Quinta do Ameal

It was the year of 2013, we were in a wine tasting waiting for our glasses to be filled with Quinta do Ameal Loureiro, and despite already knowing the wines, we hadn’t met their producer, Pedro Araújo. Nice, smiley, and very passionate in his words, after a good talk about his wines, he confessed us he was creating wine a tourism at his farm. Showed us some pictures, talked about his ideas and his enthusiasm was so contagious we already expected something brilliant!

Years passed by, we kept running into Pedro in wine tastings and he always kept his enthusiasm, but nowadays all those captivating ideas are real. In 2016 we almost went to see and feel the reason of so much enthusiasm, but something unexpected got in the way!

The cellar where the great wines of Ameal rest 

But finally, in 2017, we went and I perfectly understood the passion in Pedro’s words, and just like that my passion for Quinta do Ameal and its wine tourism was born.

Nothing gives me more joy than mixing luxury with pure nature, wilderness, in its purest state. And that’s how I define Quinta do Ameal, a refuge in the middle of nature, mixing perfectly with the luxury present in every detail.

Casa Grande

Quinta do Ameal is a property in Ponte de Lima dating back from 1710, it counts with 30 hectares and it’s where Pedro creates and produces white wines of excellence, from the caste Loureiro.

It was acquired by the family in the 90’s, after the sale of Ramos Pinto, yes, Pedro has the history of wine running in his veins, being the great-grandson of Adriano Ramos Pinto. The Quinta was completely abandoned but an excellent recovery work was done here.

From the 30 hectares of the farm, 14 are vineyards, the rest is virgin forest, full of strength, and where Ameal Wine & Tourism Terroir occupies the space of the former houses, recovered and thought by Pedro, with a touch of good taste not common to everybody!

We arrived in a marvelous sunny day, Spring welcoming us with open arms, and the colors of nature as good hostesses.

The path from the entrance of the quinta to the houses is divine, surrounded by vineyards on one side and pine trees on the other with over 200 years of life and history, showing us a strong influence of the Mediterranean climate, with these imposing trees from the Old World!

Pedro welcomed us with his usual smile and immediately made us feel at home.

Around the Quinta there are several activities available, you can just stay around the pool all day with nature as background, or go for walks and discover paths among the trees, flowers, and vineyards, romantic corners and just get delighted, or even appreciate the different products growing in the land that assure a range of biologic options.

For the most adventurous souls, you can organize several activities in the Lima River, like the Kayak descent. If you enjoy walking, nothing like a good, long walk of 40km in the fabulous eco path with the Lima River as a companion.

For wine lovers, this place is magical, start with a visit to the vineyards, with Pedro as the guide, then visit the cellar and finish with an excellent wine tasting accompanied with some snacks.

Well, but now let’s talk about the recovery of the old houses. The main building, called Casa Grande, aka Big House (would’ve been the main house of those who lived here) has the biggest number of beds and a living area, the tasting room, or lounge, as you wanna call it, and three suites (Jardim, Camélia, and Glicínia), I mean they’re like houses, but we’ll get there!

The house among Bamboos and Vineyards 

A few meters away from this House, we have the House Among Bamboos and Vineyards (the former herdsman’s house) and why the name? Because of its location, surrounded by bamboos, that give it an oriental look, and some of the wonderful vineyards!

There are other buildings spread around the farm, the two former cowsheds yet to recover – maybe one day they can turn into a barn allowing the guests another great activity – the Housekeeper’s house (pleonasm aside!), and the offices.

But talking about what’s important…. my suite!
We stayed in the suite named Jardim (garden), and as the name indicates it had direct access to a huge garden, almost like a private nature corner just for me!

There are bedrooms, and then, those places you want to live in! And I felt exactly like that here. The feeling I got as soon as entering was that I could live there, mainly because of the perfect combination of history, elegance, luxury, and rusticity of the decoration.

The white of the walls gave the bedroom a sober environment, while the small areas in stone gave it just the right amount of rusticity, the furniture was the history element, each piece already have been used for other functions, and then restored, even the door of the bedroom was once the door of Pedro’s grandmother’s house!

The bed, besides huge as I love, must’ve been one of the comfiest I ever slept in.

 The room, simultaneously kitchen, living room and dining room, had the same elegance and decoration of the bedroom, art pieces, cozy furniture, rustic enough and with much, much light, coming from the windows perfectly placed. From here we had access to the garden, like a piece of paradise just for us!

By now you must be wondering about Cíntia’s favorite area! Well, let me tell you about this bathroom…. My God…
To start, a shower that could easily fit like half a dozen people!!! Double sinks, like, I mean, the best concept ever, a bathtub aside from wall, perfect decoration detail, much more interesting than the common tub, and books as decor, I can’t get tired of referring that, is there anything more interesting to decorate with? No! And looking at the picture you can see my passion for this bathroom, but there’s a detail you can’t see, the warm floors, and that’s one of the best qualities a bathroom can have!

You know what? Luxury is definitely in the details!

One of the best rooms I’ve ever been in, for sure!

Another fascinating detail about Quinta do Ameal was the fact I felt in a family home, always feeling pampered, in details as perfect as waking up in the morning and having breakfast at the door!

Obviously, this breakfast was taken in the garden, accompanied by the most sublime sound of all, the sound of nature!

Concerning meals, there’s not a restaurant (yet!!!) but the meals are assured at any time, that you can warm up or prepare in the suite or in the main room at the Casa Grande, so you don’t have to leave the quinta. But Ponte de Lima is also a place of good food, so if you need, the team of Quinta do Ameal has a series of good options to indicate you.

Main Room

Talking a bit about this room, it follows the same decorative line of the bedrooms, contemporary details, comfort in every detail and elegance. It’s also equipped with a kitchen that turned into the perfect place where we were able to cook and have a dinner with friends, with good music and good wines! The perfect evening!

And speaking of good wines, that’s exactly what is produced in this Quinta, some of the best white wines produced in the region of “Vinhos Verdes” and in Portugal. So, you can imagine we were “forced” to a tasting of Quinta do Ameal’s wines, working as a warm-up to the amazing evening I referred!

Quinta do Ameal Escolha

As you can see we had no thirst problems 

Among the tasted wines, the highlight goes to the 2015 harvest, both the Escolha and the Solo Único where in great shape, but the one that more easily conquered us was the Loureiro from 2007, showing the great aging ability of the wines and their elegance.

Those wishing to stay at Quinta do Ameal with friends or family, the ideal is the House among Bamboos and Vineyards, because it’s an authentic villa, with two huge bedrooms and common areas perfect for any mortal.

Another particularity of this house is the amazing and very Asian outdoor shower, taking us immediately to an exotic place somewhere in the world, the Camélia Suite also has this detail.

Suite Glicínia

The truth is these details and corners that make it different from everything else wouldn’t be possible without the vision and the traveling culture of their thinker, and in that Pedro was perfect.

Quinta do Ameal and its project Ameal Wine & Tourism Terroir are the perfect refuge if you just want to go away for a while and seek for a small piece of paradise on Earth.

The rough nature is, at the same time, virgin and pure; and it is felt so strongly you can’t put into words! This place is as much as authentic and genuine as it is unreal!

A special thank you to Pedro and the team of Quinta do Ameal for all the love!

See you soon…