Quinta do Infantado

Quinta do Infantado was founded in 1816 in the Cima Corgo sub-region of the Douro. The Roseira family has owned Infantado since the end of the nineteenth century. Today, Infantado is run by third generation João Roseira (winemaker and vineyard manager) and other family members, who oversee family holdings of about forty-six hectares of vines.

Up until the 1970’s, like most small growers, Infantado sold their wines off to large shippers; they then made the radical decision to go it alone, becoming the first estate to not sell or buy fruit and to exclusively bottle estate-grown wines. At that time, their wines could not even be sold outside of Portugal. The law allowed only shippers with a commercial cellar in the town of Vila Nova di Gaia on the Douro near the coast to export. Given its location and small size well upriver, Infantado never intended to have such cellar. Only when the law changed in 1986 were they able to sell beyond their home country.  

Behind the bold decision to go independent was the inherent quality of Infantado’s vineyards. The excellence of their material dictated their decision to bottle estate wines but also determined their choice of a rare house style: medium-dry rather than fully sweet Port. Beyond the quality of the fruit, Infantado takes an artisanal approach to harvest and cellar practices have a vital impact on the nature of the wines. 

Infantado has successfully distinguished their Port wines with some atypical choices in the last fifty years. The wines reflect the terroir and the tradition of the region in myriad ways through a modern, more vinous lens. João is continuing the exploration of terroir with some organic viticulture as well as single-variety vineyard plantings for Port production alongside the old mixed-grape plots. He takes nothing for granted and is emphatic about the importance of hands-and-eyes-on observation and engagement in the vines and in the cellar. Nothing is done by rote at Infantado, and the results of this thoughtful approach are evident in the bottle.