Estremoz & the Quinta Dona Maria Winery

Estremoz is another town in Alentejo famous for its white marble. The same geological conditions that created its beautiful stones created limestone soil perfect for wine production. We stopped in Estremoz to visit a winery estate that our hotel hostess, Christina, recommended - Quinta Dona Maria.

The estate, which dates back to 1718, was purchased by King João V and offered to Dona Maria, a courtesan with whom he fell madly in love. In the 19th century, the estate was bought by the Reynolds, a family of British merchants who came to Portugal to produce cork and wine. The current owner, Julio Bastos, inherited the estate from an aunt who married into the Reynolds family.

Bastos got his passion for wine from his father. Every year, the father and son came to the harvest so that young Julio could be initiated into the mysteries of wine making.

Eager to produce extraordinary wines, Bastos entered into a partnership with Lafite Rothschild. But when the Rothschild team started uprooting his old family vines to plant French grape vines, Basto decided to go his own way.

He nurtured the old vines and used 17th century marble tanks to tread the grapes. The result are wines “with a unique personality: rich and earthy with elegant aromas and a smooth finish”.

As we entered the games of the winery, we were awed by the beauty of the palace-like manor house. Apparently, (only Donna got a glimpse of the interior of the house), its interior is rich in tiles from the 18th Century, and the region’s typical marble can also be found all around the house. The inside is full of old furniture and could be a wonderful museum.

While Donna inquired about a little tour of the winery and Chris parked the car, I ventured into a magical, walled garden. I had only heard about such gardens in old storybooks. Donna joined me. We walked down a vine-covered archway surrounded by gardens and old palm trees and nooks filled with history. At the end of the walkway there was a pool with a fountain and white marble statue of Neptune. Lovely.

A lady in the office offered to give us a little tour of the winery where the grapes are still stomped by foot and old techniques are used to make the red, and now white, wines.

Before we left, we bought two bottles of Dona Maria 2015 red wine to have with dinner.Read more