Hippocampus Nº46

Club
WELCOME
Clube Naval de Cascais once again gathered its new members for a very special
dinner. A moment always cherished by those who have recently joined CNC,
and where the wine creations from Cartuxa, of the Eugénio de Almeida
Foundation, were the other stars of the evening
Returning to the desired regularity,
the famous “Wine Dinner” took
place again at the headquarters of Clube
Naval de Cascais. The initiative is open
to all CNC members and also serves to
gather and welcome new members. In
this case, those who officially joined the
CNCascais between November 2022 and
October 2023. Among the Permanent
Members were Ahmad Alhamad (UK/
Kuwait), Alberto Nuñez-Lagos (Spain),
Alexandre Guy Haegler (Switzerland),
Bonifácio Carvalho do Amaral (Portugal),
Dmitrii Minakov (Russia), Duarte
Maria Torre do Vale de Mello Guimarães
(Portugal), Eduardo Ernesto Sepúlveda
de CastelBranco (Portugal), Gustavo
Vanetti Burnier (Spain/Brazil), Jacqueline
Acevedo (USA), Jan Schulte (Germany),
Jan-Willem van Rooij (Netherlands), João
Carlos Martins Bernardo dos Santos (Portugal),
Ney Villas-Bôas Marinho (Brazil),
Pedro Miguel da Conceição Gonçalves
(Portugal), Rodrigo Vasques Jorge (Portugal),
Thomas Brudenell-Bruce (UK),
Volodomyr Sakharov (Ukraine), and
Wilhelm Uschtrin (Germany). Among
the Associate Members were Elizabeth
Jay Williams (UK), Filipe Novo Palma
(Portugal), Ling Han (China), Miguel
Jorge Sanchez (Spain), Pedro de Lucena
Coelho Dias (Portugal), Rui Yari Freire
de Mello Xavier (Portugal), and Tomás
Pinto Basto (Portugal).
In the Noble Hall, Gonçalo Esteves, President
of CNC, accompanied by several
members of the Executive Committee of
the club, were the hosts of the new members
as well as approximately 60 guests who
were delighted to enjoy both a magnificent
tasting of delicacies and the nectars that
accompanied them, and a (very) enjoyable
time. At the same time, highlighting the
international and multicultural nature
of both CNC and Cascais, it is worth
noting that throughout the mentioned
twelve months, the club welcomed new
members in both the Permanent and Associate
categories, with origins as diverse as
Portugal, Germany, Brazil, China, Spain,
USA, Kuwait, Netherlands, UK, Russia,
Ukraine, and Switzerland.
Alongside the always enjoyable gathering
among all present, including new members
Salim Charabati (Canada), Jacob Bitsch
(Denmark), Filipe Avillez Paixão (Portugal),
admitted in 2022, and Pedro Lucena
Dias (Portugal), Jacqueline Acevedo
(USA), Alberto Nuñez-Lagos (Spain), and
Dmitrii Minakov (Russia), who joined in
2023, there was also time for the necessary
ceremonies of a more institutional nature.
Namely, the presentation of the CNC
emblem and the scarf (for ladies) and tie
(for gentlemen) with the insignia of Clube
Naval de Cascais to the new members.
Additionally, all attendees received a kit
from Clarins, a regular partner of CNC,
in both their sporting events and social
and ceremonial moments.
To properly welcome the new members,
a cocktail was served accompanied by
Cartuxa Rosé, a wine first produced in
2021. This wine combines its quality with
the name of the Carthusian monks who,
since 1598, led a solitary life of prayer at
the Convent of Santa Maria Scala Coeli
in Évora. It is made from two plots of the
Touriga Nacional grape, planted in granitic
soil in the vineyards of the Eugénio
de Almeida Foundation. The grapes were
handpicked and cooled to 12°C before
being directly pressed. After pressing (by
gravity load), only the fraction of the must
obtained from natural drainage at low
pressure was selected for fermentation in
stainless steel tanks (without malolactic
fermentation). The wine then aged on fine
lees for six months with regular stirring.
THE PLEASURE OF THE TABLE
It was then time to move to the Maria Pia
Room for the moment that gives its name
to the initiative: the dinner, during which
the wines, all under the responsibility of
winemakers Pedro Baptista and Duarte
Lopes, once again shone. As an appetizer,
Lobster Bisque was served, accompanied
by Cartuxa Scala Coeli Branco 2009, a
wine named after the aforementioned
monastery, commonly known as Cartuxa
Monastery. The wine is the result of the
best winemaking techniques of each year,
using less traditional grape varieties for the
Alentejo region. It was first produced in
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Hippocampus