The passion for what we do and the tireless search for quality define the guiding tone of the Vale Verde Group. Its founder, Luiz Otávio Pôssas Gonçalves, has worked with drinks for over 50 years. He started manufacturing Coca-Cola in Minas Gerais and is also known for creating Kaiser beer and Kero Coco, the first boxed coconut water in the country, in addition to continuing to be an entrepreneur in the field. The emergence of Vale Verde was gradual and began when Luiz Otávio received a small still from his uncle, which inspired him to enter the cachaça market. Initially, the small production was consumed only among friends. However, the appreciation of experts and the quality given to the distillate led to the beginning of the commercialization of cachaças. The Vale Verde brand was born in 1985. During this period, Luiz Otávio went in search of new techniques to improve the fermentation and distillation of the drink. In Europe, he identified that the practices used in the manufacture of fine whiskeys could be used in cachaças. With European know-how, Vale Verde Extra Premium soon emerged, aged for three years and which follows the same manufacturing standard as international distillates, with techniques that guarantee the drink's differentiated quality and flavor. Vale Verde cachaça then began to win awards and, consequently, its fame grew throughout Brazil. The farm, which maintains the manufacturing tradition, began to receive many visitors. This is how the Vale Verde Ecological Park was born in 2002, a place that houses around 1,300 animals including birds, reptiles and mammals. On the property, which became known as Cachaças Theme Park, in Betim, in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, there are several leisure and adventure attractions for the family. In the park it is possible to follow the entire production process of Vale Verde cachaças, which is 100% sustainable, in addition to visiting the Cachaça Museum with stories about the history of the drink since Ancient Egypt. The place has more than two thousand different labels, in addition to the complete collection of the Vale Verde brand. Although the park is no longer open for visitors, the Vale Verde Group's focus is to seek sustainable growth. With the six tons of sugar cane that are used per day during the harvest, around 140 thousand liters of cachaça were produced in 2014. Part of the sugarcane bagasse was used as fuel for production machines and the rest as organic fertilizer for the sugarcane field. The production of Cachaça Vale Verde Extra Premium 1000ml is entirely artisanal and the title of Extra Premium is proven by the Ministry of Agriculture, which monitors the process of closing and opening the barrels. From there, cachaças are aged for three to twelve years in oak vats, which have an alcohol content of 40%. Another quality control point is the audit of processes evaluated by Inmetro, the body that certifies Vale Verde with a seal. Source: Cachaçaria Nacional.