This event will take place on March 19th, at 3:00pm, at Quinta de Santa Cristina, and it will be guided by Mr. Manuel Resende Teixeira, a wine lover and connoisseur that has already served on the jury of several wine competitions.

After a guided tour to the winery, during it will be explained the entire winemaking process from the grapes’ reception area, stopping by the vats and fermentation station, to the bottling and labelling area, it will happen the workshop session, where will be mentioned the following subjects:

• Portugal in Europe
• Portugal’s Wine Regions
• The Different Terroirs in the Vinho Verde Region
• Basto Sub-Region: The Viticulture Development
• Quinta de Santa Cristina: Thinking VERDE since 2004

Afterwards, we will present 4 different wines produced at Quinta de Santa Cristina in order to enhance our terroir‘s versatility.

Each attendee will receive a participation diploma.

Registrations are limited and mandatory up to March 17th.
Price: 22.00€ per person

Contacts for registrations:
enoturismo@quintadesantacristina.pt | +351 912 527 396

O conteúdo wine workshop aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

This year, we gave the experience a twist and we are happy to announce that the program includes a couple photo shoot so they can remember the day anytime they wish.

Winelentine Experience is available in two different options:

WINE LOVERS
. Vine planting
. Guided tour to the vineyards and to the winery
. Sparkling wine and cheese tasting
. Couple photo shoot

IT’S A DATE!
. Vine planting
. Guided tour to the vineyards and to the winery
. Regional lunch at the estate paired with Quinta de Santa Cristina wines
. Couple photo shoot

Both packs include a box of Quinta de Santa Cristina Red Brut Sparkling Wine Bonbons as a gift.

The experience is available for couples on the following days:

• Saturday, February 5th, 2022
• Sunday, February 6th, 2022
• Saturday, February 12th, 2022
• Sunday, February 13th, 2022
• Saturday, February 19th, 2022
• Sunday, February 20th, 2022
• Saturday, February 26th, 2022
• Sunday, February 27th, 2022
• Monday, February 28th, 2022

Bookings are required and should be made in advance through one of the following contacts:
www.quintadesantacristina.pt
enoturismo@quintadesantacristina.pt
+351 912 527 396

See you soon, lovers!

O conteúdo winelentine experience aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

MEAT:

WHAT YOU NEED:

_ 1kg of cow meat (rump/plate)

_ 200g of bacon

_ 2 medium carrots

_ 2 cloves of garlic crushed

_ 2 tabelspoons of flour

_ 2 cups of Quinta de Santa Cristina Reserva 2016 red wine

_ 2 ´1/2 cups of meat broth

_ 1 tablespoonful of dried thyme

_ 1 tablespoon of tomato purée

_ Sea salt

_ Pepper

_ Vegetable oil

HOW TO COOK:

1. Preheat the oven to 200⁰C;
2. Cut the meat and the bacon in squares; season the meat with salt and pepper and set aside;
3. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan and heat it well; fry the bacon and set aside;
4. Meanwhile, dry your meat with paper towel and then sear it 3 to 4 times and set aside too;
5. Peel and slice the carrots and put them in a pan together with the meat; turn on the cooker in a low heat and add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and give everything a good stir;
6. Add the meat broth and the wine; pour in the tomato purée, garlic and thyme and check seasonings;
7. Let it cook on a high heat until it starts to boil; then, put the pan in the oven and lower the temperature to 180⁰C and let cook for 2:30h.

PURÉE:

WHAT YOU NEED:

_ 500g of potatoes

_ 1 egg

_ 1 tablespoon of butter

_ Nutmeg to taste

_ Pepper to taste

HOW TO COOK:

1. Boil the potatoes until they are nice and soft;
2. Strain the potatoes and save some water;
3. Crush the potatoes, add the butter and the egg and stir well (if it forms lumps, add some of the water reserved and kneed again);
4. Check the sea salt and add nutmeg and pepper.

ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS:

WHAT YOU NEED:

_ 200g of fresh mushrooms;

_ Canned spring onions (to taste)

_ 2 tablespoons of butter

HOW TO COOK:

1. Brown the spring onions with butter, pour in the mushrooms, season with salt and let them dry;
2. Add to the pan and stir everything well;
3. Serve with the purée.

Ana Godinho suggests pairing this delicious dish with the remaining wine from Quinta de Santa Cristina Reserva 2016 red wine botlle (and so do we!).

ENJOY YOUR MEAL!

Source: Café com Leite | Ana Godinho

O conteúdo Quinta de Santa Cristina wines pairs… boeuf bourguignon aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

In the Basto sub-region, summers are very hot and dry, which give the grapes produced there a high sugar concentration, which, in turn, originates wines with a high alcohol content. 2020’s summer was not atypical.

