Quinta do Pé da Serra was acquired by an ancestor of the current owners on 3 August 1799. On 31 August 1856, Margarida Helena de Almeida Costa, heiress to the property, married Councillor Francisco Joaquim da Costa e Silva (son of the 1st Viscount of Ovar).

Owning property in the region, they developed the production and commercialisation of wine, creating their own brand (F.C. – Francisco Costa), which, as a result of its development and prosperity, was exported to Brazil.

In the mid-19th century, a disease broke out in Europe, caused by an insect called phylloxera, which came from the American continent and decimated a large part of Europe’s vineyards (specifically in France) and, from 1865 onwards, the national vineyard aswell. This insect attacked the roots of the vines, causing wilting and causing great damage to foresters. Paradoxically, this determined the flowering of wine in the Colares region. The Colares vineyards were not affected by this disease due to their specific characteristic of being planted in sandy soil and at great depth, which allowed them to be safe from phylloxera attack. As F.C. wine is a ‘Collares’, made from the Ramisco grape variety, it becomes a wine from the region, like all the others, immune to the disease, with significant demand.

Manoel de Almeida Costa e Silva would later inherit Quinta do Pé da Serra and part of the vineyards. Betting on the continuation of the winemaking business, he joined forces and set up the commercial company ‘Manoel Costa e Companhia, Limitada’ on 12 November 1925. In addition to the existing Adega Velha (in front of the Quinta), the company acquired the adjoining Adega do Cais, Adega Nova and Adega do Portão Velho.

It started inviting potential buyers, making the mother house available with its rooms (which were equipped with washbasins, some of which still exist), so that they could stay overnight, get to know the wineries, taste their wines and buy them. The activity would cease years later, and so Quinta do Pé da Serra remained for some years as a vacation home for the family and for small-scale agricultural production.

The need to preserve it led to a new stage. Thus, in 1980, it held its first public event and began the most important activity, to which it is still dedicated today – organising Wedding Parties and Corporate Events.

An amazing place to live your moment!