Who created Quinta wine?

[Bartholomew Broadbent]

A friend of mine, who is writing an article on Port, asked me "Miquel Champalimaud has been sited as the father of the quinta program, is that accurate?" I thought, absolutely not. However, I went to the website of Quinta do Côtto where is says:

“Miguel Champalimaud took charge of the wine production at Quinta do Côtto in 1976, and under his management the Quinta Wine concept was established over the last 30 years to the point where it is now central to Portuguese enology and winemaking.
During this time, and in light of the increasing quality of Quinta Wines, there has been a gradual growth in market and reputation of these wines throughout Europe. This evolution was possible due to the reinforcement of the Quinta Wine concept which has always been led by Quinta do Côtto.”

I have bottles of 1968 Malvedos in my cellar, a single Quinta wine from Graham's. I always thought Taylor's Quinta da Vargelas was the first single Quinta of modern times. However, my father has a bottle of 1815 Quinta de Vesuvio in his cellar, which at that time belonged to Ferreira. Quinta do Crasto has been named that since 1615. Of course, though not exactly a Single Quinta, Quinta do Noval can have some claims to the term Quinta wine.

I think Quinta do Côtto are quite wrong to claim that they came up with the Single Quinta concept. Can anyone answer definitively which Port producer can make that claim?

If they are referring to table wine, I think that Ferreira's Barca Velha, produced since the 1950s were certainly the original modern time single quinta founders, though it was not always exclusively produced from a single Quinta.

Who can enlighten me on the above, for both Port and table wine?

[Glenn E.]

This may be a case where the "inventor" and the "father" of something are not necessarily the same person. I cannot add any historical facts to your knowledge base, but it is entirely possible that what Quinta do Côtto is claiming is that Miquel Champalimaud is responsible for Portuguese Quinta wines coming into their own. They're not necessarily saying he invented the concept, just that he championed it and helped make it what it is today.

Just a thought... I really have no idea.

[Eric Menchen]

I recently bought some Quinta de Roriz and did some reading on them. The following from their website won't settle anything, but adds to the discussion:

Quinta de Roriz is one of the oldest and finest estates in the Douro and has been owned by the van Zeller family since 1815. Historical records show that Roriz was the very first Quinta Port to be exported and the first Quinta to establish an international reputation for the quality of its wines.

You'll find more on their history here.

[Ronald Wortel]

Bartholomew, I think the website of Quinta do Côtto is not speaking of wine derived from one quinta, but of a quinta producing, marketing and selling its own product. The quintas you mention are (were) all part of 'classic shippers', who operate from Porto. As you know, it has only been possible for independent producers to export their product from 1986 onwards, and Quinta do Côtto was indeed one of the producers who played an important role in making this happen. If they were the first? I don't know, other producers such as Quinta do Infantado and Quinta do Crasto also come to mind.

[Moses Botbol]

Sounds like Ronald has come up with the definition that fits their definition of Quinta wine...

[Tom Archer]

Bartholomew,

I think it is your father's book that notes early Christies sale catalogues mentioning the sale of Roriz - not as a shipper, but as a specific source. As far as I am aware, that is the oldest known reference to Port being sold overseas from a specific vineyard.

Reference to single quinta wines were sporadic until the post war years, but then they became routine.

The notion that Cotto did something in 1976 that changed the world of single quinta ports seems as credible as Gordon Brown's claim to have 'saved the world'..

Very nice to have your input, by the way.. The British contingent has a tame restaurant in Covent Garden where we love to entertain the port trade (any excuse to open an ancient bottle or three..) - so do let us know when you're next in Blighty.

Obviously we would love to entertain your father as well - if he can be coaxed into town!

Tom

[Derek T.]

These are all of the pre-1900 Quinta wines that Julian and I have ecountered in our research to date:

Quinta do Vesuvio 1815
Quinta de Roriz 1834
Quinta de Roriz 1847
Quinta do Noval 1851
Quinta de Roriz 1851
Quinta do Vesuvio 1863
Quinta de Roriz 1870
Quinta de Ventozelo 1872
Quinta do Noval 1875
Quinta do Noval 1880
Quinta do Noval 1887
Quinta do Noval 1896

Does anyone know when the rule was established that the word Quinta could only be used when all grapes used to make a wine came from that property? With so few produced in 85 years it is difficult to imagine that there was a rule, let alone a rule that was enforced.

Derek

[Tom Archer]

Does anyone know when the rule was established that the word Quinta could only be used when all grapes used to make a wine came from that property?

Does this actually form part of IVDP regulations?

- Or is it simply a matter of compliance with the Trade Descriptions Act (in the UK) and similar legislation in other countries?

The UK Trade Descriptions Act came into force in 1968. Prior to that there were various 'Merchandise Marks' laws, but my impression is that prior to the Act, the only serious enforcement of the work now done by Trading Standards related to weights and measures.

In years past, both manufacturers and consumers were less concerned about the exact provenance of goods, and the French negociants (especially in Burgundy) were notorious for mis-matching the content of a bottle with the label on the outside.

The logic, it seemed, was that if the customer wanted wine x at price y, the negociants would look for a wine that matched the customers expectations within his price range. This went on for so long that different markets received different styles of wine 'gout american' - 'gout anglais' that were far removed from the genuine article.

