Quinta do Tedo’s local partners in artisan crafts(wo)manship
30+ years ago, Quinta do Tedo essentially emerged out of blind passion and hard work to achieve big dreams. Today, Northern Portugal is brimming with other like-minded (perhaps less crazy) entrepreneurs whose ambition and crafts(wo)manship shine through unique and quality products we are honoured to work with.
As 20th century American writer, educator and humanitarian Helen Keller said - “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. We support our local partners because sustainable development requires teamwork and their crafts add value to our Quinta do Tedo offer - after all, the most memorable wine experiences are multi-sensorial and interdisciplinary.
To kick off the new year, we’d like to highlight three partners and a humble reminder that every euro we spend casts a vote on the kind of future we want - support smart, support local, support sustainable, and support quality.
Susana Godinho, founder & creative director of SUGO Cork Rugs, “the first rug brand in the world combining an innovative cork solution with traditional tapestry techniques.”
Covid face masks couldn’t hide Susana’s passion and pride showing us around her warehouse outside Porto, in Paços de Brandão, back in 2020. Her traditionally-made rugs are ecological and contemporary works of art.
SUGO cork rugs weave together (in large looms and by hand) up-cycled linen, cotton and uniquely Portuguese cork yarn; this last component imbues each rug with light, hypoallergenic, moisture-proof, heat- and sound-insulating, extremely flexible, and soft-to-the-touch functionality. This was exactly the creative solution we were looking for to add a personalised and elegant Tedo-inspired touch of warm colour and organic texture to the walls of our B&B rooms.
We quickly became addicted to Susana’s electric energy and talent, spearheading a creative side of the circular economy, and worked together again in 2022 to produce a sound-proofing wall hanging for our Bistro Terrace, as well as some other original pieces for our family home - we’re certain our collaboration won’t end there.
Anyone visiting Northern Portugal, check out Susana’s work featured at the World of Wine’s Planet Cork Exhibit in Porto, or in person at her warehouse.
Telmo Ramos, owner & producer at Quinta da Veiguinha.
In the heart of Vila Flor, to the northeast of Douro Valley in the Terras Quentes or Hot Lands of Trás-os-Montes, Telmo Ramos recuperated his family farm’s schist and granite barn in 1997 to produce DOP Terrincho cheese. With 100% raw Portuguese milk from free-ranging Serrano goats and Churra sheep Quinta da Veiguinha elaborates a variety of fresh, cured and spiced cheeses.
The local breeds, the plateau’s biodiverse pastures and marshes and unique climate composed of hot, dry summers and cold winters, and the local use of rennet as a coagulator and cloth as a cheese mould makes for the distinct quality and flavour of Terrincho cheese, produced since the early 1900s and DOP since 1996.
Similar to DOC wines, DOP cheeses and other foods are produced within specific demarcated regions, according to techniques and quality standards that cannot be “copied” anywhere else in the world. Amongst Portugal’s 11 DOP cheeses, the ever-popular Serra da Estrela cheese won 7th place in Taste Atlas’s Top 100 Cheeses in the World 2023.
Each year since 2011, Telmo’s cheeses have won gold and silver metals and, notably in 2017’s Traditional Portuguese Cheese Competition, “Best of the Best” Terrincho cheese. Try the Fresh Goat Cheese “à Transmontano” with our Porto Rosé or Douro DOC Rosé, the Cured Goat Cheese with our LBV or Douro DOC Reserva, and the Paprika Cured Sheep Cheese with our Tawny Ports or Douro DOC Grande Reserva Savedra.
We started working with Quinta da Veiguinha in 2022 to showcase a local example of Portugal’s diverse and qualitative, yet undervalued, cheese selection to our visitors, and expand Port pairing horizons beyond blue cheese and chocolate.
Brigitte Bless Violet, founder of Chocolate Bless, blending high quality chocolate and fine Portuguese ingredients.
With a chocolatier degree from Alba, Italy and 10+ years of professional experience in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 2019, Brigitte started her own boutique chocolate production in the oceanside town of Famalicão, near Nazaré, where she and her husband fell double in love on honeymoon in 1982.
Chocolate Bless has a strong focus on sustainability and social responsibility, using no added palm oil nor chemicals, and only natural ingredients sourced locally or ethically-traded. Brigitte understands the importance of high quality ingredients and works directly with cacao farmers in the ex-Portuguese São Tomé and Principe islands.
After many trials tempering our own chocolates for Port and Douro DOC wine pairings and a delectable “welcome” in our B&B rooms, even with high quality supermarket ingredients, we found them too sweet and with unrefined texture. In 2022, we switched to Bless Chocolates, whose fine velvety consistency and deep flavour come from “conching”, a technique invented by Robert Lindt in the 1900s by which ingredients are ground and aerated over 3 days to slowly liquefy and amalgamate via kinetic energy (rather than direct heat) into a cacao paste before adding cocoa butter.
Brigitte leverages creativity and aesthetics from her past career in porcelain painting and fashion, and products from local partners to produce uniquely Portuguese-flavoured bonbons. Take, for example, the LBV dark chocolate, Tawny milk chocolate, or Extra Virgin white chocolate made with Quinta do Tedo Ports and Olive Oil and included in our Self-Guided Chocolate Pairing Experience.
Are you dying for a taste? Lucky you Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we have prepared 4 unique experiences combining Bless Chocolates, Quinta do Tedo Ports, Douro DOC wines and hospitality and Bistro Terrace gastronomy for you and your “love bird”.
Tour, Tasting, Chocolate Pairing : 50€ / 2 persons
Bistro Terrace Dinner : 60€ / person
Tour, Tasting, Chocolate Pairing, Bistro Terrace Dinner (with wine pairing) : 170€ / 2 persons
Tour, Tasting, Chocolate Pairing, Bistro Terrace Dinner (with wine pairing), B&B : 315-345€ / 2 persons
Reserve now while we still have availability, and feel free to upgrade from our Classic Port or Douro DOC Wine Tasting to a more premium tasting for an additional cost. 📞 +351 915 528 055 / 📩 reservas@quintadotedo.com
~ Kay & Odile Bouchard
