Quinta da Pacheca

After a fabulous breakfast (best of the tour) we got on the bus to return to Regua where we had a tour of the Quinta da Pacheca winery with Eduardo, followed by a tasting. We started off with a tour of the grounds and a bit of history about the winery. It is a beautiful property that has been very well maintained. There is a 5 star hotel and restaurant at the winery, and there are large wine barrels that have been made into stand alone rooms that you can sleep in among the vines. There is also a resident artist who has produced a number of pieces of art out of wood.

The wine estate was established in 1738 and was run by a very competent woman, D. Mariana Pacheco Pereira. She had lost her husband and decided not to remarry and to run the vineyard herself instead.

In 1903 the property was acquired by D. José Freire de Serpa Leitão Pimentel. The new owner carried out the first major replanting. The vineyards were divided by grape varieties, separated by wide paths to facilitate the work. The grape varieties then used were: Bastardo, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca for reds, and Códega, Malvasia Fina, Malvasia Conrad’s, Cerceal, Donzelinho and Viosinho for white. So, quite a few varieties!

In 1916, with new vines, the grape harvest increased which required the construction of new cellars and new stone tanks.

In 1971 the second big boost was given by D. Eduardo Mendia Freire Serpa Pimentel, who replaced the older vineyards and started selling table wines. For several years, Riesling, Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer were tested and in 1971, 5,000 vines from each of these varieties were grafted.

The vineyard manually stomps about 70% of the grapes. The tanks are made of granite and are about 100 years old:- 12,000kg of grapes produces 9,000 litres, which drains into fermentation tanks. Stomping happens for 3-4 hours, usually in the evening as the temperature drops. Eduardo said that if you decide you want to stomp grapes, be prepared to have purple feet for a couple of days post stomping.

Wine remains in the tanks for seven days to ferment, whereas port only ferments for three days. There are four types of port - white, rosé, ruby and tawny. Port is aged in barrels and can be aged for 60+ years. Ruby can only remain in the barrel for 6 years.

For our tasting we tried the Pacheca Reserva White, Pacheca Reserva Vinhas Velhas red, Pacheca White Port and the Pacheca Tawny Port 20 Anos. My favourite was the white port, which is served chilled. Eduardo also told us about a drink - Porto Tonica - which is white port, tonic water, ice and sliced orange, a very nice drink and would go down well on a hot day.Read more