Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo is a wine estate and rural hotel in Covas do Douro, in the municipality of Sabrosa, on the right bank of the Douro in the Cima Corgo area. It is one of the Douro estates with an organised wine-tourism offer, including accommodation, a restaurant, tastings and visits.

The vineyard is divided into 41 small parcels, planted from the year 2000, which allows each one to be worked separately.

History and wine

• Sources place the origin of the estate and of the original winery building in 1764; the property has belonged to the Amorim family since 1999.
• In 2005, according to the Wines of Portugal website, the country's first wine hotel opened here, in a restored 19th-century manor house.
• Production, historically closely tied to Port wine, now gives great weight to DOC Douro still wines, made parcel by parcel.

Visiting and staying

The official website mentions wine tastings, visits to the vineyards and the winery, a museum space, 8 km of marked walking trails, a chapel dated 1795 and the Terraçu's restaurant. The accommodation (Winery House, Relais & Châteaux) has 11 rooms, split between the manor house and terrace rooms, and a pool. Conditions and availability should be confirmed directly with the estate.

Getting there

According to the estate, you can arrive by road (A1 or A4, via Vila Real and the Sabrosa exit), by train on the Douro line to Ferrão station, or by boat, with a transfer service across the river. Guests are offered a transfer between the accommodation and the Ferrão dock or station. Check the state of the line before travelling, as the website mentions a road transfer between Marco and Régua due to a partial interruption. The estate also runs a Wine House at Pinhão railway station.