During the harvest, which takes about one month, we set the harvest time of the different grape varieties according to its perfect maturation stage and we give priority to certain plots. The Arinto grape variety plot which gave rise to this wine was one of the last plots harvested and, once it did not have the irrigation system installed, the grapes were dehydrated at the harvest time, which led to a higher sugar and acidity concentration. When we received the grapes in the winery, we measured the potential alcohol and we were quite surprised when we discovered it was 17%!

An important aspect has to be clarified: there was no specific reason to this plot be one of the last ones harvested, which implies that the production of this type of wine was not in our original plan. At that time, the winemaking team gathered and decided that it would be very interesting if they make something different from this raw material. So, they put the grape must in a separated vat and let it ferment naturally. The fermentation started and, when the ABV reached the 10,5%, they stopped the fermentation by decreasing the temperature inside the vat.

By making this experience, we obtained a wine with a sugar content of approximately 75 grams per liter and an alcohol content of 10,5%. Although it is a sweet wine, aspect that contributed for its denomination (Dulce, which means “sweet”), it is a wine that surprises with its freshness, distinctive characteristic of the Arinto grape variety. Powerful with unique, fruity, exotic and refreshing citrus aromas on the nose, Quinta de Santa Cristina Dulce pairs amazingly with spicy dishes like Indian and Asian food, seafood with intense flavor, foie gras and all desserts. As an aperitif, we recommend serving at a temperature between 6 and 8⁰C.

Great Wine Make Great Memories

O conteúdo Dulce, just what we needed! aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

Not all things were bad in 2020. Fruit of a very dry and hot Summer, our grapes reached high levels of either sugar and acidity, which gave the 2020 vintage’s wines an incredible body as well as a great evolution potential into the bottle.

Quinta de Santa Cristina Avesso 2020 white wine, highlighted by its structure, depth and body, surprised the jury at the moment of the tasting and conquered a very well-deserved Gold Medal. We like to call it our Golden Avesso. This is one of the few wines from Quinta de Santa Cristina range whose flavors incredibly suits the intense tastes of red meat dishes, making, thus, the perfect match. We still continue to surprise our customers when we tell them that we chose a wild boar dish to pair this wine in the day of its release, about 4 years ago, and the audience was speechless. Our Golden Avesso is a totally gastronomic wine, this is, it is an excellent wine to match strong flavors, as red meat, cheese and fat fish.

The second piece of good news is that Quinta de Santa Cristina Grande Escolha 2020 white wine was awarded Silver Medal at the international contest. This wine is the image of Quinta de Santa Cristina brand and it is the wine best representing the Basto sub-region of the Vinho Verde wine region in a general way. Grande Escolha is a fresh and aromatic wine with a well-balanced acidity. It is a wine which pleases the majority of Vinho Verde wine lovers, since it gathers all the particularities when we search for a typical Vinho Verde white wine.

Cheers!

Great Wines Make Great Memories

O conteúdo Quinta de Santa Cristina wines awarded at Mundus Vini wine competition aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

After several years of experiences, we decided to launch a brand new wine which is totally different from all the others included in our portfolio: a single wine made 100% from the Sauvignon Blanc French grape variety.

This grape variety is original from Bordeaux and Loire Valley wine regions, in France, and it is one of the most planted in the whole world, for about 200,000 hectares of vineyards.

And why did we choose this grape variety?
To highlight the versatility of the Basto sub-region and the Vinho Verde region, showing the great developing potential of this variety in Quinta de Santa Cristina’s terroir. Besides its prestige around the world, which is, of course, an advantage, Sauvignon Blanc is a very well-known grape variety, making its wines long lasting in the mouth and in the memory of those who try them.

Regarding its ampelographic characteristics, Sauvignon Blanc presents outlined leaves and medium, compact and conic bunches with yellowish berries. It has an early maturation, being one of the first grapes harvested. After the selection of the best bunches and the entry in the winery, the grape must ferments at controlled temperature in order to preserve its delicate aromas. Then, this wine ages for some time in acacia barrels, which gives it some complexity, but without hiding the grape’s essence.

At the tasting moment, Sauvignon Blanc surprises with its elegance, but at the same time, with its complexity and its intensity in the mouth. Citrus-like white, this wine enhances its floral and some spicy notes on the nose. In the mouth, it is intense, with some structure, fresh and with a long and pleasant finish.

Quinta de Santa Cristina Sauvignon Blanc is perfect to pair with delicate fish, as turbot or fresh cod, and some shellfish, as oysters or squid. It is also a good idea pairing it with cheeses not too cured.

Are you excited to try it?

You can get your Quinta de Santa Cristina Sauvignon Blanc soon and enjoy a good moment side by side!

Great Wines Make Great Memories

O conteúdo Sauvignon Blanc is the Quinta de Santa Cristina family’s new member aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

So, we created “Will you be my Valentine?” vouchers, which will be available until February 14th, that promise to provide unique moments among vineyards. 

