It all started with Bernardo Rodrigues de Carvalho in 1864. An uneducated young man from the Douro (his family records in the Douro date back to the beginning of the 17th century) that didn’t really accept limitations and got very successful trying new things.
First of all, he chose an older woman as his wife – the daughter of his boss. She was 10 years older and the families didn’t approve that relationship – so they ran away and came back as a married couple. Bernardo then bought the property from his mother-in-law in 1864 – and that is when the success story of the Quinta de Santa Eufêmia starts.
Bernardo tried to expand the Quinta – and he took advantage of the phylloxera-misery. When many wine farmers gave up and sold their vineyards, he added to the Quinta.
He produced substantial amounts of wine – but he (and the next generations) sold only so much wine as necessary to keep the Quinta up and running. Over the decades an amazing stock of wine was created.
The making of wine at that place dates back to the Roman times… Evidence was found that grapes were grown and made into wine already in the first century – 2,000 years ago.
However, Bernardo Rodrigues de Carvalho was also able to enjoy life. While he loved horses and was most of the time seen on a horse while inspecting the vineyards, he was one of the very first people in the Douro Valley to own a car! You can still find his initials BRC on several granite stones around the property and on many of the old barrels.
He even made it to Rome, to have an audience with the pope. The family still owns the papal bull that granted him and the next generations of his family free entry to Heaven – as long as they repent their sins in the hour of death.
The Quinta is still owned by the same family – however, it is now two families and two Quintas. The Quinta and the massive amount of wine were large enough to split everything up and to have two operating Quintas (Quinta de Santa Eufêmia and Casa de Santa Eufêmia).
This article deals with the Quinta de Santa Eufêmia.
It is currently owned by the 4th generation of the family – and it is quite a large generation, as seven siblings own the enterprise in equal parts since the early 1990s. Thanks to the entry of Portugal into the European Union it was allowed, that wine producers in the Douro launch their own wines – and the Quinta de Santa Eufêmia took quick advantage of that and since 1992 the own wines are produced.
For such a small family enterprise the number of different wines is just mind-blowing – and the quality, too. The very conservative management of the past helps now tremendously to take advantage of the growing tourism in Portugal, as many high-quality wines wait for the visitors to be tasted.
The Quinta has always been famous for making great wine Ports… and many white Ports of other Douro producers have some white wine of Quinta de Santa Eufêmia in them.
The Quinta offers 10, 20 and 30 Year Old White Ports (and without any doubt, go for the 30 year old – it is very nice) and also 10,20, 30 and 40 Year Old red Ports (whereby I would recommend here, of course, the 40 year old).
We find the entry-level Ports – but also the really great old Tawnies. I have heard that the Quinta wanted to launch a special old Port to celebrate 150 years of existence, a magic wine in 0.5-liter bottles – but I have never seen the wine and don’t know if the project ever really happened.
While there are seven siblings who own the company, the firm is really run by two of them: Bernardo (who is responsible for the marketing of the Port and Douro wines and the olive oil) and Alzira Viseu de Carvalho – who is the winemaker and responsible for the great wines that we see coming from Quinta de Santa Eufêmia.
While you won’t find their wines in supermarkets, they are available thanks to the internet. While in the past the export was very important for the company (about 70% of the production was exported) nowadays it is a little bit easier… the tourists have discovered Portugal and come in large numbers. A great place to taste the wines of the Quinta is in Porto – or better, Vila Nova de Gaia. In the middle of all the other Port lodges a few years ago Santa Eufêmia opened a tasting room – and the public response has been overwhelming. It is estimated that more than 300,000 tourists visit the lodge every year… and you can also find their wines in Lisbon and at the Algarve.
As far as I know, the Quinta produces around 200,000 liters Port a year – they have around 50 hectares available for wine production and for the reason of quality control they don’t buy grapes or wines of other producers. While the company could expand more, it gets more and more difficult to find sufficient people to work in the vineyards.
The production of still wine has also become more important for the company – but is only around 10% of the Port production.
If you make it to the Douro Valley, a visit to the Quinta is highly recommended. You can reach it easily in 10-15 minutes coming from Regua; it’s located in the small village of Parada do Bispo. Nice people and amazing wines are awaiting you.
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Sociedade Vitivinícola Qta.Sta.Eufemia,LDA
Quinta de Santa Eufemia
5100-651 Parada do Bispo
PORTUGAL
Tel.: (351) 254331970
Email: quintasantaeufemia@sapo.pt
Opening times for the Quinta:
Monday to Friday; 9:00-12:00 and 14:30-17:00
Web-Page: www.qtastaeufemia.com