Fonseca Guimaraens, often simply called Fonseca, is one of the largest

Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...

houses in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Manoel Pedro Gonçalves Guimaraens and his brother João Gonçalves Salgueiro, established the company in 1822 when they acquired control of the Fonseca and Monteiro Company from the Fonseca Family by purchase of the majority of Fonseca owned shares. A condition of the sale of Fonseca's shares was that the name Fonseca remain as the brand name. David Guimaraens, the great-great-great grandson of the founder Manuel Pedro, has been the head winemaker since 1994, and oversees the winemaking and blending for all four Taylor Fladgate Port houses: Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca Guimaraens,

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

, and Delaforce. Fonseca maintains an estate, Quinta do Panascal, open to the public for tastings and tours. The vineyard Quinta do Panascal in the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

has been classified as a Grade A producer of grapes. Fonseca currently ships a variety of Ports, including

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

, 10, 20 and 40-year traditional tawnies, a 10-year white tawny, late bottle vintage, non-classic vintages (Quinta do Panascal, Guimaraens Vintage), among others. It is often confused with the similarly named, but completely unrelated,

Portuguese wine Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfami ...

producer

José Maria da Fonseca José Maria da Fonseca, also known as JM da Fonseca, is the oldest table wine company in Portugal, though some Port wine houses pre-date it. The family-owned company was founded in 1834 and is based in the village of Azeitão on the Setúbal ...

, based in the Arrábida IPR on the

Setúbal peninsula The Setúbal Peninsula (Portuguese: ) is a peninsula in the Lisbon Region of Portugal. The peninsula is named after one of its larger cities, Setúbal, and is bordered by three bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and southwest, the Tag ...

.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 277 Oxford University Press 2006

History

Fonseca was originally a very small Port shipper operating under the name of Fonseca, Monteiro & Co. in the early 19th century. In 1822, Portuguese businessman Manuel Pedro Guimaraens and his brother João Gonçalves Salgueiro acquired operating control of the business and renamed it Fonseca Guimaraens.T. Stevenson 2005 ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia''. Dorling Kindersley. p. 338. . During the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

of 1828–1834, Guimaraens brothers was a supporters of the liberal reforms of King

Pedro IV of Portugal Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also became ...

. When the absolutist party of Portugal put Pedro's brother Miguel on the throne, Guimaraens found himself in danger due to his liberal support. He fled

, hidden in an empty Port

wine barrel Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a vess ...

and later settled in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where the Fonseca company was headquartered until 1927.Fonseca Foundation
, . Accessed: January 9, 2010 Guimaraens and his family greatly expanded Fonseca's commercial interest in the Port wine industry as well as its vineyard holdings in the Douro. In 1948, the large Port wine corporation of Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman purchased the house but allowed Fonseca to remain its own separate entity. The Guimaraens family has been intimately involved in the winemaking production with nearly every single vintage label Port from 1896 being made by Frank Guimaraens, his great nephew Bruce Guimaraens and now Bruce's son David Guimaraens. One notable exception is the 1955 vintage which was made by Frank's daughter Dorothy after her father died and before Bruce was ready.

Quintas

Fonseca currently owns three main quinta vineyards in the Douro. Between them, they own more than 170 acres (69 hectares) which they use to make the majority of vintage Port production. * Cruzeiro located in the Val de Mendiz above Pinhão * Santo António also located in the Val de Mendiz * Quinta do Panascal located on the southern banks of the Douro. Acquired in 1978.

Wines

The first Fonseca vintage Port was shipped to England in 1847.R. Hersh '
Fonseca
"'' For the Love of Port, February 9th 2009 Today Fonseca produces a wide variety of Port styles with their aged tawnies, vintage Ports and "super ruby" brand Bin 27 being the best known internationally. While Fonseca wines are found throughout the globe, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

is the single largest market for Fonseca's vintage Port—with more of this wine being exported to the US than to any other market. Most of these wines are simply labeled as "Fonseca" with a

second wine Second wine or second label ( French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

series of Fonseca Guimaraens also being produced.

References

{{reflist, 33em

External links

Fonseca Porto Official Homepage

Companies established in 1822 Port wine Portuguese brands Wineries of Portugal