Quinta dos Gaviões

Photograph of a detail of Quinta dos Gaviões. In the 1758 demarcation this property belonged to Diogo Félix and is currently in the possession of Manuel Soeiro's heirs (FONSECA: 1950, 103). Located on the right slope of the Pinhão river valley, the estate is crossed by the Pinhão-Sabrosa road and preserves areas of woods and olive tree borders that mark the limits with the neighboring estates of Eira Velha and Casa Nova.
Patches of pre- and post-phylloxera terraces can still be found. The first are below the road. There stand out the traditional cantilever stairs and the water drainage system with spouts protruding from the walls. This system could also be used as trellising to vines growing on the vertical walls. Above the road are the post-phylloxera terraces, closed to the path by high walls and an iron gate. The set stands out because of the straight line of the walls and the quality of construction. In face of the height of the walls, that reach almost 4 meters, the safety of the workers is ensured by wire and iron guards at the highest places. The quality of the set is revealed by small details such as the stairs, with well thought out architectural solutions, the drainage and water conduction system, which includes a central tank and a system of channels that cross and follow the terraces, and the existence of resting areas with schist benches placed in strategic points of the vineyard.