It all started in 1918, when Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior, born in the heart of Porto's bustle, decided to start his own business.
It was August 15, a few months before the Armistice. Manoel Poças was 30 years old and had some work experience in the area. With his uncle, he founded a company to sell brandies to great producers of Port wine. Shortly after it established the headquarters that remains until today, in Vila Nova de Gaia.
First his uncle, then the brothers, the wife, the grandchildren: the whole Poças family came to share their passion for wine, combining respect for tradition with an open mind for innovation brought by the new generations.
Today, with three farms in the best locations in the Douro Demarcated Region, Poças has total control of the quality of its wines. And the involvement of the family is stronger than ever.
Quinta das Quartas
Here you will find the Poças wine-making center. More than 2.5 hectares of vineyard, this farm stands out for the large aging cellar of Port Wines. There they rest up to 25,000 hectoliters in wooden hulls, from half-pipes of 267 liters to balers of 88,000 liters. In the modern winery, since 1996, the productions of all Poças farms have been produced, with a total of 1.1 million liters of wine. It includes a small museum where you can see the primitive granite wineries of 1873. Manoel Poças Júnior had a great dedication for this first quinta in the Douro. He visited her almost every week, walking the last 700 meters on foot, along stony paths. He dreamed he could drive his car to the farm one day, which he never did, because the current road was only opened later.
Quinta Sta Barbara
On this farm, with about 33 hectares of vineyard and a beautiful walled orange grove, some of the best Vintages and LBV Poças wines are produced under the Quinta de Santa Bárbara brand. The farm was named after a primitive farmhouse, located in front of the city of Peso da Régua, with a chapel of this saint and a breathtaking panorama. The construction of a road that divided the primitive quinta led to the purchase of the current one in 1999. When it was acquired, only about a quarter of the total area had vineyards of considerable age. Subsequently, the entire estate was planted using the most modern techniques and the selection of the best varieties.
Quinta de Vale de Cavalos
In Numão, a region of excellence, the whole plantation privileges the best breeds. The fifth was acquired in 1988 and has an area of about 51 hectares vineyard, divided into the Ribeira Teja, Catapereiro, Tanque and Zoc plots.
The undulating terrain dispenses support walls, which facilitates agricultural work. The proximity of the Ribeira Teja to an albufeira, formed by the rise of the waters of a recent dam, and the sophisticated "drip irrigation" system, allow to face the frequent droughts of this region considered the one with less rainfall of Portugal.
