Beer, wine, food and tourism. This wants to be the winning formula of “Quinta dos Arcos”, to be born in the Sesmarias area, in the municipality of Lagoa. There are 4 million euros of investment, by a Portuguese-descendant family, in a project that involves the production of three types of craft beer, red, white and rosé wines, the creation of a “tapas-bar” and even guided tours.
The World Wine Tourism Day, celebrated on November 11th, was the ideal pretext to discover this brand new project. The idea is, in December, to open the “tapas-bar” and start selling beer.
In this “tapas-bar”, with capacity for 100 people, tapas with Portuguese products will be served, the three beers “Dos Santos” (one stock, other pilsner and still one amber ale), as well as the “Treasure” wine. All in a space with a double view: to the kitchen, inside the restaurant, and to the vineyard, in an incredible setting.
The winery, where the nectar from the three hectares of vineyards planted on the Quinta will be produced, is only scheduled to open next year.
The Santos family is the face of “Quinta dos Arcos”. In April, they left South Africa and headed for the Algarve. The lack of security in the African country was one of the reasons that motivated the move.
The proper names aren't even Portuguese (Eugene, Ann, Gregory and Kyle)… but the nickname is. Eugene's father, the patriarch of the family, was born in 1931 in Lisbon, but ended up emigrating, young, to South Africa. Hence the “dos Santos”.
The Algarve was not unknown to this family – they used to spend their holidays in the region – and now business has been combined with pleasure. «It is a privilege to come to the Algarve. We are making a dream come true and making a life project», said Eugene, on the guided tour of the facilities, in which the Sul Informação participated.
This space, where “Quinta dos Arcos” will be born, wants to take on what Portuguese traditions are. For example, the architecture resembles an old convent, with a cloister. There are also vaults and the floor is paved. The car park will be decorated with olive trees.
“The land was abandoned. We thought about creating something that felt like it's always been here,” explained Ann.
Another example of Portuguese identity is the fact that the labels of the three beers have tiles, typically Portuguese, and an Algarve chimney, as decoration.
As for beer production, Aníbal Neto, another of those responsible for the project, explained that the Quinta will have the capacity to produce 1200 liters.
The process will be controlled by a computer program to minimize human error, and there will also be a bottling line that can label and encapsulate 600 bottles per hour.
Still in production, but of wine, in a first phase, this will be «10 or 15 thousand liters». “The idea is to go back a bit in manufacturing methods and go back to concrete deposits. There will also be two stone presses for traditional treading on foot,” explained Eugene.
As for the varieties, «we tried to make the most of the traditional Algarve variety. The objective is to make different wines with black mole. We have a darker and a lighter one», revealed Aníbal Neto. There are also touriga nacional, verdelho, bastardo, sousão and stickleback.
The idea behind this project is that, in the future, it will be possible to visit the entire manufacturing process, both beers and wine, on guided tours of the farm.
On that property of about eight hectares, a three-bedroom lodging house will also be built and, in an annex of the “dos Santos” family house, two are being built. suites. The two spaces are scheduled to open next month.
Ideas don't stop there. In addition to the tourist part, the “tapas-bar”, the production of beer and wine, olive oil will also be produced and there will be a shop where traditional handicrafts, works by Ann dos Santos will be sold, and, of course, the wine and the beer.
Luís Encarnação, Councilor of Lagoa, also participated in this visit, and stressed that the wine tourism aspect is «something important», as it allows «to diversify the tourist offer throughout the year».
For now, two jobs have already been created, but with the opening of the tapas-bar, the number will rise to ten, in this “Quinta dos Arcos”, in beer, wine… and tourism.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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