Founded in Amarante in 1917, Quinta da Calçada makes Vinho Verde whites through traditional cellar work and careful fruit selection.
The producer
The Quinta da Calçada range is framed as complex, full-bodied and gastronomic. Reserva Alvarinho and Vinhas Velhas each spend eight months in French oak, while the single-variety Loureiro brings freshness, volume and a persistent finish. Portal da Calçada emphasizes freshness, minerality and versatility. Lago occupies the lighter, aromatic end of the company’s Vinho Verde offering, separating three distinct roles within the wider portfolio.
Known for
Oak-aged Vinho Verde whites
Notable facts
Grapes are harvested, manually selected for the intended wine and carefully transported to the winery.
The estate holds a 0.5-hectare, single-terrace parcel certified as the oldest vineyard in the Vinho Verde region.
Calçada Wines operates across Vinho Verde, Douro, Beira Interior and Lisbon.
From the atlas
Quinta da Calçada
An Amarante estate founded by António do Lago Cerqueira, combining traditional cellar work with a focused range of Vinho Verde whites.
At A Glance
Region
Vinho Verde, Portugal
Location
Amarante historic centre
Established
1917
Priority grapes
Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto, Avesso, Vinhão
Vineyards
More than 50 hectares certified to sustainable practices
Ownership
Mota family
The Producer
Quinta da Calçada’s cellars were founded inside a sixteenth-century palatial building in Amarante. Founder António do Lago Cerqueira was a republican, winemaker and diplomat. After exile in France, where he studied winemaking at the Institut National Agronomique, he returned home with new techniques.
Cerqueira introduced high-density vineyard configurations and pioneered traditional-method sparkling wine in the region. The Mota family has owned Quinta da Calçada since the 1960s, and its third generation now leads the estate.
Place
Quinta da Calçada stands in Amarante’s historic centre, approximately 40 minutes from Porto. The Amarante subregion has granitic soils, some shale and Atlantic influence, conditions the estate associates with mineral, fresh wines.
Viticulture follows a non-interventionist approach. Grapes are harvested, manually selected for the intended wine and carefully transported to the winery. Cellar work is mainly traditional, with fruit expression as its stated focus.
Wines
Quinta da Calçada Reserva Alvarinho is a single-variety Vinho Verde DOC drawn from the estate’s best plots. Its must ferments in French oak.
Quinta da Calçada Vinhas Velhas is an old-vine Vinho Verde DOC. It undergoes controlled-temperature fermentation. Both Vinhas Velhas and Reserva Alvarinho spend eight months in French oak. Vinhas Velhas carries citrus, white fruit, peach, floral, smoky and mineral notes.
Quinta da Calçada Loureiro is a single-variety Vinho Verde DOC with a voluminous palate.
Final Word
The mainly traditional, fruit-preserving cellar approach carries into the Loureiro’s freshness and persistent finish.