Meet the Team

Chief executive officer

Jae (PhD) has been working as a Staff Camera Engineer for Apple Inc. since 2014. Prior to his journey at Apple, he was a visiting lecturer at University of Westminster, UK between 2008 and 2014.
During Jae’s time in London, he met Craig and Youngho and started the dream owning a vineyard and operating a winery in Oshima, privately owned island, in southwest of Japan.
Since 2023, soon after Craig’s move to Santar, Portugal, Jae quickly gained a passion for Portuguese wines and established Colina de Santar with his friends.

Winemaker

A renowned Portuguese winemaker from the Dão region, Carlos began studying viticulture and oenology at age 16 at the Escola Profissional da Bairrada. He has a degree in Viticulture from the University of Burgundy and a master’s degree in Oenology from the University of Bordeaux. He has worked in Australia and the USA and spent years with Dirk Niepoort before launching his own project in 2018 to focus on fresh, mineral-driven Dão wines. His desire is to create unique and high quality wines using the best that nature gives us. The goal is simply to translate the best vineyards into a glass of wine 

Wine R&D Director

Responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business, including production, logistics, and quality control. Craig’s love for wine started when he worked for Allied Domecq and later, Wine Rack, Balls Brothers and Fullers.
After this, Craig worked as a fashion and music photographer. He then spent 6 years in higher education. First teaching photographic practice and then taking a lead teaching role in Phonar Nation, part of the Cities of Learning project, a free online class in coding and photography that supported 3/4 million ‘at risk’ kids in America. Craig was awarded a fellowship of the Royal Society of Art and Commerce for this charitable work. In 2022 Craig moved to Portugal to live in the wine region of Dao. Craig and his family live on a Quinta in Santar with a small private vineyard which produces the wine Quando os Tigres Fumavam with winemaker Carlos Raposo.

Liason officer

José started his career has a sales representative during the eighties, in a family owned business producing drinking straws. Later, José became founder and CEO of an IT company responsabible for introducing smartcards, POS and later, mobile apps coding in Portugal. Late during the nineties, Jose returned to the academy, as a Law educator, got a PhD and a LLD and became a full Professor (catedrático). At the university, Jose completed two terms as a Vice-rector responsible for International relations and R&D.

Marketing Manager

Youngho has an academic background in Japanese, having studied the language in Shanghai, China. Following his linguistic skills, he has built a career in the import meat business, focusing on beef, pork, and chicken, which he imports to Korea. His business acumen and interest are not confined to Korea; he is keen on expanding his expertise across Asia, particularly in China and Japan.
Fluent in four languages—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and possessing an intermediate level of English proficiency. Youngho is well-equipped to navigate the diverse and dynamic Asian markets.
Currently, Youngho is working as the Asian Sales Manager for Colina de Santar. In this role, he is dedicated to promoting Portuguese wines throughout the Asian market. His mission is to introduce a wide range of Portuguese wines, from table wines to premium, high-quality selections, to a broader audience in Asia.

Accountant

Portuguese accountant for almost 30 years and running her own business since 2015. Prior to this she worked in several multinational companies with different activities as a Chief Officer Accountant and Financial Controller. Her interest in wine was urged when she started to consume good red wine in her relaxation hours. Having all kinds of activities as customers, she never declines a challenge of a new activity.