Quinta do Vale Meao

Quinta do Vale Meão is a Port estate from the Vila Nova de Foz Côa municipality that produces a range of table and fortified wines that have gained numerous awards.

The quinta vineyards were replanted in the 1980s, partly due to flooding of the area after the construction of a nearby dam. Plantings, chiefly of Touriga Nacional, are arranged in varietal blocks, matched to areas of schist, granite and alluvial soils. The historic Adega dos Novos winery combines the traditional and modern, with barriques and stainless steel tanks alongside stone lagares (treading tanks). The company also owns the Adega da Barca Velha wine lodge, reconstructed in 2007, as a warehouse for storing port.

The estate originated in 1877 when Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, owner of the largest winemaking estate in the Douro, purchased 300 hectares (750 acres) of virgin land with the plan of developing a new model vineyard, which was completed in 1895 (a year before her death). The vineyard fruit was supplied to A.A. Ferreira until 1998, when one branch of the family consolidated the various shares and began to produce wines under Quinta do Vale Meão's own identity, starting with the 1999 vintage.

The portfolio of table wines includes red and white wines called Meandro, as well as the Monte Meão Touriga Nacional. Quinta do Vale Meão makes two Ports: the Olazabal Finest Reserve ruby style, and the Quinta do Vale Meão Porto Vintage.