Joana Cruz: the great host of the National Wine Tourism Award 2025

We’ve already reported that the APENO/Ageas Seguros National Wine Tourism Award 2025 will be held at Quinta do Castelo in Nelas on 30 May, with a dinner designed by renowned chef Henrique Ferreira. But we haven’t mentioned who will be hosting the ceremony: Joana Cruz, a name that needs no introduction, much loved by the Portuguese and who, when she’s away from the RFM microphones, is probably travelling. This time, her destination will be the heart of the Dão.

On 30 May, starting at 6pm, at Quinta do Castelo in Nelas, in the heart of the Dão wine-growing region, the stage for the APENO/Ageas Seguros 2025 National Wine Tourism Award will be entirely ‘Joana’s’. The pun refers to the latest programme that one of the country’s most beloved broadcasters, Joana Cruz, is doing on RFM, from 7pm to 10pm, every day of the week. And she represents the host Joana, the same one who responded positively to APENO’s invitation to present the ceremony that honours the best projects, companies and professionals that stood out in the wine tourism sector in 2024.

The stage at the National Wine Tourism Gala 2025 will be Joana Cruz’s. A stage that the broadcaster will share with all the award winners and also with APENO. “I was delighted when Joana accepted our invitation. As well as being an excellent professional and having a marvellous voice, Joana has the energy and good humour needed to be an excellent host at any self-respecting ceremony. It’s a full house. Our gala has everything to gain from a presenter like Joana Cruz, who will certainly surprise and bring a very special energy to our party,” says Maria João de Almeida, president of the Portuguese Wine Tourism Association (APENO).

With a career spanning more than 20 years in the world of communication, Joana Cruz is currently one of our country’s best-loved voices. Although the Portuguese immediately recognise her from her role as an entertainer on RFM, where she has been for many years, the truth is that her career also includes television appearances, namely in entertainment formats on SIC, TVI and Canal Q.

When she’s away from the microphones, it’s very likely that Joana is out of the country, travelling all over the world, one of her great passions, as well as her niece and her dog Simão.
“It was with great pleasure that I agreed to be present at this gala, which brings together in one evening three themes that give me great joy in life: the beauty of our country and this region in particular, the Dão, an opportunity to breathe fresh air and good wines to accompany it. I’m sure it will be an evening that will bring back good memories and the desire to return more often, because no matter how much I travel, I always conclude that there’s no country like ours,‘ says Joana Cruz
As well as travelling, Joana’s commitment to public health issues, namely breast cancer prevention, a personal experience she had recently and shared in her book ’Escolhi Viver‘ (I chose to live), is the other side of her. She also promotes physical exercise and yoga as a way of ’stretching the skeleton”, as she describes on the RFM website.

This year’s National Wine Tourism Award, which celebrates and distinguishes the best of what is being done in Portugal in the connection between wine, the territory and the tourist experience, will be attended by Joana Cruz, who will add sparkle and authenticity to a ceremony that once again promises to be unforgettable.