Quinta do Vesuvio

The history

The history of Vesúvio dates back to long before grapevines were planted here. Records of this site date back to 1565, when it was known as Quinta das Figueiras.

Wine production began later, but on a significant scale. It started in 1823 with the planting of 150 hectares of vineyards, and the winery opened its doors in 1827. Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, a 19th-century magnate from Douro, is credited with establishing Vesúvio as a wine estate, and in 1868, she bottled what is recorded as the region's first single-estate wine.

This single-estate concept has since become the central pillar of the estate. When the Symington family purchased the property in 1989, they decided to revive the estate under its own name, Vesúvio, rather than integrating the grapes into the Port brand, as most quintas did at the time.

Based on the date of the first vine planting, the winery celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2023. Even now, two centuries later, it remains the largest Symington-owned estate in the Douro region.

The vineyards

The first factor that sets Quinta do Vesúvio apart from neighboring wineries is its size. The total area spans 325.8 hectares, of which 133.4 hectares are planted with grapevines. The remaining land is preserved in its natural state.

These vineyards are spread across 32 valleys and 7 hills, giving the estate the feel of a collection of vineyards rather than a single one. Elevations range from 106 meters near the river to 462 meters at the ridgeline. The terrain faces primarily northwest and west, with some plots facing north and east.

Vesúvio also holds the vineyard's long history beneath the soil. Many of the mature vineyards date back to the 1970s and are among the first single-varietal vineyards established in the Douro, planted in a manner distinctly different from local practices at the time. There are also old mixed-varietal vineyards in the form of field blends, where multiple grape varieties grow side by side.

The terroir

Quinta do Vesúvio is located in the Douro Superior. It is located 120 kilometers inland from Atlantic and borders Spanish. Summers are very hot, and winters are very cold. The average annual precipitation is 471 mm, and the average annual temperature is 16.8°C.

A dry, sunny inland region: This combination of conditions results in small berries and concentrated fruit flavors, exactly what is needed for fortified wine.

However, these extreme climatic conditions are only half the story. The vineyard plots face in various directions and are situated on slopes rising from the riverbank to the ridgeline, causing some grapes to ripen much earlier than others. Thanks to this time lag, winemakers can secure a variety of grape varieties to use for blending over a long harvest period, rather than relying on a single, uniform vineyard block where the harvest is completed in just one week.

What grows at Vesúvio

In addition to the classic Douro variety set, Vesuvius's vineyards feature several other varieties that add color and acidity. The main varieties in this vineyard are as follows:

• Touriga Franca
• Touriga Nacional, which adds structure and aging potential
• Tinta Roriz
• Tinta Barroca
• Alicante Bouschet
• Sousão
• Tinta Amarela
• Old mixed vines: a blend of multiple varieties grown in the same plot

For the Douro DOC red wine, Touriga Nacional is the primary component, supported by Touriga Franca and Tinta Amarela from the vineyard's top-tier plots. As with all wines made from grapes sourced from multiple vineyards rather than a single plot, the blend ratio varies from year to year.

The winemaking

Located in Quinta do Vesúvio, this 19th-century winery is one of the few remaining places in the world where all grapes are still crushed by foot. The grape crushing takes place in granite lagares built in 1827, and this process is applied to all Vintage Port wines produced by the winery, not just the flagship cuvée.

The foot-treading process is slow and labor-intensive. It also gently extracts color and tannins at low temperatures, which is why this method has been preserved here to this day, even as most Douro wineries have switched to machines and automated tanks.

Production volumes are extremely low. Both Vintage Ports are produced in very small quantities, and since the single-vineyard Capela is produced only in the best vintages, certain vintages are sometimes skipped entirely. There is nothing convenient about this approach, but that seems to be the whole point.

Two Vintage Ports, and reds alongside them

Quinta do Vesúvio's port wine lineup is not extensive.

Quinta do Vesúvio Vintage Port is the flagship wine, made from the highest-quality grapes harvested from the entire vineyard.

 Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio is a single-vineyard Vintage Port, released only in the finest vintages.

There is also Vintage Port Library Release, an old vintage wine released quite some time after its initial release, not at the usual time.

However, this winery does not produce only Port. It  also produces the Douro DOC red wine, as well as Pombal do Vesúvio, a second red wine named after the vineyard surrounding the winery's dovecote. Pombal has a higher proportion of Touriga Franca, making it the smoother of the two wines with a richer floral aroma.