Quinta da Comenda

Photograph of a detail of Quinta da Comenda. This wine producing estate is located between the Convent of Barrô and Road 537. On its west limit there is a mortório recolonized by shrub. The vineyard is planted on granite soils and that is reflected in the landscape, as the terraced walls were built with this stone.
The main access to the vineyard is through a cobbled path with trellised vines, from which the circulation paths are distributed. This set consists of rectilinear post-phylloxera terraces that follow the same layout as the neighboring road. The magnificence of this patch is due to the care put in the placement of the stones that were cut and arranged in a uniform way.
It is also worth mentioning the way in which the connection between the different terraces is made, through monumental ramps (oscillating between 0,50 m and 4,40 m in height), whose flights follow different orientations, marking a rhythm in the landscape.
The vineyard, bordered by olive trees and punctuated by fruit trees, presents different techniques of vine trellising: low branches at the top of the Quinta, trellis on the way and bards. The planes are delimited by carefully designed systems for conducting and draining water, which include channels of different width and cut gutters. We highlight the double shelter built into the support wall, whose constructive arrangement is of erudite inspiration. The construction of these terraces is associated with the construction of the remaining structures of the Quinta, dating from the middle of the 19th century, commissioned by a Brazilian returned to Portugal.