Art Creates Beautiful Wines and Inspires Our Mission
WINE, ART & CHARITY
Our Mission
We’re not only passionate about wine. We are keen sponsors of the visual arts and give back to the community by supporting the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF).
SAF uses art prizes to raise funds to assist under privileged children using art classes as therapy and rehabilitation giving children a chance in life when they would otherwise have little or none.
Click Here to learn more about the Sovereign Art Foundation.
LABEL ART
Our labels are artworks in themselves. Many of the labels were designed by winners of the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) prize in the year the wine was bottled. Others feature the artworks of world famous artists.
Our People
Our people are passionate about winemaking and have the expertise and vision to create wines which are truly exceptional.
Howard Bilton
Co-Founder & Entrepeneur
Howard is a businessman from Yorkshire now living in Hong Kong, an enthusiastic wine lover and admirer of Portugal’s wines especially from the Alentejo region.
In 2002 he joined forces with David to create wines that express the best characteristics of the terroir and grape varietals.
As the “Howard” of Howard’s Folly, he is the driving force behind the enterprise, with a vision to promote not just our wines, but the wines of the Alentejo and Portugal to a wider global audience.
David Baverstock
Co-Founder & Chief Winemaker
David has decades of experience, technical skill & creativity. He is celebrated as the pioneer of modern winemaking in Portugal and is the only non-Portuguese national to win Winemaker of the Year – not once, but twice - in 2013 and 2015.
His contribution to the wine industry was uniquely recognized by the President of Portugal with the award of the Comendadorda Ordemdo Mérito Empresarial.
He is passionate about innovation, quality and unlocking the unique characteristics that each vintage offers.
Cristina Francisquinho
Vineyard Manager
One of the Alentejo’s best known and most respected viticulturists, Cristina was born in Portalegre.
After completing her degree in Agricultural Sciences, she worked for various grape producers and was Director of a production cooperative winery.
Her mission is to enhance the vineyards by application of sustainable agricultural and environmental practices to improve productivity and grape quality to facilitate the production of wines of excellence.
Luís, Alentejo born and raised, comes from a family with strong ties to agriculture, so his career progression was somewhat easy to predict. At the Santarém Agricultural College, he found his true calling: the world of wine, and the desire to make art out of what nature gives us.
He has worked on projects across the Alentejo, Tejo, and Lisbon regions, where he not only gained valuable experience but also cultivated a meticulous attention to detail and a spirit of boldness that have allowed him to craft wines of true distinction. “Bringing the São Mamede mountains to tables around the world has always been a dream, and at Howard’s Folly it has become reality in the most artistic way possible.”
