The Great-
-Great-Great-
Grandsons
João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro, Francisco Ferreira and Francisco Olazabal are made of the same strain as the famous Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, the great woman of the 19th century who pioneered the expansion of the Douro’s farms and vineyards; despite the impossible environment, despite the pests and despite the men.
While we still live in a world where women have to demand quotas, because they are under-represented, imagine the determination, vision and stubbornness that a woman of that era needed to fight phylloxera and revive dozens of farms, build an empire and, in the process, put the Prime Minister, the Duke of Saldanha, in his place.
If such a metaphor be permitted, it is from this strain that the great-great-great-grandsons stem. From her, they have inherited a restlessness to explore the Douro and its tributaries, beyond the boundaries of Quinta do Vallado.
“Our great-great-great-grandmother, Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, is a great inspiration because of her energy, ethics, courage, vision and entrepreneurship; but, above all, because of her passion for the land.” João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro
- João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro
- Francisco Ferreira
- Francisco Olazabal
‘The last 20 years’ work has been guided and inspired by our great-great-great-grandmother Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira’s history and life, her determination, love of the Douro, ability to overcome adversity, obsession with quality and respect for heritage. This is why we have preserved and revived the old vines (a high density and range of different grape varieties), so that this legacy endures.’
Francisco Ferreira
Built in 1716, Quinta do Vallado is one of the oldest Douro Valley estates. It was owned by the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and remains in the hands of her descendants today.