Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande 1994

A story in every bottle. A Douro Valley pioneer and leader, Casa Ferreirinha has carried the torch for creative, quality winemaking in the Douro becoming the region’s most historic and iconic house. Casa Ferreirinha wines range from easy-drinking Esteva and Planalto through the richer Papa Figos and Vinha Grande to the exceptional Quinta da Leda, Reserva Especial, and Barca Velha which remains one of Portugal’s most famous, long-lived, elegant and complex wines. The story of Casa Ferreirinha is inextricably associated with one extraordinary woman: Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira was born in 1811 in the country town of Régua, the gateway to the wines of the Douro Valley. Though small in stature and reserved by nature, Dona Antónia was a charismatic visionary with entrepreneurial drive. In 1845 at age 33, she took over her family’s business, Ferreira Port, the first Portuguese family-owned Port House in the Douro. During her tenure at Ferreira Port, Dona Antónia expanded her estates, created new expanses of terraced vineyards and improved the hard lives of the local farming families. She was affectionally called ‘Ferreirinha’ – ‘the little Ferreira’. Dona Antónia’s legacy and quest for excellence continues to be a fundamental pillar of Casa Ferreirinha. In the 1950’s, Ferreira’s technical director, Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, set out to make the highest quality unfortified wines in the Douro. His aim was to produce elegant, top-quality wines with the aging potential of Vintage Port. In 1952, Barca Velha was born, an iconic wine made only in exceptional vintages combining the best grapes from the Douro Superior with grapes sourced at high altitudes.