Artur Ribeiro da Silva and Maria Luiza Lima, major names in Portuguese wine, purchased the Quinta do Cardo estate in 1983. Close to the historic village of Castelo Rodrigo, it comprised some 200 hectares, with around 12 hectares of traditional vineyards growing typical Beira Interior grape varieties. This was the first step towards the estate becoming a standard-bearer for Beira Interior wines and a benchmark for Portuguese wines in general. In 1984, they began renovating the facilities and built a new winery incorporating the most advanced technologies of the time, including gas-injection remontage for red wine, continuous cold stabilisation, pneumatic pressing, flash pasteurisation and blanketing. Two years later, new planting began and was not completed until 2001. This resulted in 24 hectares of Síria and Arinto and 22 hectares of Mourisco, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Francesa, prioritising a balance between the region's historic grape varieties and those most famous in the Douro. The entire production employed an integrated pest management system – a novelty at the time – and was equipped with drip irrigation, another first for the area. The old vineyard, considered one of the estate's winemaking treasure troves, was pruned close and restored as best as possible.

The first white Quinta do Cardo was bottled in 1986 and the first red in 1988. The brand's fame soared and it quickly became one of the great Portuguese wines, lending a great deal of prestige to Beira Interior, then largely unknown. It should be noted that Luísa Lima and Ribeiro da Silva have always prized indigenous grape varieties, making Síria famous among the whites, and Mourisco (Marufo) and Rufete among the reds. The estate's renown made it an attractive proposition and, in 1999, Ribeiro da Silva and Luísa Lima sold it to Miguel Azevedo, the director of Companhia das Quintas. It was this company that finished planting the new vineyards and expanded the winery with a new pavilion as a means of increasing production. The new owners had high hopes, but unfortunately these resulted in little. Despite their excellent quality, the wines were sold at low prices, and marketing difficulties forced austerity measures on the estate's management. Shortly afterwards, the Group's financial difficulties aggravated the situation even further and led to a capital increase in 2007, provided by Paes do Amaral, who took over. Once again, expectations were met with disappointment. In 2009, the vineyards transitioned to the Sativa-certified organic production system. This was an important step towards protecting biodiversity and the agricultural ecosystem, but yields fell, impacting the estate's profitability in turn. In 2014, Quinta do Cardo went fully organic, its wines considered niche for not fitting with the easy, commercial style adopted by the Companhia das Quintas Group for its exports. However, the results continued to be disheartening, with clear repercussions on the estate's management, ultimately signalling the end of this phase of its life.

At the end of 2021, the owners of Quinta da Boa Esperança, in the Lisbon region, together with other investors, acquired Quinta do Cardo with the aim of expanding the group's wine portfolio and restoring the estate's status as the epitome of Beira Interior, transforming it into an international benchmark. In 2022, work began on restoring the vineyards and adding a further 10 hectares of the Síria variety, while retaining the certified organic component. Quinta do Cardo's new management is determined to make the venture economically, environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable in all its aspects, honouring the unique methods used to produce high-altitude wine in an unparalleled region, and emphasising the geographical and cultural backdrop of Castelo Rodrigo and the Douro International Natural Park.

Vineyards

Vineyard operations management: Jorge Rosa Santos

Area of own vineyards: 69 hectares

Grape origin: Own grapes

Viticulture type: Organic production

White grape varieties: Síria

Red grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Merlot, Caladoc, Alicante Bouschet

Wine cellar

General manager: Jorge Rosa Santos

Oenologists: Jorge Rosa Santos and Rui Lopes

Cellar master: Ermindo Coelho

Types of wine produced: White and red

Wine brands: Quinta do Cardo

Percentage of PDO/PGI production: 100% PDO

Average annual production: 100,000 litres

Production destination: Domestic market (80%) and export (20%)

Wine tourism

Part of the Beira Interior Wine Route