Quinta do Vallado: The Ferreira Quinta on the Corgo

On 12 May 1861 a boat carrying Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and Baron Forrester was wrecked at the Cachão da Valeira, up the Douro. Forrester drowned; the story goes that the women's crinolines kept them afloat. Quinta do Vallado, on the Corgo by Peso da Régua, was bought in 1818 by her uncle and father-in-law, the house says, and her descendants run it. You can trace the wreck from the Casa da Companhia in Régua, tour the winery, taste wine from a plot planted in 1929 and, at a price, the Adelaide, named for her.

What to do there

3 things to do

1. 1 Trace the 1861 Wreck from Régua History · Free

   Free, outside the Casa da Companhia in Régua: one wreck, one gorge upriver.

   In Régua, 620 m from the station, stand outside the Casa da Companhia on Rua do Marquês de Pombal, the 18th-century building that houses the Museu do Douro. It opened on 20 December 2008 with an exhibition on Baron Forrester in the Douro, 1831 to 1861. Face upriver. On 12 May 1861 his boat, sixteen aboard with Dona Antónia Ferreira, was wrecked at the Cachão da Valeira, where a dam now stands about 6 km above the mouth of the Tua. Three died; his body was never found.

   Backup: go inside (8€).

   Log Memory
2. 2 Taste the Vineyard Planted in 1929 Wine · Price: moderate

   Vines, winery, cellar and five wines on the house's own tour.

   From Régua station it is about 47 minutes on foot, 3.5 km, to the quinta's wine shop, where the Vallado Wine Tasting starts (1 h 15, €35, children free, English or Portuguese). The house says the quinta was built in 1716 and bought in 1818 by António Bernardo Ferreira, Dona Antónia's uncle and father-in-law. The tour passes the vines, the 2009 winery and the barrel cellar, then pours five wines. The house says its Reserva Field Blend holds more than 35 varieties, from plots like Devezas, planted 1929. Find the white esteva flower on the back label.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Line Up Three Planting Years and the Adelaide Wine · Price: very high · Optional

   Vinhos Icónicos: the house's private tasting that ends with the Adelaide.

   Vinhos Icónicos is a private 2-hour visit and tasting at 10:30 or 15:00: €500 a head for two, €250 from three, up to 12 people; cancel 14 days ahead for a refund. It pours Reserva Field Blend, Vinha da Coroa, Vinha da Granja and the Adelaide, bottled in honour of Dona Antónia. Order them: the house lists Granja as planted in 1929 (33 varieties), Coroa in 1958 (20). The Adelaide, it says, comes from century-old Rio Torto vines, over 30 varieties, never above 4,000 bottles. Spitting is fine.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• From 3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027 buses replace trains between Marco de Canaveses and Régua; CP runs direct buses from Caíde.

• The house says the Adelaide grows on the Rio Torto, another Douro tributary, not among the vines around the quinta.

• Tours meet at the wine shop. The house says part of the route is outdoors and the working winery is reached only by stairs.

• Look for the small white esteva flower: the house says it has always been on its back labels.