THE HISTORY OF QUINTA VALE DONA MARIA

Quinta Vale D. Maria is situated in the valley of the Torto River in the heart of the Douro Region. Quinta Vale Dona Maria's story begins with its 1996 vintage, but its history stretches back many centuries. For over 200 years this quinta has belonged to the family of Joana van Zeller, wife of Cristiano, and its story deserves to be told.

It remains to be determined what the year in the Quinta Vale D. Maria was first planted.

The first record we have is from 1868 when  José António Teixeira de Carvalho Vaz e Sousa, great-great grandfather of Joana van Zeller, presented papers in the land register of São joão da Pesqueira, proving ownership of this property. This propoerty  was then composed of more than 40 vineyards, which have since been sold over time and presently consists of three of the original parcels. Those that were added since 1996, were purchased by current owners.

At that time, the port wine was produced for the firm Feuerheerd, then owned by Albert Feuerheerd, whose descendants remain as owners of Quinta de La Rosa. With the sale of the company by the family Feuerheerd in the early twentieth century, wine production was sold to  Graham's port wine company.

In 1973 the estate was leased to Graham's  for 30 years. According to Chantal Lecouty in "Le Port" (Éditions Robert Lafont S.A., Paris, 1989), the wines of the quinta were used to produce some of the best ports of the prestigious brand Smith Woodhouse, belonging to the Group.

In 1996 when Cristiano van Zeller put his hands to work, the quinta was a property of 19 hectares, planted with 10 hectares of old vines over 50 years old. The quinta was in a state of relative neglect. Although the buildings were totally ruined the vineyard was in good condition. The vineyards were the only part which the previous owners maintained and to which he devoted his efforts. Naturally the first step was to make a total recovery plan Quinta, started with a tremendous work of recovery and ensuring survival of the old strains: the quality of the vines showed an extraordinary potential.

Planted with a wide range of varieties covering a broad spectrum of traditional varieties of the Douro, Tinta Barroca, Rufete, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, Sousão, and many others - the Quinta Vale D. Maria seemed to provide an outstanding base and rare quality to produce both red Douro wines and Ports.

Having taken control over production on September 1, 1996, all I could do was to study what kind of wines Quinta Vale D. Maria could produce. The vineyard has increased with new acquisitions (6 hectares of vines in 2006) and long-term leases of neighboring properties. A new crop of about 4.5 hectares of new strains was initiated in 2004, thus increasing the area to 39.5 hectares today.

In 1997 we also started to rebuild the various buildings of the Quinta: an old dormitory was transformed into a guest house, the old "lagares" have been completely rebuilt and equipped, and a new winery was completed in 2001. The traditional Port wine lodges have been rebuilt and are now operating at full capacity.

The harvest of 1997 and beyond confirmed the excellent potential of the Quinta Vale D. Maria. The market response was excellent.

We will further strengthen our knowledge and develop the quality of our vineyards and production techniques, including the great knowledge of the traditional production of port wine, combined with the most modern techniques of vinification in stainless steel tanks.

Quinta Vale D. Maria

GUESTHOUSE

Prices for 2012 - Prices per week

Low Season

January 3 to May 29 € 600

31 October to 31 December € 600 | extra fee for heating expenses

Mid season

May 30 to July 1 € 750

High Season

01 July to 2 September € 1100 €

Services include: weekly change of linen

Weekly cleaning

Possibility of hiring extra cleaning service charged 5 € / hour

Garbage collection  every  two days

1 complimentary bottle of wine of the estate

WINES TASTINGS

Bottled wine tastings

The harvests  that will be tasted  will depend on what we have in stock, but with the exception of Port wines and CV-Curriculum Vitae, will always be the latest in the market.

3 red + 1 white and 2 Ports

Vanzellers red or Casal de Loivos

Quinta Vale D. Maria

CV-Curriculum Vitae

VZ White

Vale D. Maria Vintage Port

Price per pax: 20 € + VAT

Minimum persons: 6 persons (for maller groups a fixed  amount of 120 € + VAT will be charged

Max persons: 15 persons

Wine tasting in the cask

The crops to test are all available and stored in casks in the cellar of the Quinta Vale Dona Maria.

Price per person: € 10 + VAT 

Minimum persons: there is no minimum number of participants

Max persons: 20 persons

Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 (6:00pm).

Accommodation

House: 41 ° 10.008 'N, 7 ° 30.686' W

Contact for reservations: joanavanzeller@vanzellersandco.com

Mobile + 351 93 682 86 63 or 254 732 375 22 374 43 20 or

Wineries and Tours:

Cellar: 41 ° 9.915 'N, 7 ° 30, 671' W

Contact for reservations: joanavanzeller@vanzellersandco.com

Mobile + 351 93 682 86 63 or 254 732 375 or 22 374 43 20