QUINTA DE PAÇOS – Sociedade Agrícola, Lda

The Company: patrimony and mission

Quinta de Paços Sociedade Agrícola, Lda. is a family-based company
which exploits its agricultural patrimony aiming to produce high-quality
wines with a distinctive personality, resulting from a special emphasis on
their natural and authentic character.
The society's patrimony comprises an area of around 200 hectares,
divided into five estates in the municipality of Barcelos – Casa de Paços -
Quinta de Paços, Prazo da Cotovia, Morgadio do Perdigão, Quinta de Vila
Meã and Morgadio de Real – and one in the municipality of Monção –
Casa do Capitão-Mor - Quinta da Boavista.
In the municipality of Barcelos, Casa de Paços - Quinta de Paços has
remained a property of the same family for more than 500 years and 17
generations, maintaining a tradition of expertise on wine making in the
region of Minho lasting for more than 5 centuries.
In the parish of Mazedo, municipality of Monção, the remotest reference
to the Majorat of Boavista dates back to the XIVth century, its owner
then being Affonso de Novaes, a knight of the King Afonso III. The fact
that in 1640 it became a property of Francisco Soares de Castro, the
high-commander (Capitão-Mor) of Monção, accounts for the name Casa
do Capitão-Mor, by which it would become known until nowadays.

Prizes
In the XIX century the two main estates of the company – Casa de Paços
- Quinta de Paços (Barcelos) and Casa do Capitão-Mor - Quinta da
Boavista (Monção) – had already gained international recognition and
prestige, attested by the most ancient prizes publicly known in the
region of Minho: the prize awarded to the Casa de Paços - Quinta de
Paços wine in Philadelphia in 1876, on the occasion of the USA
Centennial Exhibition, where it was considered "very good" both in taste
and bouquet, and the two prizes awarded to the Casa do Capitão-Mor -
Quinta da Boavista wine at the Exhibition of Portuguese Wines in Berlin
in 1888.

More recently, many awards (gold and Silver medals) and accolades
were received such us: one of “the 50 best Portuguese wines in the
USA”, and in magazines and competitions such as: Wine & Spirits, Wine
Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, Mundus Vini, AWCvienna, Sakura Japan,
Berliner Wine Challenge, International Wine and Spirits Competition,
Wine Challenge, Decanter Wine Awards, Harper’s Wine, and in Portugal
by the Portuguese Wine Chalenge “Revista de Vinhos" “Vinhos Grandes
Escolhas”, and by “Wine Passion”, just to name a few.
In the book ´Wine Opus` published by DK, in the list of the top world
wine producers Quinta de Paços was one of the only four selected
producers in Minho´s region.

Vineyards and Winemaking

The existence of vineyards in Casa de Paços - Quinta de Paços dates back
to the XVI century, and throughout time significant innovations were
introduced in its cultivation, which ensured important improvement, of
which the international prizes awarded to some of its wines (cf. the
section "Prizes") are relevant proof. In the XX century, its main vineyard
excelled on account of an unusual combination of white grape varieties –
Alvarinho, Arinto, Loureiro and Fernão Pires – which gave rise to a wine
of high reputation all over the region.
Nowadays, an integrated production system is made effective in
viticulture, which includes correct phytosanitary protection practices,
without resort to toxic pesticides.
The winemaking process is carried out in two wineries located in the
parishes of Rio Covo St. Eulália, municipality of Barcelos (Casa de Paços),
and Mazedo, municipality of Monção (Casa do Capitão-Mor).

Soils
The composition of the soil in these estates ranges from the calc-alkaline
granites with a porphyritic texture to the schist (in smaller areas).
Likewise, the grounds benefit from different types of exposure to
sunlight, which ensures excellent conditions for the production of quality
wines.
In Casa do Capitão-Mor - Quinta da Boavista, in particular, the calc-
alkaline granitic soil, similar to that of the French regions of
Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Graves, is covered with round pebbles, a
greatly valued characteristic for the production of superior wines.