Most Portuguese port houses are steeped in 250 years of tradition and gained their current high reputation during the nineteenth century under the leadership of Dona Antonia Ferreira. Like several important figures in the history of Champagne, she was widowed young and took control of the family business with a gusto few of her male counterparts could match. The Douro benefited both viticulturally and socially from her various projects, and Ferreira remains blessed with a superb range of vineyard holdings from which to craft their range of full, elegant ports.