History
Quinta do Vallado, established in 1716, is one of the oldest and most famous estates in the Douro Valley.
It is located on the banks of the Corgo River, a tributary of the Douro River, right next to its mouth and close to the town of Peso da Régua.
It belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and remains to this day in the hands of her descendants.
Acquired in 1818 by António Bernardo Ferreira (uncle and father-in-law to Dona Antónia), Quinta do Vallado’s main activity was the production of port wine, which was sold by the family’s port house – Casa Ferreira.
This occured until 1987, when Casa Ferreira was sold. During this period, Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, great-grandson of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, followed by his son Jorge Cabral Ferreira, were at the helm of Quinta do Vallado's management.
Modern Times
After the sale of Casa Ferreira, new challenges arose, and in 1993, under the direction of Guilherme Álvares Ribeiro and his wife Maria Antónia Ferreira, the company decided to expand the business into the production, bottling and marketing of own-label wines.
In the same year, under the guidance of Prof. Nuno Magalhães, the Quinta started a deep restructuring of its vineyards, aiming for the production of high quality grapes and the adoption of vineyard plantation and conduction systems that ensure an optimum vegetative development.
The new vineyards were planted using a single variety on each plot, breaking with the old tradition of mixing different varieties in the same plot.
Today, Quinta do Vallado has 10 hectares of old vineyards planted between the 1920s and 1950s, including Vinha da Granja, in 1929, and Vinha da Coroa, in 1958. The remaining 55 hectares were planted in the 1990s.
In Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Quinta do Vallado acquired Quinta do Orgal where, since 2009, 35 hectares of organically farmed vineyards have been planted.
Quinta do Vallado is currently managed by João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro (CEO) and Francisco Ferreira (Board member, Agricultural management, Winemaking and Production), with the assistance of Francisco Olazábal (Winemaker). All of them are great-great-great grandsons of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira.
Under this management, an unique and modern building was built in 2009 to accommodate the new winery and ageing cellar, which combine state-of-the art technology with high-quality architectural design, making it one of the most visited places in the Douro Valley.