The gardens with wine, Casal Santa Maria

At the of May I had the pleasure to visit the vineyeard Casal Sta Maria in our beach region, Colares - the Westernmost Vineyards of Europe.  Between Almoçageme and Casas Novas, Penedo, sits the main house, originally from 1720, and its beautiful gardens. I was very well received by the enologist António Figueiredo who gave us a tour and explained the origins of the vineyards.

Now, I quote directly from their bochure for a moment to resite the story of Baron Bruemmer, the 102 year old man who is still in charge of the operations:

"To understand me better and why I came to Portugal one must understand a little bit about the reasons. I  was born in 1911 in one of the former Baltic Russian Provinces, Livonia. In 1918 we had to flee to Germany and then to different places all over the World. I went to 15 different schools and, finally I landed in Switzerland, where I developed my professional life. Ever since we lost our home it had been my dream to start a new tradition for my family and for that I needed the perfect place.  After my 51st anniversary, in 1962, I bought Casal Sta. Maria and years later I created the largest Arab horses' stud farm in Portugal. 

In 2006, after a serious and complicated operation, I woke up with the idea of producing wine. Three weeks  later I started putting this idea into practie by planting the first vineyars.  Now with 102 years old I am proud to present the wines of Casal Sta. Maria."

The Sauvignon Blanc was worth bringing along!

The estate stands between the Atlantic Ocean and Serra de Sintra and is influenced by a maritime climate with cool nights, misty mornings and fresh afternoon breezes. It had had a wine production before, but it was interrupted in 1903. Within the estate |they| grow fine wines which call to mind the ocean, very fragrant, fresh and balanced, with strong savoury sea notes. The wines are characterized by their ageing potential, their character and complexity.









This is all true.  I usually favor reds, but was very impressed by the sauvignon blanc and even surprised byt the late harvest dessert wine. The wines were a very pleasant surprise, and the estate as well.

The Late Harvest Dessert Wine was a beautiful surprise 

The brochure cannot transmit the beauty of the place.  It does not tell you the beautiful love stories of the Baron with his wife who still is present through the 200 species of roses in the estate, nor the passion he had about the horses that he lost to a European wide epidemy.

ROSES! So many types, all over

Because it is such a fantastic place to visit with excellent wines to taste, we strongly suggest a visit.  The best way in my opinion would be to hire an electric bike and ride out to the vineyards, visit the estate and taste the wines, continue to one of the nice restaurants near by for a fabulous lunch, and then ride back. A day well spent.

There is an old enclosed fountain with beautiful azulejos in the garden

Let us know if you want us to book a visit for you!