Meet the team

We think he is the most marvellous and exciting father any boy could ever have. – the boys

‘James has strong roots in agriculture, the Frost family having been farming in the South West of England for generations. He was born and raised in Dorset with an inherent empathy towards nature and agriculture. Like his grandfather, who in his time had relocated his entire farm from Somerset to Dorset (by train!), James was looking for new opportunities in pastures green when he left the army after 7 full and exciting years. In 1992 we spent a lovely holiday at Quinta de Sant’Ana and two months later he moved in.
Since then James has devoted his time to carefully and creatively restore the property and revive the farm and over the years built a solid business out of nothing. He aimed high when the bank account was low, with a vision that bordered on daring, always holding on to his dreams.
To sum James up I would say that he is the most marvellous and exciting father any boy could ever have. And if he was a wine, he would be our Alvarinho: unoaked, dry humour, pure. Bright mind, fresh and young at heart, vibrant, some good acidity, persistent and mouth-watering! To me, anyway!’ - Ann

‘If she was a wine, she would be our Riesling’
‘Ann is an adventurer by nature. Being the middle child of seven, she came to Portugal when she was little, until the revolution in 1974, the Fürstenberg family lived here in Quinta de Sant’Ana. Afterwards Ann grew up between Westphalia and at boarding school near the Lake of Constance. Next stop was Florence: ceramics and arts, before moving on to graphics & design.
When we married, we had the amazing opportunity to take on Quinta de Sant’Ana which was stuck in time, in need of new life. Over the years Ann built up her varied and exciting life’s work: as an event planner and as resident florist, she has a broad canvas to release her artistic energy. When I look back at all the challenges and adventures we have experienced, I recognise that Ann’s optimistic enthusiasm, innovative creativity and unbridled energy have been essential to bring the Quinta to where we are now.
But her pride lies in our family: during our time here, she gave birth to our seven sons! As it says on the back label of our Riesling, I do recognize her in this description and hope especially the last bit to be true: dry, vibrant, racy acidity, lovely purity, persistent finish and magnificent capacity to age.’ - James

Virginia is a phenomenon.
She has been working at the Quinta for over half of her life. From the tender age of ten she was brought up in the household where she served as a maid. Quick and nimble, she proved herself in the kitchen, and was soon running the big house, taking care of children, animals, gardens, fields - anything! She looked after Ann and her brothers and sisters when they were young and has kept her watchful eyes on them ever since. She still comes in, pockets full of sweets, less quick, less nimble, but her sheer presence causes a shriek of excitement from the youngest generation and a sigh of relief from us – as she stands in as mother, grandmother, friend, and adviser – in short: our rock!

Winemakers and Viticulturists are equally important partners in the enterprise of wine production. High quality wine is only possible as a result of human skills interacting with nature in the three-stage process of creation, transformation and conservation of fruit that begins in the vineyard and ends when a bottle of wine is emptied into your glass.’ It is not always easy, our relationship. To quote him: ‘Non-conformist, disruptive, difficult, audacious, restless and hot-tempered, these are some of the unconventional adjectives used to describe both António Maçanita and the wines he produces.’
‘Like father like son’ – as the grandson of a Colonel and the son of a chemistry professor, António has it running in his veins: discipline, courage and a taste for adventure, combined with curiosity and an interest in science – in short, the ideal «oenologist ingredients».
It comes as no surprise that Antonio has swept up a record number of superlatives during his consultancy career, of which Quinta de Sant’Ana was his flag ship consultancy project, winning awards like: “Winemaker of the Year”, “Outstanding Contribution Award”, “Generation 21 Oenologist Trophy”, “Best New Producer”, “Project of the Year” and “Entrepreneurs of the Year” and also “Best Portuguese Wines” and we are sure there is a lot more in the pipeline!

If Lou was a wine, she would be our pink bubbly Espumante! Other than her deep wine knowledge she brings with her a breeze of a Hampshire summer, freckles and all! She is sassy, strong and multitalented professional with a pernicious sense of humour, we much enjoy.
She recycles. She is a deep thinker. She loves wine of course, the music of Tash Sultana and has the most contagious laughter.
She reads like the wine notes of our Espumante: bright acidity, fine bubbles, raspberries, rose petals, meringue, hay. Dangerously moreish…

Paula is a local girl - her parents make the best cheese in the area - but the word "local" gives the wrong impression: she has worked for various IT multinationals in and outside the country and has brought with her lots of experience in marketing, communication and event organization. She has been involved at QSA at root level, she grew up with us and we with her. She is highly creative, a talented designer, has amazing "soft skills" and with her Portuguese looks and charm is also at the forefront of the events. Focused, calm, efficient, loyal Paula is an invaluable member of our team, never losing her sense of humour.

Think of a crisp winter morning, a slender, graceful northern pine tree. Alexandra has an elegant mind, clear, transparent, with an enviable capacity for logical thinking. Under the hard bark, a warm and loyal heart. She is from Romania; her background is in hospitality. We feel she completes our wedding planners’ team with her educated, structured mind, her patience and her superhuman organizational talents.

