Before the phylloxera crisis, a plague that first afflicted the region in 1862, vineyard planting in the Douro was made in small irregular terraces. After the plague new, wider and steeper, terraces were made, with or without supporting walls, making higher plantation densities possible (about 6,000/ha). Vines planted according to ground gradient also appeared at the time. The introduction of mechanisation in the region demanded new forms of lay-out. At the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, horizontal landings with earth taluses made their appearance, with 1-2 vine lines and low planting densities. More recently, and as an alternative to the landings, there was the development of vines planted following the steepest ground lines (“Vinha ao Alto”). This system is also adapted to small plots, and work may be mechanised through the use of winches or, in up to 40% gradients, through direct traction, using tractors. As for the vinification process of Port Wine, since it is a fortified wine its process differs from table wines, essentially as it undergoes very short fermentation and maceration (2 to 3 days), along with the fact that grape alcohol addition must comply with certain rules that have been fine-tuned throughout the years through tradition and practice. In traditional vinification processes, used in the preparation of certain types of ports, after stalk-removal grapes are crushed in presses. This operation, known as treading, is traditionally man-made, even though it can also be carried out mechanically, using devices that simulate treading. At the vinification centres most operations are now mechanised. After total or partial stalk-removal, grapes are crushed and sent to vats, where they ferment for 2 or 3 days. During this period, successive pumping-over operations are carried out, in order to maximise the extraction of colouring matter and other components that will add structure and longevity to the wines. The port maturing process can take tens of years and it is guided depending on the wine one wishes to obtain. After the first transfers during the winter following the vintage, wines are tasted and classified in accordance with their sensorial quality. In the spring after the vintage shippers with lodges at Vila Nova de Gaia start taking their wines there. The best wine blends made in an exceptional year are, as a rule kept apart with a view to their eventual recognition as Vintage ports. However, most wines are used for preparing blends with special characteristics, in compliance with pre-defined quality standards for the different types of wines to be marketed. During the first two years, wines are subjected to numerous transfers, the number and intensity of which vary in accordance with the characteristics that one wants them to obtain during their evolution. In the case of Vintages and Late Bottled Vintages (LBV) maturing is done in large vats for 2-3 years for Vintages and 4-6 years for LBVs. Only after that is bottling carried out. Ageing in this type of container is made in an oxide-reducing environment, thus keeping the original wine colour as well as their primary characteristics. All remaining types of Port Wine are aged in an oxidising enviornment, in pipes with a capacity ranging between 580 and 620 litres. During maturing through oxidation the wine loses its coarseness due to the softening of tannins and develops admirable, rich and complex bouquets. Chromatic variations during oxidation ageing are also very marked. The intense colour of young wines undergoes a gradual evolution, going through red-tawny hues to end up in the clear tones of old Tawnies. White ports, which may be vinified with some maceration, are blended just like red ones, although their main defining characteristic is their sugar content, and mature in an oxidising environment. There are three main types of ports – Ruby, Tawny and White, with the red being divided in two categories depending on their type of ageing. Quinta do Seixo Quinta do Seixo is equipped with a wine centre that receives and vinifies the estate’s own grapes, as well as those from Quinta da Boavista, Quinta do Porto, Quinta do Caêdo and Quinta do Vau, i.e., all the grapes from the SOGRAPE estates in the Cima Corgo sub-region, along with those from local growers with whom the Group has supply contracts. Grapes for port and Douro wines are vinified at this wine centre. There is also a visitors’ centre with wine tasting and sales. Quinta da Boavista The estates’s average production is 180 pipes. Quinta do Porto Grapes from Quinta do Porto are vinified at Quinta do Seixo. Its average production is 186 pipes. Quinta do Caêdo. Production at Quinta do Caêdo is 100 pipes. Quinta do Vau Average production at Quinta do Vau is 400 pipes. Quinta da Leda The Quinta da Leda wine centre, built in 2001, is a state-of-the-art one, insofar as it uses a lay-out that enables oenologists to have na ideal and easy contact with the wine. As happens at Quinta dos Carvalhais (Dão), it is composed by various, vertically-developed sections, giving priority to grape reception at the top level and using gravity for wine mass movement, ensuring a much more natural flow, with quality gains for the wine. The whole process is controlled by a computerised core that issues and stores essential information during the whole of the vinification process. The Quinta da Leda wine centre has a large capacity in fermentation and storage stainless steel vats, complemented by eight granite presses of different capacities, with a robot-operated system and temperature control. Apart from a vinification and first storage equipment, the wine centre also has a residual water treatment station. From the outstanding grapes from these vineyards, with a quality exceeding the most optimistic expectations and worked through with the best oenology, comes the basis for CASA FERREIRINHA’s top range wines, such as the famous BARCA VELHA and RESERVA FERREIRINHA and the more recent QUINTA DA LEDA and CALLABRIGA. Exceptional wines which are part of the final blends of special category ports such as Ferreira’s Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage are also produced here. The Oenology team of the Douro is headed by Mr. Luis Sottomayor.