The History

Since 1735 to make known superb wines

It is since 1735 that the Vaz de Carvalho family has the joy of being able to make known the superb wines of their Quintas in the Douro.

The region of Santa Marta de Penaguião in the Douro was the first wine region in the world to be cataloged and classified by the then Prime Minister Marquês de Pombal, with the aim of protecting the Durian grape varieties and controlling the quality and quantity of the wines produced.

In 1851, the first Warehouse of the Quinta do Licor was built, for the commercialization of bottled Port Wine.

With the appearance of phylloxera in Portugal, most of the vineyards in the Douro region were affected or even destroyed. In Quinta das Portas only 6 hectares managed to survive, and the vines of these same hectares are conserved to this day.

This year, the warehouse is enlarged and modernized due to increased production.

The first label of wine bottles was created, since up to now it was not mandatory to have a label.

In the year 1965, when the road in Quinta das Portas increased, archaeological remains were discovered. After analyzing these traces, it was concluded that within the Quinta das Portas one of the Caminos de Santiago.

In 1984 a new expansion and modernization of the warehouse was carried out.

The first production of Vaz de Carvalho, with the name VQPRD – Quality Wine Produced in Demarcated Region, takes place on this date. Until this moment the wines had the denomination regional wines.

In 2004 a modernization of part of the farms was carried out, always maintaining a percentage of old vines.