Last night, we ate dinner at the Dona Maria vineyard.
We were greeted by Isabelle, the owner of the estate. After passing through the gate, we entered a courtyard with a palace on the left and the vineyard buildings on the right. Unfortunately, it was dark so I don't have pictures of the courtyard. The palace dates to the 18th century and was the home of the king's mistress. Hand wave, hand wave, details were sketchy here, the estate was acquired by the family of Isabelle's husband hundreds of years ago. The family lost control during the revolution in the 70's and spent many years regaining control after the revolution ended.
Some of the wines are still produced by woman stomping on the grapes in these large marble vats. Notice the pink marble from this area.
Isabelle gave us a tour of the wine producing facilities and then a tour of the grounds including the chapel where mass was held for the people of the estate and from the local community.
We then dined inside the palace itself. This is the actual home of Isabelle and her family. Here is the dining room. Notice the walls of each room are adorned with painted tiles. This is typical of homes from this period.
Isabelle is an incredible host. The food was excellent - leek soup, a cheese tart, duck, spinach cannelloni and local desserts. There was a tasting of wines throughout dinner. Isabelle said to me that she heard I was a vodka drinker and as she was talking to me I could feel someone standing near me. I looked to my right and a white gloved man had a bottle of vodka on a silver tray with a glass that was larger than a cordial glass but not quite a shot glass. He stood by me all night and refilled my glass as soon as it was empty. She said she did not know how to serve vodka so they guessed and put the bottle in the freezer before I arrived. The conversation was lively. The poor guides Alex and Pedro. They had already spent the last few days surrounded by 5 strong and independent woman. Adding Isabelle to the mix did not improve their situation.
She also took us on a tour of some of the rooms including the kitchen
We were greeted by Isabelle, the owner of the estate. After passing through the gate, we entered a courtyard with a palace on the left and the vineyard buildings on the right. Unfortunately, it was dark so I don't have pictures of the courtyard. The palace dates to the 18th century and was the home of the king's mistress. Hand wave, hand wave, details were sketchy here, the estate was acquired by the family of Isabelle's husband hundreds of years ago. The family lost control during the revolution in the 70's and spent many years regaining control after the revolution ended.
Some of the wines are still produced by woman stomping on the grapes in these large marble vats. Notice the pink marble from this area.
Isabelle gave us a tour of the wine producing facilities and then a tour of the grounds including the chapel where mass was held for the people of the estate and from the local community.
We then dined inside the palace itself. This is the actual home of Isabelle and her family. Here is the dining room. Notice the walls of each room are adorned with painted tiles. This is typical of homes from this period.
Isabelle is an incredible host. The food was excellent - leek soup, a cheese tart, duck, spinach cannelloni and local desserts. There was a tasting of wines throughout dinner. Isabelle said to me that she heard I was a vodka drinker and as she was talking to me I could feel someone standing near me. I looked to my right and a white gloved man had a bottle of vodka on a silver tray with a glass that was larger than a cordial glass but not quite a shot glass. He stood by me all night and refilled my glass as soon as it was empty. She said she did not know how to serve vodka so they guessed and put the bottle in the freezer before I arrived. The conversation was lively. The poor guides Alex and Pedro. They had already spent the last few days surrounded by 5 strong and independent woman. Adding Isabelle to the mix did not improve their situation.
She also took us on a tour of some of the rooms including the kitchen
We are off for our longest ride of the week today. More later.
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