🍷 Cockburn's

Cockburn's is a Port house. According to the house, in 1815 two brothers from Scotland, Robert and John Cockburn, began buying grapes directly from Douro farmers instead of at the merchants' fair in Porto. Its lodge stands in the centre of Vila Nova de Gaia, and its home in the Douro valley is Quinta dos Canais.

According to the house, its main wines are Special Reserve, launched in 1969 as a bridge between Vintage Port and ruby, and the Fine Tawny, Fine Ruby and Fine White Ports. The house's website belongs to Symington Family Estates, a family Port company.

According to the house, Special Reserve, launched in 1969, used a large share of Touriga Nacional, a low-yielding grape that other producers had largely abandoned. The house says that John Henry Smithes, known as the “Cowboy of the Douro”, planted large areas of Touriga Nacional in the Upper Douro, a region that became known as “Cockburn's Country”. It adds that it declares vintage years when it judges conditions right, regardless of other houses.

The house describes Quinta dos Canais as its home in the Douro, on schist soil with south-facing terraces. Its lodge in the centre of Vila Nova de Gaia ages the ports in oak vats made by some of the last coopers working in-house in the region. The house also says it uses satellite technology to time harvests and holds B Corporation certification. Its current range includes Special Reserve, Fine Ruby, Fine Tawny, Fine White and a series called Tails of the Unexpected.

Port is a wine with a protected designation of origin (PDO) from the Douro Demarcated Region. Grape spirit stops the fermentation, so at least 17.5 g/l of sugar remains; the strength is 19–22% vol.

Why it matters to you. Words such as Vintage, LBV or Tawny on a Port label follow the rules, while “Special Reserve” is the house's own name. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.