Quinta da Bica

Quinta da Bica
Quinta da Bica
Location	Seia, Portugal
Built	16th century

The Quinta da Bica is a Portuguese estate, located near Seia, in the Beira region. It is the origin of the reputed Quinta da Bica wines, which were among the founding wines of the Dão wine region, as well as being among the first wines in Portugal to be estate bottled. The estate's manor, commonly known as Casa da Bica, is currently the seat of the Viscounts of Sardoal, a cadet branch of the Spanish-Portuguese Sacadura Botte noble family.

Originally a monastery, it was bought in the early 17th century by the Ferraz de Figueiredo family. With the marriage of its 7th lady, D. Margarida Amélia Gonçalves Santiago de Montalvão de Moraes Sarmento Figueiredo e Castro, to João de Azevedo Pacheco Pereira de Sande de Sacadura Botte Côrte-Real, in 1850, and its subsequent inheritance by their second son, it became the seat of a cadet branch of the Sacadura Botte family. Also due to this marriage, the estate benefited from the renowned viticulturist João de Sacadura Botte Côrte-Real's efforts to improve and perfect the quality of the region's wine. Nowadays, it is the only one of Sacadura Botte's former wine estates still owned by the family.

The estate's main house was originally built as a monastery, in the early 16th century. About a century later, it was bought by Filipe Ferraz de Figueiredo, a local landed noble knight, who also owned a manor in the nearby village of Seia. His son, João Ferraz de Figueiredo, bought some of the surrounding land, and his grandson, Manuel Ferraz de Figueiredo, instituted a majorat, including the main house, its dependencies and the surrounding lands, effectively creating the estate.

Upon Manuel Ferraz de Figueiredo's death, the estate was inherited by Jacinto Ferraz de Figueiredo, his only male heir. However, Jacinto was a priest, and did not leave any children, so the estate was inherited by his sister, D. Maria Teresa de Matos Ferraz, married to Domingos Gonçalves Santiago, a King's Justice and Knight of the Order of Christ. Thus, the estate entered the Gonçalves Santiago family. This family was of Spanish descent, but had been established in the north-eastern region of Chaves for a few generations, their seat being Quinta da Raposeira, near the village of Outeiro Seco.

The coat of arms of the Quinta da Bica is a result of this union: the shield featuring the impaled arms of the Gonçalves and Ferraz families, to which Domingos Gonçalves Santiago and D. Maria Teresa de Matos Ferraz respectively belonged. The marriage produced three surviving children: two sons and a daughter. The eldest, Vicente José Gonçalves Santiago de Figueiredo, followed his father's footsteps and became both a King's Justice and a Knight of the Order of Christ, as well as Lord of Quinta da Bica estate upon the death of his father. It was during his time that, in the midst of the Peninsular War, the main house suffered extensive damage after being set on fire by the French troops, under Marshall Masséna, retreating from their defeat at the Battle of Bussaco, in 1810. More than half of the main house was rendered unusable, and as a result it was subjected to extensive reconstruction work that lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.

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Wikipedia