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adega do fogo





The new luxury holiday home in Pico recovers the old distillery that gives it its name, which has a new lease of life at the hands of Benedita Branco, who led the project, which was redesigned by the architect Diogo Mega.


It has six rooms, a dining room, swimming pool with a privileged view of the highest point in Portugal, and is located in the Cabrito area, in the Paisagem da Cultura da Vinha da Ilha do Pico, a UNESCO classified site since 2004. Now it has a new soul, and is the perfect stop for those who want to discover or revisit the Azorean island and its traditions, its flavours and its history


2021 marks the opening of Adega do Fogo, but Benedita Branco's relationship with this place began in 2017, when she decided to acquire the 3500m2 plot where a vacant building on the seafront had caught her attention.

Driven by the desire for a new challenging project (in 2018 she opened Lava Homes, a highly successful hotel unit on the same island), Benedita explains that she decided on that space due to the energy that the place transmits to her. The first time she entered there, she had the feeling of having launched herself into another dimension, of having gone back 200 years in time, perhaps because of the high walls that protect the interior from the real world. She decided to take a risk and buy the abandoned manor house that inside housed an old and prestigious distillery that, she discovered, had been one of the main ones in the northern part of the island, where the community produced liqueurs and brandy.


In January 2020, the reconstruction works started, mainly on the interiors, insulation, cladding and the organisation and reforestation of the outside spaces. The original façade was maintained in its entirety. Benedita's idea was to build a small charming hotel, taking a vibrant building with history and improving it to a level of extreme comfort, where you could enjoy ancestry in a pleasant way. A place where the owner could recover a habit with 40 years, from the early days when she started coming to Pico and received groups of friends: being able to welcome those who arrive with time, proximity and comfort, and show the world the best of the Azores, land he discovered and which today is also a little bit hers.



before, a distillery





The origin of this distillery is still shrouded in mystery. It is known that it was built by Father Leal, according to the accounts of the former owners, around 1820.


It functioned open to the community, whoever wanted to go there to "burn", and then paid for the use of the space with bottles of the drink produced there. "Burning" is the first step in the production of firewater, when the fermented fruit is put to boil in a cauldron covered over the fire, and out comes the weak water, which is passed to a second, smaller alembic, for distillation. It is then diluted with water from the cistern, and the coils through which the liquid passes are cooled by sea water in a tide well that receives the underground.


The idea of the communal distillery is to be maintained in this new life of the place. The Adega will continue to be open to all who want to produce. The stills have been restored, not just for decoration.

But there will also be Adega do Fogo brandy, with different flavours, using ingredients from the island such as Pico banana, pineapple, medronho and sweet potato. Between November and February, production happens at a good pace and guests can be part of its entire cycle and, at the end, toast with the drink they made themselves, with 100% local flavours.



now, a vacation home!





Recovering those summers that were dedicated to cooking regional dishes for the friends she received, organising their stays, taking them on hikes, going with them fishing for mackerel on the rock, and showing them wonders such as how to make butter, Benedita wants the guest experience to be genuine, with time for discovery.


Adega do Fogo operates as a 5* segment holiday home, which can be used by families or groups of friends who want to enjoy the property as a whole, for minimum stays of 5 nights in summer and 3 nights in winter. The experience at the winery and on the island is tailor-made to suit the client, the purpose of their visit and their degree of avidity for adventure.


It is possible to book the property, with no further extras, for days of complete delight where you really disconnect from the world outside.


To this, the guest can add gastronomic experiences prepared by very knowledgeable hands of Azorean flavours - in the dining room of the house, next to the distillery, with capacity for up to 18 people and/or in the wood oven outside, which also has a barbecue grill, evenings to the sound of Azorean and Pico songs, workshops in butter or corn cake, fishing and making Atlantic fish?


And also other activities, such as bike rides and trails around the island, personalized massages with a view to Pico, local wine tastings... Everything is possible in this "picnic incursion" that wants to be done with proximity, truth and always in a personalized way.



the decoration





The interior decoration of Adega do Fogo is discreet, sober and comfortable, never overlapping with the existing materials and structures, but thought in harmony with them.


The idea of Ana Trancoso, responsible for this front, is that whoever arrives feels at home; the scale of the project (with only 6 rooms and a dining room with a ready to use kitchen), allows that feeling to be even more real.


The decorative elements, invite to contemplation and to travel in time, with custom-made furniture, with solid chestnut wood. The recovery of the ceiling beams, the stones of the windows and the wooden floor give the space unique characteristics that revive the heritage of the place. The white walls trimmed by the black stone of the original construction remind us of the DNA and history of the old distillery and the place where it is located.


Outside, the intention was the same: different areas allow you to enjoy the property all day long, with spaces prepared for different moments: from the swimming pool with a view to Pico to the table under the trees next to the wood oven, to the lounge area under the shed next to the kitchen, with a view to the gardens where fig trees grow between walls built with volcanic stone, there are several spaces to enjoy long and pleasant moments of leisure.


Also in the various outdoor areas the furniture is simple, in wood, where the view and comfort reign supreme. Everywhere there are plants rehabilitated by Silvina Maria, Benedita's mother, who rescued them from various parts of the island where they were at risk and gave them a new home.





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the WELLNESS





It is in total communion with the landscape that you can enjoy moments of complete delight at Adega do Fogo's wellness service.


Why have a spa for massages when these can be received in the Protected Landscape of Pico, with the imposing mountain in front of us, and a setting where the green of the vine and the black of the rock merge in total harmony? The treatments are made with essential oils from the archipelago, from Essentia Azorica, from native plants and others that populate the various islands. The aromas and properties of cryptomeria, bay leaf, cotta or incense, in the hands of specialised massage therapists, make a clear separation between the before and after experience that appeals to several senses. For those who prefer a more secluded interior, the massage can also be enjoyed in the comfort of the room, in this house that always belongs to the guest.


The sauna is in another corner of the original building, covered in cryptomeria wood, a space where you can take a real break from the real world. All the amenities are Oliófora, 100% natural, from cold-pressed oils, which bring nature in its purest state to those who use them, in the form of skin care.


Guests can also enjoy hairdressing, manicure and other beauty treatments, by appointment, in the comfort of their Azorean holiday home.



BENEDITA BRANCO



It was a passion of the time that made her come to the Azores for the first time. She has been coming every summer for 40 years. She knows the northern side of the island well and today, those who don't know, say she's always lived in Pico, because of the dexterity with which she moves, advises and creates bridges between projects and people there.


She moved permanently to the archipelago in 2018, after working for 25 years in advertising. She had a house that she rented out to tourists in the São Miguel Arcanjo area (on Pico) and this awakened her curiosity for the hotel world, and rekindled her enthusiasm for the art of hospitality.


In 2018 she opened Lava Homes, a project that marked an upgrade in the island's hotel offer. She seeks to share what he knows Pico has best, provide good moments to others and build projects that have soul.


Her soul is in everything she does.



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