In our new series “Meet the People”, we talk to the people behind our favourite hotels and excursions.
First, we meet Sophia Bergqvist, the owner of Quinta de la Rosa in Pinhão, Portugal.
I first visited Quinta de la Rosa in 2017 and Mosaic Travellers have been loving it ever since!
Here I am having a ball stomping the port grapes!
Sophia, how did you come to operate this beautiful winery and hotel in Pinhão?
The vineyard was given to my grandmother Claire as a christening present in 1906. Her father and ancestors had a port shipping company that ended going bankrupt in the 1930s. But the vineyard stayed in the family & my father and I started making port from it in 1988.
More Australians are now coming to visit Portugal. Why is Pinhão, the heart of the Douro Valley a destination they must visit?
It is in the best location to visit many port quintas and is right on the river Douro so very picturesque. Pinhão itself is quite ugly! But the surrounding landscape makes up for it.
Aside from touring your on site winery, what do you suggest visitors do when they’re in Pinhão?
Other wineries nearby to visit, river & train trips, spectacular walking & biking, sites to see eg Mateus Palace, Roman sites, Neolithic ones and more.
What makes your hotel special, and why is it different to others in the region?
You get to experience living on a vineyard. The rooms are scattered around the wine making part of the quinta all with river views.
Furnished with modern and family antiques we focus on simplicity. No TVs and a brilliantly designed onsite restaurant which has been given many accolades. Guests often thank me for having them to stay!
Finally, we love food here at Mosaic Travel. Is there a particular dish or restaurant that Mosaic Travellers must try when they’re in Pinhão?
Try cabrito (baby kid) or bacalhau (salted cod) cooked many different ways by our chef Pedro Cardoso at our restaurant named after my grandmother, Cozinha da Clara.
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