OLIVE OIL | THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES
OLIVE OIL NATURE ’ S ELIXIR
AN HISTORIC OLIVE OIL IS REVITALISED IN THE MOST TRANQUIL OF LOCATIONS – THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES
By Shirley Booth
In the fertile countryside around
Santarem , 70 kilometres north of Lisbon in the Ribatejo , lies the Quinta de Vale de Lobos , a 250-hectare farm now becoming famous for its estate-bottled olive oil .
Olive oil was first made here by Alexandre Herculano , the famous Portuguese poet , novelist and chronicler of Portuguese history , who made his home at Quinta de Vale de Lobos in 1867 , where he remained for ten years until his death , and where he wrote many of his most famous works .
Like all writers , Herculano needed peace and quiet to do his best work , and this desire for solitude may also be why he never had children , although he did marry later in life . With no heirs , when he died Herculano ’ s house passed to his close friend Paulino da Cunha e Silva , and eventually to da Cunha e Silva ’ s great-grandson , the present owner , Joaquim Santos Lima .
The Santos Limas were dispossessed , as were many landowning families , and fled into exile after the 1974 revolution , and it was only ten years later that Joaquim Santos Lima was able to return to Portugal to reclaim his heritage – which included Quinta de Vale de Lobos . By then , years of neglect had taken their toll on the estate and the Quinta was run down and dilapidated . Joaquim and his young wife Veronica set out to restore the Quinta to its former glory .
Since 2004 , when they started marketing their oil , the Santos Lima family have been breathing new life into the estate , whilst at the same time reviving the traditions of the past . For it was Alexandre Herculano himself that first gave the Quinta its reputation for fine olive oil .
Herculano had a passion for Portugal and for agriculture , and he started to cultivate olive trees at the Quinta when he set up residence there . The oil he produced , and named Herculano , was the first branded olive oil in Portugal , and it won many awards – just as the oil that Joaquim and Veronica are producing today has . In 2010 and 2011 Joaquim Santos Lima ’ s oil won Gold in the UK ‘ s prestigious Great Taste Awards , as well as Bronze in 2005 and awards in Germany , Italy and the USA .
I first met Veronica Santos Lima at a Food Fair in London , when she introduced me to her award-winning Olive Oil , ‘ Vale de Lobos ’ and told me about its history . Since that time , I have always wanted to visit Quinta Vale de Lobos and when I did , as soon as I stepped from the car I immediately felt the peace and contentment that had so pleased Herculano . The mild winter air smelt clean and fresh , as the sun tried to peek through the 200 year old cedar tree which shadows the doorway .
I also soon saw how Veronica and Joaquim make such a successful team . Veronica has a Masters in marketing from the US , and speaks fluent English . She ’ s a sociable people person , who loves the city . Joaquim is happiest when he ’ s with his olive trees . He knows all 150,000 trees , all 97 hectares of them , like a mother knows her babies .
38 | Summer 2012 | www . portugal-life . net |