Cálem was founded in 1859 by Antonio Alves Cálem, an entrepreneur with global ideas. Bucking the trend of exporting Portuguese wines primarily to the British Isles and northern Europe, he shipped table wine to Brazil, bringing his boats back loaded with wood for casks. He started a highly successful cooperage company and specialized in exporting wine, which they began making themselves. In 1988 his descendants sold Cálem to Sogevinus Fine Wines, an umbrella company for a group of Portuguese ports and table wines.