Old roots, new ideas
In a Douro landscape where many historic names now answer to multinational owners, Poças quietly stands out as one of the rare, still-family-run survivors. A century on, this 100% Portuguese house has remained loyal to its founder’s vision whilst boldly embracing the 21st century.
From its cellars in the historic heart of Vila Nova de Gaia, Poças blends both Port and Douro wines that are as characterful as the steep terraces that give them life.
Quinta de Santa Bárbara
Poças was founded in 1918 by Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior, when Port was still largely traded by British families.
Today, the family owns three quintas – one in each sub-region of the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, the world’s oldest demarcated wine region and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 – spanning a total of 75 hectares of vines.
Quinta das Quartas, in Fontelas (Baixo Corgo), has been in the family since 1932 and serves as the winemaking hub through which all wines go through.
Quinta de Vale de Cavalos, in Numão (Douro Superior), joined the portfolio in 1988, bringing altitude, wild landscapes and powerful fruit. Quinta de Santa Bárbara, in Ervedosa do Douro (Cima Corgo), was added in 1999; its prized old vines are the source of some of the house’s most complex wines.
These three estates form the backbone of Poças’ identity, each contributing its own expression of the Douro’s schist, sun and dramatic slopes.
Today, the Poças family’s fourth generation leads with respect and restlessness, alongside winemaker André Pimentel Barbosa, who brings an inquisitive, experimental streak that has since become a hallmark of Poças.
The young winemaker’s mandate was clear: refresh and reposition the brand, highlight the portfolio’s versatility, and produce wines that speak to both tradition and a new generation of wine drinkers.
This team looks both backwards and forwards – reviving nearly forgotten styles, collaborating with artists, and drawing constant inspiration from the Douro’s singular terroir, whilst never losing sight of the challenges ahead, especially climate change.
Over more than a century in Port, Poças has quietly achieved milestones, but two turning points truly changed its trajectory. The first came in 1990, when winemaker Jorge Manuel Pintão decided – very much against the grain at the time – to produce DOC Douro table wines.
Whilst most houses focused almost exclusively on the fortified Port, Jorge bet on the region’s raw materials.
The same grapes that delivered concentrated tannins and ripe sugar levels for Port, he believed, could yield profound table wines. That conviction made Poças one of the pioneers of still wine in the Douro Demarcated Region.
Their debut, Coroa d’Ouro, helped define the early Douro DOC movement and marked its 30th anniversary in 2020.
A growing portfolio of Douro wines soon joined it: Vale de Cavalos, Poças, Poças Reserva and the Poças Douro Premium range (Branco da Ribeira and Símbolo), each highlighting a different facet of the Douro’s personality – from bright, mineral-driven whites to structured, ageworthy reds.
In 2018, when Poças celebrated its 100th anniversary, the family looked both backwards and forwards. On the eve of the centenary, they revived a nearly lost style with Poças Quinado, a wine inspired by a historic quinine-infused Portuguese speciality.
The following year, to mark the centenary itself, they released Poças Established 1918 Very Old Tawny Port – a collector’s piece, limited to just 100 bottles, with a bespoke design and the kind of layered, time-polished complexity that only decades in wood can create.
The centenary did not usher in a quiet retirement. Instead, it seems to have unlocked Poças’ most creative chapter.
For years, the winemaking team had been running experimental micro-projects, shared mostly with friends and family. In 2018, these trials became a public, unapologetically bold series: Fora da Série – literally, “out of the ordinary”.
Launched formally in 2019, Fora da Série is more than a playground; it is a laboratory for the future of Douro and Port in a warming climate.
Here, Poças tests new approaches in both the vineyard and the cellar – alternative grape varieties, fermentation techniques, vessels and ageing regimes – seeking wines that are fresher, more versatile and more sustainable, yet still distinctly Douro.
Produced in small, numbered batches, the Fora da Série releases have quickly earned a reputation for irreverence and originality – still wines that challenge expectations of what Douro should taste like and how it can be enjoyed.
Behind the eye-catching labels and unconventional styles lies rigorous research, already influencing the house’s core range.
Also in 2019, Poças dusted off another chapter from its archives: Vermouth Soberbo. Based on white Port and infused with 18 botanicals sourced from the family’s Douro estates, it draws on notes and recipes from the 1930s and ‘40s.
The result is a vermouth that feels both vintage and modern – tailor-made for the current cocktail revival yet deeply rooted in Poças’ own history.
Recognition and awards have followed, but Poças has used that momentum to widen its reach rather than play it safe. In 2021, the house launched three distinct projects that underscore its breadth: Trava-Línguas (Tongue Twister) 2019, a playful Douro DOC red that invites conversation as much as it invites tasting; The Coopers Limited Edition Colheita 2006, a twin-pack of high-quality Ports, each aged by a different method, spotlighting the powerful influence of wood; and Brig’s, a pair of dry white and rosé Ports created primarily for mixology, designed to slip naturally into spritzes and cocktails.
In 2022, Poças doubled down on Fora da Série, releasing new vintages and entirely new references that have quickly become insider favourites. At the same time, the family made a significant investment in hospitality: the expansion of its Visitor Centre in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Winemaker André Pimentel Barbosa
Open to the public since 2016 and redesigned in 2018 by architects Lúcia Vaz Pato and António Mota, it feels more like being welcomed into a family space than being ushered through a corporate attraction.
The heart of the visit is the atmospheric cellar, home to more than 800 barrels, where some of Poças’ greatest treasures – its Colheitas and long-aged Tawnies – rest in quiet semi-darkness.
Here, visitors can follow a chronological journey through the house’s evolution and, unusually, see the cooperage in action, witnessing the craft that shapes the barrels on which these wines depend.
A tasting room and shop complete the experience, offering the full Poças lineup – from classic Ruby, Tawny and Vintage Ports to Douro DOC whites and reds, limited editions and collectable bottles.
Since May 2022, chef Pedro Braga, of Porto’s Mito restaurant, has added a gastronomic dimension to the visit, creating small plates centred on seasonal ingredients and designed to pair with Poças wines.
For each dish, two pairings are suggested: one classic, the other more daring, inviting guests to experiment and compare.
In a region where wine, food and conviviality are inseparable, Poças’ Visitor Centre aims to transform a simple tasting into an immersive experience around the table.
It is an invitation to toast the Douro’s past, present and future in a single glass – often with something you won’t find anywhere else.
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