The Quinta do Piloto, nestled in the Natural Park of the Serra da Arrábida (Arrabida Hills), covers four generations of a family that was connected to the history of Palmela throughout an entire century. It started in 1900 when Humberto da Silva Cardoso married the daughter of a well-known wine estate owner and started the Palmela bus company (Auto-cars Palmelense). With the money he made, he reinvested in the production of wine. He bought three large wine estates and started to plant vines as well as build two wineries (Quinta do Piloto & Adega da Serra). Wine was produced in bulk in these times and they were one of the largest producers (3-4 million liters of wine per year) in the region (with 500 ha of vines) supplying many large companies in the region.
Today, 3 generations later, Filipe Cardoso manages the project which took a new direction and was rebranded in 2008, focusing on high quality wines in small quantities, which are now bottled instead of being sold in bulk. The Quinta do Piloto wines show the essence of the Palmela terroir that comes from old vines and traditional grape varieties such as Moscatel and Castelão. The wines are characterized as being elegant and mainly use autochthone grape varieties but also use some smaller quantities of other grape varieties.
The wine estate is still a large estate which includes a classic and traditional house, part of the old palace, including three rooms where guests can stay. Furthermore, the wine shop and winery can be visited with the possibility of trying a variety of wines paired by local delicacies. These are just some of the wine experiences which are offered.
