Quinta dos Santos
A Wine Farm in Portugal
Make this a destination for sharing a meal, drinks and inspiration when in the Algarve.
A wine farm, craft brewery, restaurant and place to stay all wrapped in one package.
An unwavering philosophy to preserve Portuguese native grapes, flora, and design, and embrace sustainability and positive energy.
Quinta dos Santos Wine Farm and Craft Brewery – A Gem in the Algarve
When you have a vision and define your philosophy and you benchmark every decision against those values, you cannot help but inspire and prosper.
Based in the Algarve, Portugal, Quinta dos Santos is a wine farm, craft brewery, trendy restaurant and place to stay wrapped in one package. It’s an impressive family venture, all held together by an unwavering philosophy to preserve native Portuguese grapes, flora and design, embrace sustainability and waste nothing, nurture positive energy to create a feeling of belonging for everyone and to produce the highest quality wine, beer and customer experience.
The bottom line: make this a destination on your next visit to the Algarve. Its beautiful, welcoming, great beer and wine, and excellent food.
The Wine Farm and Craft Brewery Concept
Quinta dos Santos was conceived in 2015 by the dos Santos family when they purchased land in the Algarve. South African residents Ann and Eugene dos Santos (familiar with the Algarve from family vacations and Eugene’s Portuguese heritage) originally intended to locate a few months of the year in Portugal to be closer to their sons who were at the time residing in the USA and Europe.
This mushroomed into the concept of creating a wine farm along the South African style of wineries which the family were familiar with back in the Cape, but not yet found in Portugal. In addition, with their sons involvement, they would incorporate craft beer production. Once you have wine and beer, you need food. Thus, the idea of a tapas bar and restaurant was born.
The venture became a family affair with Ann and Eugene joined by their sons Greg and Kyle and Kyle’s wife Elayna. All have their special place in the business. We met with Ann who was very welcoming and is engaging, passionate, direct and the dynamic force behind the design of the surroundings and co-creating their inspiring vision.
Turning vision to reality
In just four years the family cleared their land and after soil testing planted 3 hectares of grapes native to Portugal and 1 hectare of new olive trees (preserving many of the old olive trees already on the property).
They built the winery and first started making wine under the label Escolhido using selected grapes from other producers in the region. Once their own grapes are mature enough for wine production (in 2020) they will be used for Quinta dos Santos’ premium wine offering under the label Tesouro. In addition, they built a state-of-the-art micro-brewery currently capable of producing 144,000 litres annually.
They have designed and built their offices and a store -
o Espaco, and opened the strikingly beautiful restaurant a Esquina that overlooks the vineyards. The centre courtyard is an intersection point of the restaurant, the store and the brewery.
They have also remodelled an abandoned little house on the property to become a small guesthouse. The wine farm has already been the chosen venue for a few select weddings and is booked well into the future.
Native Portuguese grape varieties and flora reign supreme
In keeping with their philosophy of being true to Portuguese tradition, the grape varieties planted are all native Portuguese and include 4 reds - Touriga Nacional, Tinto Negra Mole, Sousao, Bastardo and 4 whites – Malvasia Fina, Arinto, Verdelho, Esgana Cao.
With a diversity of flora on the property – almond, fig, carob, wild thyme, olives, quince, orange and lemon trees – these flavours should become part of the wine flavour profile. The soil is limestone and clay and the climate for the grape varieties serves them well. Grapes from the property will be harvested for winemaking in 2020. As a boutique winery, the plan is to grow production to 35,000 bottles annually.
dos Santos Craft Beer – Purity of Style
The craft brewery production is led by Greg, the youngest son, who trained to become a master brewer under a German brew master in Cape Town. The micro beer production facility is beautiful and state of the art with shiny new stainless-steel equipment and is visible from the centre courtyard of Quinta dos Santos where you can savour your beer, wine and tapas. The beer is freshly brewed using only four core ingredients of water, hops, yeast and malted barley and no preservatives. It is produced year-round under the dos Santos brand. Stout, Lager, Pilsner, Amber Ale, Pale Ale and IPA are all part of the line-up. Seasonal beers are also crafted such as a mango IPA and others.
Sustainability
A lot of water is used in beer production, but none is wasted at Quinta dos Santos. The water is channeled and filtered and used for irrigation. Rainwater is captured for re-use. All packaging is recycled. Even expired beer (if there is any) will be made into a unique new product – a malty vinegar – that will be used in the restaurant and sold in the store. Sustainability is at the core of the entire business and this is reflected throughout all the Quinta dos Santos operations.
Exquisite Artisanal Food
Food is based on local flavour and a modern re-interpretation of Portuguese food. Olives and honey from the farm are now served in the restaurant. The menu is seasonal and artisanal, and we can attest the food is beautifully presented and so delicious you just want to order more of everything! You won’t find plastic bottles, tin cans, coke or other soft drinks of that type, no pasta, despite requests. It’s a matter of principle for the dos Santos family to be true to their values and their vision of the wine farm in Portugal. I believe this commitment is admirable and one of the reasons for their success.
Portuguese Influenced Design and Architecture
Ann is a ceramic and pottery artist and her strong sense of design is evident in the buildings and restaurant at Quinta dos Santos. The architecture is specifically based on the old Portuguese building style but with modern accents. The Moorish influence in Portugal from centuries ago, is re-created in the large arches, thick walls and palm trees. The huge windows, almost like open doors, give the space a very light and spacious feel. In the center courtyard stands a striking 200-year-old olive tree transplanted from elsewhere on the property.
Symbolism in Design
Ann explained how intentional the design is in every aspect of the business. The layout and decor are based on Feng Shui principles with a good mix of all the elements including stone, wood, metal, air and water. The balanced energy and harmony of the space contributes to the welcoming ambience of the facility, designed such that casual beer drinkers feel just as much at home as refined wine drinkers, whether they be local or international.
There is a strong connection and integration of the dos Santos branding in every design detail.
The new logo for their premium wine Tesouro (which means “treasure”) is a hexagon, which represents a stylized gem.
Dos Santos beer labels are based on azulejo tile design, which includes hexagons. Azulejo tiles have been embedded in Portuguese culture since the 16th and 17th centuries. The word azulejo is from Arabic roots, meaning ‘small polished stone’. Originally, they were fairly simple structures cut into geometric shapes in neutral tones. This design sense is reinterpreted and carried through everything at dos Santos.
The symbolism is also evident in the restaurant a Esquina, where the tiles are hexagonal and neutral tones prevail. “a Esquina” meaning “corner,” is literally in the corner of the facility overlooking the vineyards beautiful especially at night, and is the cornerstone of the wine farm concept. It is here that everything produced on the wine farm - wine, beer, olive oil, wine vinegar, honey - is served.
A bright future
The future holds more excitement as the Tesouro wine from their own grapes will be bottled next year. There are other interesting new product ideas in development, the UK market has expressed interest in the dos Santos beer and Ann is building her pottery studio to establish her own body of work which will be made available for purchase from the store at Quinta dos Santos.
Ann admits they never stop thinking about the business. They are determined, and they take anything negative and turn it into a positive. It has been non-stop, but it is exciting and rewarding. Without real planning the project has brought the family even closer together.
The future is bright, when you have a vision, believe in yourself and your ideas, and put them into action. The result is a beautiful and inspiring destination created by the dos Santos family. Make sure you include a visit to Quinta dos Santos when you visit the Algarve.