Born in the fairytale town of Sintra on the "International Day of the Family", it is of little wonder, that her life revolves around here family. Here she looks after the accounts and everything in the office between contracts and printer problems. And us. She does this in a caring and motherly way and yes, we all feel she is a bit of a fairy!

Cátia is our bit of luxury, she joined us in March as our new in-house designer! Queen of all things creative, she is the one behind all our new wine labels, wedding stationery, seating plans, house books and event invites. Beware her angelic looks, she is a keen climber and when she’s not in the office drawing and designing, you’ll find her somewhere in the Portuguese countryside scrambling up a terrifying rockface.

Bárbara has recently joined the team. As a sustainable tourism technician, she is proactive, communicative and organized, with a great sense of responsibility and happy to face new challenges. She also loves water sports – coasteering, canyoning, surfing.

There is not enough space here to describe the amount of jobs Daniel and his set up team does in an average week, he is constantly busy coordinating back to back events from set up to set down, from dawn to dusk, from stock checks to storage, cleaning, fixing, gardening... He always makes sure he arrives a little early every day. He looks at home here. Even on rainy days, he is in a good mood, makes light of heavy jobs, never complains, never forgets his responsibilities. We know he is faithful, resourceful, effective, intelligent and has a high work ethic. He is interested in politics and history. He would like to learn to speak English, so hang on in here you will soon pick it up Daniel!

He reminds us of a saint. Maybe Saint Anthony. Not just physically. Adriano is humble, gentle, has a good heart. He has `come up through the ranks´ from a farmworker to our Sous Chef! This tells you that he is extremely hardworking. He has read the bible. He quotes the Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” That’s him!

“Sometimes I miss my family a lot”. There are lots of them to miss though – Marcela is from a massive clan from Brazil. She is courageous, positive, dedicated, hardworking and fun. Here at Quinta de Sant’Ana she keeps everything clean and shining. Marcela has been a stabilizing influence and loves harmony. And we love her!

When we asked our boys, who have known Tininha since birth, Patrick thought, she was very kind and was surprised that she loves rock music. Joseph said: “She spoils us and the dogs.” And Jimmy thought, that, if she was food, she would be a “batata frita”. And that says how much they adore her. Basically, she is from an ancient Gradil clan and like her mother and daughter cook and bake like goddesses! Lucky us!

Mother of Tininha. She and Virginia make the best Tibornia. This is a simple dish using bread. Let us explain: they start early in the morning to make the dough: flower, water, salt, yeast. Simple. Lots of rhythmic kneading, then swaddling up the dough in woollen blankets, like a baby,. Once risen, time to light the fire. This alone is a bit of an art…After hours, when the inside of the oven has the right colour, indicating the perfect temperature, it is time to form the bread loaves and to carefully place them in the oven. Before the little door is closed, Virginia makes the sign of the cross to bless the bread with the wooden peel. After a while, the bread is taken out, pounded to dust off the excess flower – listen! The sound indicates the quality of the bread. Now, while piping hot, a loaf is rubbed with fresh garlic, ripped into mouth sized pieces into a big terra cotta bowl, generously drizzled with olive oil, mixed with chopped garlic, sea salt and a sprinkle of vinegar. All done intuitively. It looks so graceful and easy. Warning: the aromas are unbelievable. You will never want anything else and are from now onwards doomed…

They do almost anything around here but in a nutshell, they look after the vineyards and the farm, every single day, with all the detailed and skilled dedication that this responsible job requires. One can easily spot them in the vineyard as their enormous straw hats bob up and down between the vines. Fabiano comes from Brazil, is the Sous Chefs brother who seems to have that samba spring in his steps as well. We recently discovered that he used to make Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. And he has a special interest for antiques and history. And Diones is the son of João and has been referred to as “charm personified”.

We have experienced his incredible work ethic and his special touch with plants years ago and have finally managed to get him to dedicate himself fully to QSA. He is truly blessed with green fingers and when he goes down to the organic flower patch, walking like a cowboy, he looks at home amongst the backdrop of colours of high dahlias and zinnias. Perhaps they too appreciate the joy in this soul?
The whole Quinta is kept healthy, beautiful and functional through João’s great team, come wind, rain or, as most commonly in our case here, sunshine!

Smart, kind, understanding, efficient, light-footed - both with great people’s skills, Ricardo shares the leading role with Celia, so we guarantee a fresh and well rested head waiter! Both are team leaders and team players. They both have been working for QSA most of their lives, so we trust them. Real Pros.
Clients regularly ask Celia to sign an autograph because they think she is the Portuguese actress in Love Actually. But she is used to it and just signs…

Recently someone referred to KP teams as “the kings and queens of hospitality”. They are usually invisible to the client’s eye, but without them our and any kitchen operation would grind to a halt. From pots and pans to stem glasses and sharp knives – every item passes through their hands, most days a few thousand pieces per day. They are at the busiest crossroad and must work extremely hard to link the kitchen with the service, always avoiding congestion. This is often the first rung on the ladder to a career in hospitality, so we are lucky to find capable and motivated help.