Quinta do Gradil

Quinta do Gradil is located on the western foothills of the Serra de Montejunto, in the transition between the area of the humid winds from the Atlantic and the permanent winds from the west, and the region of dry summers.

The Lisbon region, formerly called Estremadura, stands out among wine-producing regions for its complexity and diversity in several areas: geology, climate and type of vegetation. It is a land of dispersion and plurality, and is often referred to as the land where paradoxes thrive.

Portugal’s western region is one of the tourist regions with the greatest potential, and the choice between the sea and the hills offers a range of options.

Its location, near the Serra de Montejunto, makes Quinta do Gradil a unique place, where customers can come, relax and taste some of the region’s best wines. We try to strengthen this symbiosis, specifically with the environment that surrounds us and the different activities offered by the region.

Quinta do Gradil, considered as one of the oldest estates, if not the oldest one, part of Cadaval Municipality, has a secular historical background and forms a significant architectural landmark. The documentary references found concerning Quinta do Gradil go back to the end of the 15th century, in a Royal document. On 14 February 1492, the date of the document, D. Martinho de Noronha received from King John II a letter of donation of the jurisdiction and rents from the Municipality of Cadaval and Quinta do Gradil. On the occasion of the ascension of King Manuel I to the Portuguese throne, and his actions in favour of the members of the House of Braganza, reference was made to Quinta do Gradil in the confirmation of the donation made by King Manuel I to Álvaro de Braganza, the youngest brother of the 3rd Duke of Braganza, D. Fernando II, who was sentenced to be beheaded for treason, by King John II, in 1483.

The estate was acquired by the Marquês de Pombal, on the occasion of the movement that, from 1760, led to the occupation of municipal lands. It is established that it was already involved in the cultivation of vineyards at the time, a fact that must have been the decisive factor for the statesman responsible for the creation of the Companhia das Vinhas do Alto Douro, the Douro wine producing company. It continued as a possession of the family until the middle of the 20th century, when it was bought by Sampaio de Oliveira. Then, at the end of the 1990s, the current owner, Luís Vieira, acquired this estate.

The historical buildings include a Pombaline palace, a chapel, a mill, a granary, a stone aqueduct, a “mãe de água” or water house, a water tank and the imposing winery.

It is in the historic environment and in the bucolic natural mountain landscape, that we invite you to discover one of the oldest wine producing estates in the region of Lisbon.