Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Portugal / Peso da Regua / Quinta do Pego
Quinta do Pego
Peso da Regua, Portugal · Independent · Accessible Luxury
Every room is named for something you would eat alongside Port, and you arrive to a glass of the one on your door with the chocolate or the dried fruit that goes with it. There are only ten of them, in a house that sat in ruins until a Danish buyer, Karsten Sondergaard, spent 3.5 million euros between 2007 and 2009 rebuilding it. Wine has been made on this hillside since at least 1548. The terrace stands 138 metres above the Douro, looking across at the terraces above Pinhao.
- 10 rooms
- Opened 2009
About Quinta do Pego
- Documents record wine being made at Quinta do Pego in 1548, two centuries before the Douro became the world's first demarcated wine region, and the site may go back to the Roman occupation.
- The rooms are named after Port pairings, Chocolate Port and Port with Dried Fruit among them, and each guest is met with a glass of that Port and the delicacy the room was named for.
- The estate belongs to a Danish businessman, Karsten Sondergaard, who came to the valley through the Port house Rozes and then handed Rozes the running of the vineyard.
- Thirty hectares of terraced vines surround the ten guest rooms, and the property took a Best Wine Tourism award for accommodation in 2011.
History
Wine has been made at Quinta do Pego since at least 1548, according to the estate's own documents, and quite possibly since the Roman occupation. It sits in the Cima Corgo, the heart of Port country, on the slope above the Douro near Pinhao.
The modern chapter began when a Danish businessman, Karsten Sondergaard, fell for the valley through the Port house Rozes and bought the quinta: thirty hectares of vineyard and a house standing in ruins. He handed the running of the vines to Rozes and backed a plan to rebuild the house as a small hotel. The restoration ran from 2007 to 2009 and cost 3.5 million euros, delayed largely by permitting, and the ten-room Hotel Rural Quinta do Pego opened in the spring of 2009. The rebuild was done with care not to disturb the landscape around it.
Each of the ten rooms is named for a Port pairing, from Chocolate Port to Port with Dried Fruit, and guests are welcomed with a glass of that Port and the delicacy behind the name. The house keeps a chapel, a wine shop, a restaurant and a heated outdoor pool on a terrace roughly 138 metres above the river. The estate's own Ports and Douro reds are sold internationally, and the hotel won a Best Wine Tourism award for accommodation in 2011.
The setting
The quinta stands on the EN222 at Valenca do Douro, in the municipality of Tabuaco, high above the river and a few minutes from Pinhao. This is the Cima Corgo, the sub-region that grows the best Port grapes, and the terraces visible from the main terrace are part of the Alto Douro Vinhateiro that UNESCO listed in 2001. The EN222 itself, which runs the south bank from Regua to Pinhao, is regularly called one of the best driving roads in Europe.
Experiences
- Wine tastings — Wine tastings available daily, with advance booking recommended.
- Vineyard and estate walks — Walks through vineyards and the estate, referred to as between walks, tastings and meals.
- Port wine and tea in room — Port wine and tea provided in the room.
Amenities
- Port wine and tea in the room
- Wireless internet
- Outdoor swimming pool
- Gardens and outdoor corners
- Buffet breakfast
- Meal services
- Wine tastings
Awards
- Best Wine Tourism Award (Accommodation) (2011)
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