Quinta do Vesuvio

Quinta do Vesuvio is arguably the most magnificent estate in the Douro valley. Located in the beautiful and austere grape-growing region of the Upper Douro Valley, its history dates back to the 16th Century.

All of the grapes are hand-picked, with a careful selection being made. Vesuvio is one of the very few estates in the Douro where all of the wines are made using the traditional treading method in granite lagares, among the largest in the Douro valley, and offered exclusively as a single Quinta Vintage Port.

Vesuvio is now ranked as one of the top-tier Vintage Port producers.

One of the Douro’s most dramatic estates, Quinta do Vesúvio is a vast amphitheatre of stone terraces stewarded by the Symington family. Its scale, heat and isolation give rise to wines of power and longevity, both fortified and dry.

Douro Valley

Portugal

Quinta do Vesuvio is situated far upriver in the Douro Superior, 120 kilometres from Portugal’s Atlantic coast and only 30 kilometres from the border with Spain.

Since acquiring Quinta do Vesuvio in 1989, the Symington family has sought to recover the quinta’s legendary reputation.

Vesuvio is now ranked as one of the top-tier Vintage Port producers.

Viticulture

Quinta do Vesuvio is situated far upriver in the Douro Superior, 120 kilometres from Portugal’s Atlantic coast and only 30 kilometres from the border with Spain. Since acquiring Quinta do Vesuvio in 1989, our family has sought to recover the quinta’s legendary reputation. They have preserved the centuries-old method of treading the grapes in the granite lagares, which were built in 1827. Today Vesuvio is one of the last Douro Valley properties to maintain this tradition. With 326 hectares, it is their largest property, and today is one of the model vineyards of the Douro. The property’s considerable scale and mountainous terrain result in vineyards with multiple aspects and an altitude range from 100 metres to 460 metres, providing scope for the production of very fine Vintage Ports and excellent Douro wines. They have conserved many of the mature vineyards planted in the 1970s, some of the first to be planted in single varietal parcels. There are also much older, mixed variety vineyards, which contribute to the incredible complexity and structure of Quinta do Vesuvio wines.

Winemaking

The Vesuvio winery, the adega, is an imposing stone-walled building housing 8 granite lagares and 16 immense chestnut vats in which successive Vesuvio vintages have been stored for nearly two centuries. The capacity of each lagar is approximately 24 pipes (around 13,500 litres). This corresponds to the capacity of the individual vats, meaning that each receives the equivalent of one lagar. One of the eight lagares has been adapted for grape reception, and another two were subdivided into smaller ‘lagaretes’ for treading aiming at greater extractions. In each vintage, the lagares are worked by teams of up to 45 men and women, split into three rows, marching up and down the lagar with military-like precision, their progress supervised by a team leader resembling a drill sergeant as he calls out, “esquerda, direita, esquerda…” (“left, right, left…). Vesuvio is one of a handful of properties in the Douro to preserve this ancient winemaking method.