Romaneira is one of the largest estates on the region, with a total of 412 hectares and 3 kilometres of river frontage on the river Douro. The vineyards are planted on terraces on the steeply sloping hills of the property: with many valleys and promontories, Romaneira contains several microclimates and various South Easterly, South Westerly and Southern facing slopes. Several of Romaneira’s wines are site specific and sourced from small individual parcels within the Quinta. Other wines such as the Dona Clara or the Reserva are sourced from various sites throughout the Quinta, reflecting the complexity and diversity of the whole vineyard. All our wines are made exclusively from grapes from our vineyard, a distinctive characteristic of Quinta da Romaneira wines.
 

The decision to renovate Romaneira in 2004 was based on a belief, since vindicated by the outstanding quality of the wines we have been able to produce here, that Romaneira possesses one of the great vineyard terroirs of the Douro. Our old vines have been lovingly spruced up and cared for. Vines have also been replanted, offering a wider range of expression of the various different microclimates and individual terroirs at the Quinta. The vineyard today has 86 hectares planted, principally with the noble Douro grape varieties of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão, but also a significant proportion of white grapes (Gouveio, Viosinho, Boal and Rabigato). We also have several hectares planted to Syrah and Petit Verdot, both of which produce excellent results at Romaneira, either as site specific varietal wines, or in the blend of Dona Clara.  

Although technology on its own cannot make a great wine, even a good team with a great terroir can find life difficult without the right tools. We decided in 2005 to construct a new winery at Romaneira. For Christian Seely and Antonio Agrellos this was a long dreamed of opportunity to construct the ideal Douro Valley winery, starting from scratch. Most wineries in the Douro are far from ideal, dating back to their 18th or even 17th century origins. This makes them very picturesque, but not usually very practical. At Romaneira we were able to dig a large hole in the ground and then build the winery we wanted to make, two thirds underground (aesthetically very pleasing but also very practical for storage of wines in cool stable conditions). Our lagares are in stainless steel, which means that as well as all the traditional advantages of foot treading grapes for Port Wine, we also benefit from the technical ability to heat and cool them. Our vatroom consists of stainless steel temperature controlled conical vats, which give us the flexibility we need to be able to express fully the personality of the vineyard of Romaneira.

18th & 19th CENTURIES
In 1757, at the time of the Pombaline demarcations, there were already parcels of vineyards as well as some of the Quintas that would become part of Romaneira. Thus, 1757 is only the year of the official registration of the Quinta (made at the time of such demarcations decided by the Marquis of Pombal), since the vines would have been planted a few decades before.
Father Vilaça Bacelar inherited the lands of Romaneira in 1844 and did not go unnoticed by Joseph James Forrester when he created his engraving of Rua Nova dos Ingleses (today, Rua Infante D. Henrique). The priest is among the few Portuguese figures residing in Porto to be portrayed, obviously accompanied by countless Englishmen. Interestingly, Romaneira has, since 2011, its commercial office on that same street in the city of Porto. Romaneira also appears on the famous Map of the Baron of Forrester, dated 1843, with the name "Quinta dos Reis". The abundance of Rosemary will later give the property its current name.
Still in the 19th Century, Joaquim de Souza Guimarães (whose initials are present at the top of the gate of one of the Quinta's houses, dating from 1854) had the glory of having produced the Port wines of 1861 and 1863, that the British auction house “Christie's” offered for sale in 1872. It was a clear indication of the brand's prestige, considering it was the first Single Quinta Port to be auctioned there.
Various references are made to the property in works by great authors of the 19th century, such as Henry Vizetelly, who was dedicated to the study of Port Wine. The Viscount of Vila Maior also classifies Romaneira wine as "one of the best in the Douro, notable for its smoothness, body and aroma". The same Viscount referred that the Tempranillo grape variety was originally imported from Spain and introduced for the first time in the Douro at Romaneira, later being called Tinta Roriz.

20th CENTURY
In 1942, Arnaldo Dias Monteiro de Barros acquired Romaneira, integrating several neighboring Quintas that he acquired in the meantime, which made Romaneira an extremely large property by Douro standards.

21st CENTURY
In 2004, Christian Seely (responsible, since 1993, for the rebirth of another distinctive property in the Douro, Quinta do Noval) turns his dream into reality, bringing together a group of investors to make the acquisition of Romaneira, a property with 412 hectares and more than 3 kilometers of river front. Since that time, Romaneira has benefitted from very extensive renovation, rebuilding and replanting.
In late 2012, André Esteves, Brazilian businessman, also in love with the Douro region, became the principal shareholder of Romaneira, in partnership with Christian Seely. With the two partners sharing the same dream, the Quinta has since consolidated its position amont the elite producers of wines and Ports in the Douro. Quinta da Romaneira is today, after more than 260 years of existence, expressing through its wines the full potential grandeur of its historic terroir. Many of the vineyard plots continue to bear the name of the old pre-phyloxeric estates that were originally acquired to create the vineyard of Romaneira as it exists today:  Liceiras, Carrapata, Malhadal, Barca, Bairral and Pulga - most of them classified in the 1757 Pombaline demarcations as producers of “Vinho de Feitoria” (the highest quality at that time - with export capacity through Porto’s “Feitoria Inglesa”).

Romaneira is an estate with a magnificent terroir and stunning beauty.