Get your voucher now at:
enoturismo@garantiadasquintas.com
+351 912 527 396

O conteúdo Will you be my Valentine? aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

The production starts with the base wine, which should have a good acidity and a low alcohol content. Our white sparkling wines are made from Arinto grape variety, our rosés are based on an Espadeiro and Vinhão blend and the red sparkling wines are obtained 100% from Vinhão grape variety.

After the vinification and the bottling of the base wine, we close the bottle with a metallic capsule and add a mixture of sugar, nutrients and yeasts, which is responsible for a second fermentation into the bottle. After the fermentation, we have a more alcoholic wine, gas – the typical sparkling wines’ bubbles – and some lees. Then, we leave the sparkling wines in contact with these lees in order to age. The Reserva sparkling wines stay in contact with the lees for 2 years and the Super Reserva sparkling wines stay from 3 to 5 years aging.

Ending the aging time, we put the bottles in wooden racks and it’s made a riddling process (from the French, remuage): we turn the bottles around themselves, a quarter per day, until all the lees are concentrated in the neck of the bottle so that we have a clear sparkling wine.

After that, it’s time to make another process, the disgorging (from the French, dégorgement): the neck of the bottle is frozen in order to remove the lees without being in contact with the clear sparkling wine.

At the end of this process, we fill up the bottle with the same type of sparkling wine, because, at the moment of the disgorging, it comes out some sparkling wine due to the pressure (around 6 bar), and, according to the classic method, it’s added the dosage, a mixture of wine and sugar that will define the sparkling wine’s sweetness level: dry, medium dry, medium sweet, sweet. As our sparkling wines are all brut, we don’t add that mixture. Afterwards, we put the cork stopper (the metallic capsule is only temporary), the musulet (wire around the neck of the bottle) and we label the bottles.

After 30 days of stabilization, the sparkling wines are ready to be commercialized and to join you in the best moments.

Great Wines Make Great Memories

O conteúdo how do we produce our sparkling wines? aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

Batoca was born and it is a recommended grape variety for the Basto sub-region of the Vinho Verde wine region, where it finds its full quality potential. In the past, locals commonly used this variety to produce their wines, but, as it is favorable to the development of certain diseases, sometimes they reached the harvest time and the grapes weren’t at their best conditions to pick up and then vinificate. Give this continuous unhappy occurrence, people stopped producing it until it became extinct.

About its ampelographic characteristics, Batoca grape variety presents:

Large size, light green and bubbly leaves, slightly bristly on the lower surface.

Big, compact and chunky bunches (some can reach 2kg!) with short stalk. Big and uniform green-yellowish berries. Thick skin and firm and little juicy pulp.

Batoca grape variety is very robust. It is a medium production grape, result of the bunches’ size. Its maturation is medium and the bud break and flowering are medium to late.

Relating to its production, we are proud to say that Quinta de Santa Cristina is the unique producer of a Batoca grape variety single wine!

The process starts with the harvest and selection of the best bunches followed by their transport to the winery. Here, we put the bunches inside the pneumatic presses, where they are pressed during about 1h30, in order to extract the grape must. After this period, we transfer the must to the stainless steel vats where it will ferment at controlled temperature.

Tasting Notes

Quinta de Santa Cristina Batoca, exclusively made from Batoca grapes, presents itself clear with strong fruity aromas with hints of tree fruit, such as apple, pear and some citrus. In the mouth, it reveals smooth and well-balanced, very fresh and refreshing. It is excellent on its own during a sunset party with friends or paired with some light dishes as starters and not too spicy meat and fish.

If you haven’t tried it yet, we invite you to visit us and enjoy this experience in loco.

Cheers!

Great Wines Make Great Memories

O conteúdo Batoca, the apple of our eyes aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.

The harvest started in the 1st of September and we expect it lasts until the end of the month. This year, the quantity of grapes increased side by side with the quality, which seems to be at an excellence level.

Amongst the vineyards, our farm workers cut the bunches and select the best ones to go to the winery, where it will get started the whole vinification process. The first grapes that entered the winery were from the Arinto grape variety, the ones we normally use for Quinta de Santa Cristina white sparkling wines. Then, took place the Alvarinho grapes harvest, since it is a early maturation grape variety that matures ealier than almost all the other ones. This variety produces wines with a high alcohol content as well as fruity or floral profiles, depending on the different altitudes at the vineyards are planted. After Alvarinho, it is time to pick all the other varieties, such as Batoca, Azal, Trajadura, Loureiro and, at last, the red grape varieties – Vinhão, Padeiro, Espadeiro,…

This year, we expect wines with high alcohol content paired with very well-balanced acidity comparing to the previous years, result of the heat in the June and July months. Thus, 2020’s vintage will be marked by structured, full-bodied and very intense in terms of both aromatic and flavor wines, making this one of the best vintages or, perhaps, the best of them all.

Cheers!  

O conteúdo The magic season is here! aparece primeiro em Quinta de Santa Cristina.