From Britain to the Douro: Sophia Bergqvist Comes Home to Quinta de La Rosa

After visiting Porto and the Douro Valley over a year ago, I found a new love for the many styles of port. In particular, high quality, award winning port from Quinta de La Rosa is now a favorite thanks to the opportunities to sample plenty of its offerings. But there’s always a story behind the wine, right? Recently, I discovered that Sophia Bergqvist, third generation owner of Quinta de La Rosa, is the only British woman managing a Port house. I knew that I had to learn her compelling story.

Quinta de La Rosa 

Quinta de La Rosa, a small family-owned working vineyard and winery, is located about a half mile from Pinhão in the Douro Valley. It’s unusual in that visitors are able to view the entire port and winemaking process beginning in the vineyard and ending with the wine in the bottle. Although most port houses in the Douro store and bottle their port at Vila Nova da Gaia found in Porto, those at Quinta de La Rosa complete the entire process at their estate in the Douro.

Currently, Quinta de La Rosa totals 136 acres and produces approximately 1000 cases in declared vintages, along with Tawny Port. Planted is about 20% of old-vine field blend, 35% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca, 10% Souzão and Tinta Cão, and a scant amount of Tinta Barroca now in the process of being removed.

Recently, I caught up with Sophia Bergqvist and had the chance to ask a few questions.

Grape Experiences (GE): What challenges do you have in being the only British woman owning a port house?

Sophia Bergqvist (SB): I have spent most of my life in a male oriented world from Cambridge University (1 woman in 7 men attended as undergraduates when I was there), INSEAD business school and as an investment banker and management consultant before I started La Rosa with my father. So, I was used to being a woman in a man’s world! It has been slightly harder being British as I wasn’t bought up speaking Portuguese so have had to learn the language.

GE: I’ve been to Pinhão (in September 2019 on a media trip sponsored by Porto and the North) and love the area – the tiles at train station are stunning! Did you grow up there or in the UK?  

SB: I was born in Beirut, Lebanon – then went to live in Italy. We moved to the UK when I was about 8 years old. We went on holidays once or twice a year to visit my grandmother, Claire, at La Rosa where she lived.

GE: How did your father, Tim, and your grandmother, Claire, inspire you to help bring Quinta de La Rosa to what it is today?

SB: They both gave me the passion and love of La Rosa and the Douro. My grandmother brought me up in a household that always welcomed visitors so our wine hospitality has just become an extension of this. As a child my dream was to have something to do with La Rosa. I never imagined building up the business to what it is today.

GE: It seems that most of your family members have been or still are involved in the business. Does everyone have an area of expertise? 

SB: Yes, they do. My brother, Philip, runs specific projects like our beer and gives great advice; my son, Kit has recently started working full time in the sales and marketing area; my other son, Mark, has been designing a new website for us.

GE: What sets your port apart from others? In other words, why should consumers purchase port from Quinta de La Rosa when there are other choices?

SB: Our house style is quite unique, coming from the vineyards we have and a style developed by my great grandfather, Albert. We make ‘wine lovers’ ports that are balanced without too much sweetness and good freshness and minerality. We make sure the brandy element is well integrated so you don’t get a brandy burn in your mouth.

GE: I notice that Quinta de la Rosa produces still wines, too. Do you export those to the US market? 

SB: Yes, we do. We were one of the first port producers to commercialize our wines in the early 1990s. Now, two thirds of our production is wine versus port. As more people discover the Douro, they are often surprised by the quality/price of these fabulous wines.

GE: How did you decide to produce beer? Are you the only company in the Douro to do that?

SB: We are the only Douro producer making beer in the Douro. A mad project that came about from some conversations with a brewer and cricket loving friend from Cambridge. Kit, my son, is leading the project with my brother. It is fun and uses Jorge Moreira’s, our wine maker, skills.

GE: Are any of the private label (Tonnix, for example) products exported to the US?

SB: No, TONNIX is only for the UK market – for a group of restaurants owned by Mark Hix and those owned by Mitch Tonks…hence TONNIX. We are always interested and happy to arrange private labels for people and have done many in the UK – Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, Booths and in the past Galvin restaurants.

GE: To what countries do you export your port and still wines and olive oil?

SB: We export to many countries – USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, some Caribbean islands, UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Norway, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, China, Macau…

GE: The hotel and restaurant look beautiful! How are you handling the Covid situation with regards to the hospitality segment of Quinta de La Rosa?

SB: It hasn’t been an easy year, but we had a good couple of months over the summer which has helped us through the year.  I am hoping things will pick up again next year once the vaccine enables people to travel again. The local Portuguese market was brilliant.

GE: What’s the philosophy towards cuisine at the restaurant at the property, Clara’s Kitchen (Cozinha da Claire)?

SB: To serve local Portuguese cuisine at its best – simplicity is the key. We also want to include a touch of the family’s heritage, by adding some of Claire’s favourite recipes. Our executive chef, Pedro Cardoso, has worked in the Douro for over 10 years. Using locally sourced products and vegetables from our vegetable garden (named “Paradise” by Claire), Pedro has developed many of his recipes from the “Trás-os-Montes.” Please come join us and stay at the hotel. It’s a great way to experience staying at a working winery & vineyard along the Douro River.

GE: What are future plans for Quinta de La Rosa?

SB: To continue growing and being innovative, slowly and carefully. To survive these complicated times without letting go of any of the 60+ people who work at La Rosa.

GE: What more would you like to share about Quinta de La Rosa?

SB: I think it is hard to do justice to the beauty of the Douro region and I urge people to come and visit when they can.  In the meantime, try and find a little bit of the Douro in a glass of port or wine!

Cheers! ~ Cindy

For more Grape Experiences and a free infographic “4 Keys to a Stellar Wine Pick” click here.

For my earlier article, Save Room for Dessert – Classic Sweet Churros and Quinta de La Rosa Tawny Port, follow this link.