Visit Quinta Das Senhoras winery

Join us in the historic village of Marialva in Portugal.

QUINTA DAS SENHORAS is located in Marialva, one of the twelve Historical Villages of Portugal, on the edge of the lands of Coa, the former border of León and Castile until 1297, during the reign of King Dinis. This territory has always been part of Lusitania and later the County of Portucale, situated on a plateau crossed by the ancient Roman road, which served as a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela from Mérida, Conimbriga, and Salamanca. Our wines are deeply connected to the history of Portugal.

QUINTA DAS SENHORAS has existed since the 19th century, thanks to the tenacity of a dynasty of ladies. The first of these, Dona Carolina, emigrated to Brazil and, upon her return, purchased and cultivated the land that still makes up the estate today. Here, a genuine and excellent wine is produced. She also contributed to the birth of vine planting and wine production in the state of Paraná, Brazil, particularly in a region that came to bear the name Marialva.

The name QUINTA DAS SENHORAS is inspired by and pays tribute to a remarkable lady, Dona Isabel of Aragon, who passed through the region on June 23, 1282, the eve of her Catholic wedding to King Dinis, on her way to Trancoso, where the ceremony was held.

A family business that honors the name of its founder and great-great-grandmother, it is rich in accumulated experience and has continued for five generations in the art of producing uniquely flavored wines, earning multiple awards in its recent history.

In Castro dos Aravos, there once stood a citadel of great political and military importance where, in the 1st century B.C., the Romans founded the Civitas Aravorum (City of the High Hill), upon which the village of Marialva was later built. The name Marialva is said to derive from the fact that King Afonso II granted this village to a lady named Maria Alva, with whom he fell in love.

The Legend of the Goat-Footed Lady tells of a beautiful woman named Maria Alva, who gave her name to Marialva. She wandered the castle tower and ultimately took her own life by throwing herself from it when her lover discovered and revealed the secret she had kept—that she had goat’s feet. This tale is recounted in one of the Legends and Narratives by Alexandre Herculano and in the nationally produced film for Eurovision in 1991, The Curse of Marialva, by António Macedo.