Sandeman 

Scotsman George Sandeman started his wine business in London in 1790, trading in port and sherry. He bought the aging cellar (i.e., cellar for aging wine) in Vila Nova de Gaia in 1811. Sandeman is inordinately proud of its icon, invented in 1928, the dramatically silhouetted image of the "Sandeman Don" which, we are told, wears an Andalusian hat and a Portuguese student's cape, representing the company's double presence in port and sherry wine. Sandeman offers probably the slickest of the cellar visits, only slightly pricier than others, and I thoroughly recommend it - the quality of the wine offered in the tasting which concludes your visit is notably higher than elsewhere, as well.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 16
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Sogevinus 

Not itself a port house but the company which owns Kopke (the oldest port house in Oporto), Burmester, Calém (the first port lodge you are likely to come across when you walk into Gaia across the Ponte Dom Luis), Barros and Gilbert's, all venerable names in the Port-making world.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 21
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Ramos Pinto 

Portuguese port house, founded in 1890. That's almost newish, by port standards.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 20
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Cockburn's 

Cockburn's is one of the most recognisable names in port, and there is nothing wrong with that, its success has been earned. It was founded in 1815 by an ex-soldier who had visited Portugal when serving under Wellington. It is now owned by Pernod Ricard (as are many of the port houses nowadays), but maintains its separate identity, lodges and quintas (wine-making estates where the vines are grown - Cockburn's owns more vineyards than any other port house).
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 23
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Croft 

The company had already been working for over 50 years when Yorkshire vintner John Croft gave it its name in 1736, so Croft is one of the most historic names in port. Its port lodge in Gaia is a most satisfactory visit (and free with the Portocard).
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 27
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Ferreira 

Ferreira is the most popular port wine in Portugal itself, a venerable institution founded in 1751 or 58, depending on who you believe. The company was really built up in the 19th century by Antonia Adelaide (AA) Ferreira, known affectionately by her workers as "Ferreirinha" - Ferreira still makes port under this name and a more expensive one under the name Dona Antonia. Ferreira is an interesting port lodge to visit, but in contrast to English-orientated ones like Sandeman, it receives more French or Spanish-speaking visitors and it can actually be difficult to get an English-speaking guide. I can't persuade aaferreira.pt to work, so the website linked to is that of its owners, Sogrape Vinhos, which also owns Sandeman and Mateus Rosé.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 31
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Offley 

Founded in 1737 and made great by Joseph Forrester, a key figure in the history of port, so much so that he was named Baron Forrester by the King of Portugal. Forrester was a distinguished cartographer whose maps of the Douro were a tremendous aid to navigation, and who lost his life in an accident on the river. Again, I am unable to get www.offley.pt to work, so the link above goes to The Port Wine site.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 26
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Quinta do Noval 

The name "Quinta do Noval" comes from the estate where the vines are grown and the wine made in the Upper Douro Valley. The Quinta dates from 1715, one of the oldest in the port wine world, though it was not really until it was bought up António José da Silva towards the end of the nineteenth century that it began to make inroads in the port shipping business.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 15
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Rozès 

A slight oddity in the port world, a port house which is neither British nor Portuguese but French in its origins (though the French drink more port wine than any other nation, including the British).
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 12
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W & J Graham's 

Founded in 1820 by the Scottish Graham family, though the present port lodge dates from 1890. Graham's lodge is higher and further west than most others in Gaia, and worth visiting just for the views over Oporto.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 8
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Wiese & Krohn 

The port world is dominated by British and Portuguese names and at some distance the odd French one. Wiese & Krohn were Norwegians, however, who founded their company in 1865 to sell port to Scandinavia and Germany. It offers a free visit and wine tasting.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 16
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Burmester 

Though 'Burmester' is a German name, it is a thoroughly British affair which has been shipping port to Britain since 1750, under one trading name or another.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 12
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Taylor's 

The present Taylor, Fladman & Yeatman traces its history back to one Job Bearsley, who "by 1692 was a Port shipper and partner in the firm which we know today as Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman. His 4XX (an old woolmark) is still cut into the walls of the Casa dos Alambiques, where Taylor Fladgate have made wine from 1744 to this day-apart from its short break as a field hospital for Wellington's troops. The 4XX mark still features on the company crest, and on every bottle." It was not until the 1700s that the company moved to Oporto and was shipping significant amounts of port wine. Job's son Peter is considered the first Englishman to explore the then inaccessible Upper Douro region.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 51
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Barros 

Barros is something of a newcomer in the port world, having been established in 1913. It offers free visits with wine tasting thrown in.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 129
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Kopke 

Kopke is the oldest of the port houses, founded in 1638 by a German family of that name. It offers free guided tours of its port lodge, complete with wine tasting.
Added on: 05-Jun-2008 | hits: 132
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