1937 Antonio Jose Da Silva

Antonio Jose da Silva was one of the early founders of Quinta do Noval fine ports. He acquired the Quinta do Noval estate in 1894 after it was nearly destroyed by the phylloxera that swept through the Douro Valley in the 1880s. Da Silva and his son modernized and improved the estate and, as an astute marketer, concentrated on getting his Ports into the elite men’s clubs in London and England’s most prestigious universities. Until the middle of the 20th century, some of the estate’s bottlings carried the Antonio Jose da Silva label. In 1993 the family sold the estate to AXA Millesimes, an insurance conglomerate that also owns numerous wine estates in Bordeaux. Quinta do Noval owns 247 acres of vineyards planted to Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cao, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Sousao and Tinta Amarela. Annual production is 10,000 – 20,000 Bottles.

Portugal is best known for its two legendary fortified wines, Port and Madeira, but it also produces significant amounts of red and white table wine. In most years it ranks around the 10th or 11th largest wine producer in the world. In 2013, for instance, Portugal was the 11th largest producer just after Germany. Wine has always been produced in Portugal and in fact the country was the first to organize an appellation system, which it did in 1756, nearly 200 years before the French set up their appellations. The highest quality wines are labeled D.O.C. for Denominaçào de Origem Controlada. Many of the most innovative winemakers today, however, are avoiding the appellation system, which they deem too stifling for modern winemaking practices. The Douro Valley is the nation’s most important wine producing region, and it is the capital of Port production. The Portuguese island of Madeira, located 400 miles west of Morocco, is the nation’s other famous wine region, having produced Madeira for export for more than 400 years. Many red and white wine grapes grow in Portugal, though the best known is Touriga Nacional, the red grape used for Port and, increasingly, high quality table wines. Touriga Nacional produces dark, tannic, fruity wines.