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Quinta do Pégo is an old dream, which has now come true. It all began more than 15 years ago, when Karsten Søndergaard and his wife, Anna Marie, decided to find a small farm in the Douro valley. After many business trips in connection with purchase of port, they had got close relations to the area. After five years of search they bought Quinta do Pégo and its 33 ha. land of which 30 ha. were vineyards and then they had to adjust the plan a bit. Now it was not a small idyllic farm in the country, but a project. The building was worth nothing and should be removed and replaced by a totally new building. Only the old lagars, where the wine is tread, could be preserved. Instead of only running an agricultural estate, they got the idea to build a rural hotel.

But that is not something you just do in Portugal - and especially not in the Douro valley, which is classified as very preservation-worthy by Unesco (under EU). After 10 years of struggling the Hotel Rural Quinta do Pégo is now officially approved. There are only 10 double rooms, but if you can get an available room, an extraordinairy experience is waiting for you. Even for the ones who are not interested in wines, it is impressive. For wine drinkers it is a paradise.

Quinta do Pégo produces port and red table wine themselves. The treading of grapes for the port will take place in the lagars in the cellar. The rest of the handling of the wines will take place at Rozès, which is well-known on the Scandinavian market for its ports and which is one of AMKA’s many years’ business partners.

Booking and prices

The price is EUR 150.00 per double room per night.

This price includes up to 2 people per room, breakfast, free internet, access to swimmingpool and satellite TV.

If you want dinner it should be ordered before 12h00 the same day. The price is EUR 30.00 including aperitif, starter, main course, dessert with port and water. Furthermore, it is possible to buy wines for the dinner at the prices of the house.

Santa Rita has been named “Winery of the Year 2008”, a great honour and recognition for the daily work that reflects the commitment with consumers, and the high quality that is provided within every bottle.

This important accolade is the result of the permanent consistency and excellence of Santa Rita wines demonstrated through fabulous scores given by this prestigious magazine.

To find the winery of the year, Wine & Spirits Magazine conducts hundreds of blind tastings every month according to quality, consistency, and expression of origin. Over the course of a year, the magazine’s professional team evaluates and rates more than 9,000 wines from around the world. At the end, the top 100 wineries are selected based on their performance.

This year Santa Rita big performers were:
• Casa Real, with its 1999, 2001 and 2003 vintages, which consistently scored 92 and 93 points for their Alto Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon expression.
• The 2004 Floresta Cabernet Sauvignon also made repeated appearances, earning 90 and 91 points.
• Two Carménères were highlighted. The 91-point Reserva and the first vintage of the icon Pehuén, achieved 92 points.
• Santa Rita is known for quality at all levels, and even its value wine 120 Cabernet Sauvignon was recognized as outstanding.

These distinctions recognize the hard work and attention to detail that take place every day at the winery and assure consumers world wide that Santa Rita will always guarentee a memorable wine.

Transform any occasion into an unforgettable Santa Rita moment, the winery of the year.

In announcing the award Peter commented “Angove's is the deserved winner of our Winery of the Year Award although they faced tough competition from Yalumba and last year's winner, De Bortoli. The improvements at Angove's were evident last year but the quality of the wines has continued to get better and their performance over the past twelve months has been exemplary. From 25 wines submitted, 20 have been featured in Quaff 2008: nine of those have rated as Bloody Good and five as Good. It's been great to see the lift in quality with both the table wines and fortifieds.”

Also included in the top rating wines were two wines in the Top 20 under $15, 2006 Angove's 'Nine Vines' Viognier and 2006 Angove's 'Long Row' Cabernet Sauvignon – no other wine company had more. The 2006 Long Row cabernet also collected the "Best Red” in its price range, whilst the 2006 Long Row Chardonnay collected the award for “Best White” in its price range, capping off a stellar result for this relatively new Angove's range.

John Angove, Managing Director and the 4th generation Angove to run the company was understandably proud with this achievement. “All facets of the company are working well together – from the massive investment in Vineyard and Winery infrastructure that has helped to boost the quality of the wines, through to production, sales and marketing, our entire team is working with a common purpose to improve the quality and profile of all Angove’s wines. We have 120 years of heritage behind us and are now forging forward - hopefully for the next 120 years and 5 more generations of family ownership!”

Angove’s is the 10th largest winery and the 6th largest exporter of branded wine in Australia with sales in over 30 different countries. Established in 1886 by Dr William Thomas Angove, the company now produces in excess of 1.5 million cases of wine but has retained the ability to craft premium quality wine using the time honoured traditional methods of their forebears perfectly interwoven with the most modern winemaking technology.

Along with the 86 points and the Best Buy rating Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 received the following review:

”This perennial Best Buy shines in 2005. It’s clean, inviting and ready to go as piercing cherry, plum and cola flavours make a stand. Flush, warm and fairly full bodied, 120 is one of those bargain lines that satisfies.”

Wine Enthusiast Magazine has grown to become one of the world’s most respected and quoted publications in the field of wine and spirits. Since its founding in 1988 it has remained true to its original mission: to educate and entertain readers in the most accessible and user-friendly way, as part of an active, upscale and fulfilling lifestyle.

The magazine is an important source of ratings and reviews of both wine and spirits currently available in the marketplace, vital to both consumers and to the trade. The magazine’s distinguished tasting panel includes professionals with years of tasting experience, located across the globe in major wine producing areas of the world.