protection Integrated with a set of cultural techniques that go through rational fertilization, good management of irrigation water, the implementation of adequate conduction systems for each variety or even the use of selected sets of clones, with guaranteed sanitary and oenological quality .

 In perspective for the future, and taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the region in terms of agro-climatic and environmental terms, the challenge for AVIPE's technicians is to consolidate the work developed as well as increase its existing area of influence, as only a quality viticulture it can give rise to excellent wines that characterize the region so well.