"The world is made of dreamers, not of realists"
As a young man, Bento Amaral’s dream was to travel the world making wine, but when a bodysurfing accident left him quadriplegic, he was forced to rethink.
That was over thirty years ago. Today, Bento joins our video call with a great smile on his face and an air of contentment. “Even before my accident,” he tells me, “I never thought I’d be as happy as I am today.” He quotes the Chinese philosopher Confucius and says, “Chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Far from letting his circumstances hold him back, Bento looks at the world as a well of opportunities, sharing with me that he wakes up in the morning feeling that every day is another chance to change both the world and his own life. He is a strong advocate for self-belief, stressing that you will only ever achieve what you truly believe you are capable of. Bento has not only delivered a TED talk on this topic, but he has also given more than a thousand motivational talks for children and youth. Oh, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, he has also been crowned World Champion in paralympic sailing.
Bento is certainly a man to be inspired by. Despite the lack of opportunities available to people in wheelchairs in Portugal 30 years ago, Bento landed a job as the Head of the Tasting Chamber at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia de Universidade Católica Portuguesa, a position he held for 23 years. In this capacity, he had the chance to taste up to 10’000 wines per year and inspire countless numbers of students to follow their dreams. In his classes, Bento tried to make teaching as fun as possible. He wanted to share not only his knowledge but also his passion for wine. To this end, he would often take groups of students out for dinner and do extra tastings outside the curriculum in an attempt to make wine come to life. His reasoning? If studying and improving oneself can become an exciting personal challenge, it will not be an effort for his students.
"The world is made of dreamers, not of realists"
Bento first came into contact with the Gérard Basset Foundation in 2022. Having held the same position for over two decades, he was beginning to feel a lack of growth and a desire to spread his wings just a little wider. With an enquiry about potential eligibility for one of our scholarships, he jumped on a video call with Romané Basset and Lewis Chester, Conde da Costa, a conversation which resulted in him handing in his notice at work and setting up his own non-profit organisation, Humanwinety – now a grantee of the Gérard Basset Foundation's. Through Humanwinety, Bento wishes to make education in wine accessible to people with disabilities by using technology to simulate on-location practical learning. With the help of augmented reality, he dreams of his students being able to “walk” through a vineyard in Bordeaux from the comfort of a classroom in Portugal. A man of many ideas and ambitions, Bento has often received pushback from people insisting that he is dreaming too big and that his ideas are impossible. At this, Bento chuckles. “The world is made of dreamers," he says, "not of realists. If we don’t dream, nothing will ever be achieved". Much better to honestly try and only achieve half than to not try at all and be guaranteed to fail, he reasons.
The conversation moves onto his next big dream, that of becoming a Master of Wine. Last year, Bento was one of four scholars to receive our Taylor’s Port Golden Vines MW Diversity Scholarship. This has been his North Star since many years back. In the 90s, a young Bento met an MW for the first time at a trade event and was blown away by their wealth of knowledge. He said to himself that he wanted to become an MW too one day, and now the time is right for him to pursue that dream. He takes the same approach to this challenge as he does to Humanwinety. “If I don’t dream to be a Master of Wine, I will never be a Master of Wine," he tells me. "However, if I do dream about it, at least I have the opportunity to become a Master of Wine.”
"I wish everybody knew that I am really happy."
As a closing question, I ask him if there is anything he wishes the world knew about him. He thinks for a moment and then smiles. “I wish everybody knew that I am really happy”. He tells me of his 18-year marriage to his wife Carmen and says that life is so much simpler and more beautiful than people realise. “The most important thing,” he says, “is to make important things important. People complicate life much more than they need.” Not denying that his life would be easier if he weren’t in a wheelchair, he refuses to believe that he would automatically be happier.
We wish Bento all the best of luck with his Master of Wine studies. Thank you, Bento, for sharing your thoughts and wisdom!
