History

The journey in 1636 between Hamburg and Portugal by Nicolau Kopkë.

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Kopke's path as a winegrower is entwined with the history of its location. The Douro was destined to become the chosen stage for this marriage between the will of man and nature took place.

The Beginning

1638

since

A journey in 1636 between Hamburg and Portugal is the beginning of a long story: Nicolau Kopkë settles in Portugal as Consul General of the Hanseatic League.

Two years later, in 1638, the first bottles of wine are shipped to the North of Europe.

Nicolau Köpke

1^st baron of Vilar

A new type of firm

1781

The purchase of a farm in the Douro, in 1781, marks the transition from a wine buying company to a major producer.

Port Wine gradually become the focus of the company and soon represents its main business. Nicolau Kopkë & Co. is an example for innovation, producing and shipping its wines within the same company.

Major producer

A noble house

In 1828 Cristiano Nicolau Kopkë, great-great-grandson of the company's founder Nicolau Kopkë and grandson of Cristiano Kopke, sided with the Liberal Party during the civil war, thus linking the company and the family to the cause.
This dedication to the concept of social progress will be shared by all the family's successive generations.

He was graced with the title of Baron of Vilar in 1836 and, ten years later, his nephew Joaquim Augusto Kopke was made Baron of Massarelos. Two centuries after the arrival of the family in Portugal, their commitment to the development of the country had been rewarded.

1836

A familiar name

1841

The company changed its name to C. N.
Kopke in 1841, remaining as such to this day.

São Luiz, a promised place

1922

Quinta de São Luiz was acquired in 1922 and has since become the place where all Kopke’s DOC Douro wines are produced.
The great connoisseurs of Douro wines have always recognised this property as one of the most important in the region, for the quality of its soil and vines and for its cultural traditions.

For many years, one of these traditions was to paint the Quinta’s stone walls white once a year. These white walls are pieces of history that are cherished to this day and underline the Douro landscape in a unique way.