If at some point in the past a port producer enhanced his 'single quinta' wine with a little juice from elsewhere, then it would be a trivial offence compared to what went on elsewhere. Indeed, should we be that concerned today if a producer improved his product with a little judicious blending? It is, after all, the taste that matters!

Tom

[oscarquevedo]

Does anyone know when the rule was established that the word Quinta could only be used when all grapes used to make a wine came from that property?

Does this actually form part of IVDP regulations?

- Or is it simply a matter of compliance with the Trade Descriptions Act (in the UK) and similar legislation in other countries?

Yes, this is part of the IVDP regulations. But I'm not really sure when this came into force. Not sure if it's a new regulation from the IVDP or if it was inherited from Casa do Douro. I'll try to get some info about this.

[Bartholomew Broadbent]

Bartholomew,

I think it is your father's book that notes early Christies sale catalogues mentioning the sale of Roriz - not as a shipper, but as a specific source. As far as I am aware, that is the oldest known reference to Port being sold overseas from a specific vineyard.

Reference to single quinta wines were sporadic until the post war years, but then they became routine.

The notion that Cotto did something in 1976 that changed the world of single quinta ports seems as credible as Gordon Brown's claim to have 'saved the world'..

Very nice to have your input, by the way.. The British contingent has a tame restaurant in Covent Garden where we love to entertain the port trade (any excuse to open an ancient bottle or three..) - so do let us know when you're next in Blighty.

Obviously we would love to entertain your father as well - if he can be coaxed into town!

Tom

Many thanks for your kind invitation!

[Bartholomew Broadbent]

These are all of the pre-1900 Quinta wines that Julian and I have ecountered in our research to date:

Quinta do Vesuvio 1815
Quinta de Roriz 1834
Quinta de Roriz 1847
Quinta do Noval 1851
Quinta de Roriz 1851
Quinta do Vesuvio 1863
Quinta de Roriz 1870
Quinta de Ventozelo 1872
Quinta do Noval 1875
Quinta do Noval 1880
Quinta do Noval 1887
Quinta do Noval 1896

Does anyone know when the rule was established that the word Quinta could only be used when all grapes used to make a wine came from that property? With so few produced in 85 years it is difficult to imagine that there was a rule, let alone a rule that was enforced.

Derek

Quinta do Crasto has been named that since 1615. They were making table wine back then. Remember, back then it was not a fortified wine, fortification only came about much later and Baron de Forrester was dead against the practice. He did great things, like mapping the region and bonking Dona Antonia but if he had had his way, fortified Port would not exist. He was out-voted.

So, prior to rules being put in place, table wines and Quintas were marketing wine with Quinta names. Remember, the reason that Port became popular was nothing to do with Fortified wine, it was because the French and British were at war, so the British stopped buying wine from Bordeaux and found that the closest in quality was from their allies, the Portuguese, along the river Douro. Port as we know it today was a later invention.

[Derek T.]

Bartholomew,

Just to clarify, when I used the term "wines" in the i ntro to the above post I was actually referring to Vintage Ports, specifically Single Quinta Vintage Ports. Apologies for not being clear and for the confusion this caused.

Derek

[Paul Symington]

The following extract from a book written by Oswald John Frederick Crawfurd (1834-1909), British Consul in Oporto from 1867 to 1891 may be of interest. He was a writer of some repute and he married Meta Ford, daughter of Richard Ford, famous author of ‘Hand Book for Traveller’s in Spain’ published in 1854.
In Crawfurd’s book ‘Portugal, Old and New’, published in 1880 he has some very interesting passages on Port, amongst them is the following:
‘The wine district is one huge vineyard: beyond its limits little good wine is made, within them little that is not good. There is therefore no need for classification of wines by the names of their vineyards as in France. Some few port wine vineyards especially favoured in soil and aspect are known to fame. Vesuvio, Roeda, Roriz, Noval, and a very few others have reputations beyond Portugal.’
This was a man with a profound knowledge of Portugal and of Port. He writes extensively about the right level of fortification, about vines diseases, adulteration of port, about Forrester’s radical ideas (many of which he does not agree with), so his comments on the Douro Quintas can be taken as reflecting the general opinion of the 19th century. Note that this book was written before the traditional Port houses started to buy Quintas in the Upper Douro.
Just because a Quinta existed, this does not mean that its wine was being sold under its name. In fact the above extract and many other sources prove this. The best record is probably the British Auction houses, where virtually all quality Ports were eventually transacted. There were no other markets in the 18th and 19th centuries for quality Ports, other than the UK.
Roriz has a strong claim to being the oldest Quinta wine. I know because my grandmother's father, George Hardey Mason, a partner in the oldest Port company Kopke, was bankrupted as a result of a court case between Quinta de Roriz and Kopke over the use of the Roriz trademark. The case went to the High Court in London and was judged on 24th October 1907. Hardey Mason lost. Incidently I think the judgement was fair.The documentation from this court case proves beyond any doubt that Quinta de Roriz was well known throughout the 19th century. The Auction records of the great London houses is further proof of this.
Facts and real historical evidence are normally quite useful when considering questions such as these....