L'AND Vineyards

Marta Passarinho (who carries the most adorable surname in the world: it means “Little Birdie”) is an impeccable hotel professional. She knows Portugal from end to end. A graduate of Porto’s renowned hotel school, Marta has worked for historic hotels in Lisbon and the Algarve, for TAP (the Portuguese flagship airline), and luxury hosting brands all over the country. And now, she lives in delight: every day she commutes the short 50 minutes between her home and L’AND Vineyards, where she is her genuine voice. “I have my family life in Lisbon, so the daily commute makes sense! It seems unlikely that a hotel so close to the city would be so integrated into that landscape in the Alentejo, in the countryside, in the middle of nature – with sophistication!” Absolutely.

“Only one word comes to mind: secluded.” Marta is absolutely right in using it to describe L’AND Vineyards – and even more so because the word is perfect for defining the domestic and professional union of her daily life. “Staying at L’AND doesn’t produce the usual feeling of being in a hotel.” This has to do with the architecture – “very specific, extraordinary, very well thought out” –, and with the geography, as well as the proximity to Lisbon. The beautiful and discreet town of Montemor-o-Novo, a recent residential destination for a certain cultural intelligentsia from the Portuguese capital, is only 15 minutes away. And Évora is very close by, as is Comporta… Between all this, “L’AND is a diamond!”.

The L’AND Vineyards is also a community. “95% of the team are locals,” explains Marta. “Most of them have been with the project for a long time. Many families were born out of it. This social part is very important, because we see people growing and evolving, showing more and more interest in what’s going on. L’AND has had a policy in place for a long time of distributing the amount it gives out each month to its workers.” The other part of the community are the residents. That is to say: as well as renting a room, anyone can buy an independent unit. “It’s already a very strong part. We have around 35 people living permanently on 60 hectares.”

And then there’s the close connection to the Freixo do Meio estate, near the village of Foros de Vale de Figueira, just a few minutes away. The L’AND and the estate are the brainchild of four brothers. The Freixo is 440 hectares of organic farming, with many rural and historical educational activities. Until the end of the 19th century, it was part of a millenary agro-ecosystem of cork oak and holm oak lands. Today it’s an agroforest where the dominant factor is the production of what is consumed in the Mediterranean diet. One example of its small revolution is the processing of acorns. In Freixo, acorns are turned into coffee, bread, hamburgers, croquettes and cookies…

It is in this same spirit of Freixo that L’AND Vineyards’s excellent wine production is based. “We avoid intervening too much in the soil and the vineyard. We keep the fields as they are. We’re increasingly opting for self-sustainability,” says Marta. It’s all the result of winemaker Paulo Laureano’s design, the fruit of six hectares of new and old vines, fertilized organically. The grapes are hand-picked and highly selected. The dominant varieties are national. In 2015, for example, they released 15,000 bottles of a reserve red produced in 2009.

And what else, Marta? Certainly this: “L’AND doesn’t have a kids club, but we don’t need one!”. Of course not. Because: “We have lots of rabbits, lots of ducks, lots of frogs, lots of cicadas, lots of animals that children love to see! The kids feel very comfortable and free here, and that’s the most important thing”.

Let’s say it all again: a mere 50 minutes from Lisbon; in the Alentejo; impressive architecture: perfect communion with agriculture and nature; unique wines; villas, suites and/or permanent residences; a paradise for the little ones. L’AND Vineyards is indeed, as she rightly says, a diamond. Thank you, Marta!