Twenty years ago, the ‘Douro Boys’ group was founded by Guilherme Álvares Ribeiro, Jorge Roquette, Vito Olazabal, Cristiano van Zeller and Dirk van der Niepoort. Now, the next generations of “Boys” (and “Girls”) in Portugal’s premier winery group are embarking on a new era. Three generations at four family estates – Quinta do Vallado, Niepoort, Quinta do Crasto and Quinta do Vale Meão – will begin a new epoch of promoting the depth and beauty of Douro wines.
Miguel Roquette, Xito Olazabal, João Ribeiro Roquette, Tomás Roquette, Jaime Olazabal, Xico Ferreira, Luisa Olazabal, João Alvares Ribeiro, Daniel Niepoort Copyright: Pedro Lobo
The Portuguese winery group is reinventing itself for coming decades. Three generations at four family estates – Quinta do Vallado, Niepoort, Quinta do Crasto and Quinta do Vale Meão – will together celebrate the beauty of the Douro and its wines.
Along the way, they have collectively showcased not only the immense potential of the wines from the historic vineyard terraces along the length of the Douro River but also the culture and beauty of the UNESCO World Heritage region.
- At Vallado, João Roquette Alvares Ribeiro now works alongside with his father João and his cousin Francisco Ferreira in the project that his grandfather Guilherme founded.
- At Crasto, Tomas and Miguel Roquette run the winery whose fame was created by their father Jorge.
- At Niepoort, Daniel has taken over most of the responsibility for production from his father Dirk.
- At Vale Meão, siblings Luisa, Jaime and Xito Olazabal now run the winery, that has been made independent from Ferreira by their father Vito.
Van Zellers & Co. will step back from the Douro Boys at present to focus on promotional commitments for their winery and will not take part in the group’s marketing activities. This will allow founding member Cristiano van Zeller and his daughter Francisca van Zeller to give priority to planned tastings of their own XIX The Rare Port Collection.
Next generation joins the family
The goal of the founders (Guilherme Álvares Ribeiro, Jorge Roquette, Dirk Niepoort, Vito Olazabal and Cristiano van Zeller) was to put the Douro Valley on the map. Since then, the wineries have developed and grown, expanded their exports and achieved worldwide recognition. However the goal is still the same – even as children and grandchildren have now entered the initiative and keep working together to celebrate the excellence of craftmanship and the Douro’s unique centuries-old culture of winemaking. All this in the spirit of conviviality which is so natural to the Portuguese. With the next generations now joining the group, the Douro Boys become ever more like a family of like-minded people.
This spirit of sharing ideas, sharing a table and sharing bottles is reflected in the projects currently being organised by the Douro Boys.
‘Friends Trips’
Famous wine bars from all continents will bring their guests to the Douro Valley for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. During these ‘Friends Trips’, regular guests – from Brazil to Japan – will visit the historic Quintas, learning, tasting and selecting wines themselves for their favourite bar. The first ‘Friends Trip’ will take place in November 2024 with guests from Germany led by ‘rock-star’ sommelier Willi Schlögl from Freundschaft bar in Berlin.
“The trips will allow new friends to discover the rich heritage, stunning landscapes and exceptional wines of the Douro Valley for themselves,” the Douro Boys say. “We want them to savour our Port and table wines in the place where they were painstakingly hand-crafted while also being able to decide what they would like to keep so they have mementos of the Douro in their cellar”.
“Luxury of Time”
What really makes the wines and Ports from the Douro Valley so different is their eternal ageing potential. Very rare Ports – dating back to the 1860s – as well as matured reds from recent decades provide ample evidence of that uniqueness that is created by the soils, steep terraces and autochthonous varieties of the Douro Valley. In a mind blowing tasting, this “Luxury of Time” was highlighted recently at the 20th anniversary of the group. Now, the Douro Boys will carry this experience to one of their most important and emotionally closest markets: Brazil – with exclusive masterclasses in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
“We consider our precious matured wines and Ports to be treasures. They get better, more harmonious and balanced with every year in the cellar. In this fast-moving, digital age, it is an eye-opening discovery for a new generation of consumers to savour the value of wines you store and wait for the moment that they are fully developed.” –
What started off more than 20 years ago as a group of friends perched around a kitchen table, has now morphed into a group of families spanning several generations, who remain committed to a common goal. Making the wines of Douro known – and inviting people from around the world to enjoy wine and food together in a spirit of friendship.