Like most of the prestigious Port producers, Croft traces its roots back several centuries to entrepreneurs from Britain. The company takes its name from John Croft, who joined the firm in 1736. Croft came from a family of Yorkshire wine merchants and in 1788 he wrote a treatise called the Wines of Portugal which remains one of the most useful historical documents about the history of Port. In 1911 the Croft Port estate was sold to the Gilbeys, an English family of wine merchants. Today the company is owned and operated by the Yeatman and Fladgate families, both long established in the Port business. Croft makes an array of Vintage Ports, as well as Tawny and White Port.