Cockburn’s honors coopers with urban art in downtown Porto

Mural was developed in partnership with Projeto Ruído, composed by urban artists Draw and Contra

They operate “in the shadows”, but are unavoidable figures in the universe of Port wine, repairing the casks, vats and barrels where it ages. The coopers, skillful and resistant, keep alive an art that is crucial for the production of quality Port Wines, using ancestral tools and very little modern machinery. To pay homage to this profession, forgotten by many and even unknown by most of the population, Cockburn’s teamed up with the Ruído project to develop a mural next to Garrafeira do Carmo, in downtown Porto.

With a permanent team of seven coopers of various ages, Cockburn’s is the only Port wine house with a cooper in its cellars. The brand also houses the largest Port wine aging warehouse in the historic area of Vila Nova de Gaia, holding 6,518 barrels of aging Port wine, in addition to the equivalent of 10,056 barrels in vats, which allow for the traditional aging in casks to be maintained of vinaigrette oak.

Respecting traditions, but living up to the art of being different – a characteristic that is part of the brand’s DNA –, Cockburn’s has been approaching a more urban public, establishing a bridge between Port wine and graffiti. In this context, the brand promotes, since 2020, the Street Art Competition, involving 10 artists who have the opportunity to develop a mural at Cockburn’s facilities, in Vila Nova de Gaia, inspired by Port wine, the Douro, or the twin cities of Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto. This year, the competition is scheduled for September 30th, involving the entire community, which is invited to follow the development of the murals of the artists participating in the event, with an after party. Interested artists can register until this Friday (June 30th), sending their data, Instagram profile and/or portfolio to streetart@cockburns.com.

With this partnership with the Ruído project, which results in a new mural, this time in the heart of the city of Porto, Cockburn’s once again reinforces its connection to urban art, seeking – while valuing national talent (in this case from Porto) – to underline traditions associated with the production of Port wine. For this new project, the artists Draw (Frederico Soares Campos) and Contra (Rodrigo Guinea Gonçalves) were inspired by the team of coopers at Cockburn’s, even printing the image of some of them on the walls of Garrafeira do Carmo, complementing the mural with other elements associated with the brand. The mural, located on Travessa do Carmo, covers the entire side of Garrafeira – measuring more than 200m2 – and took seven days to develop.