🍷 Dow's

Dow's is a Port house in the Douro. According to the house, its story begins in 1798, when the Portuguese merchant Bruno da Silva went to London and began importing Portuguese wine. In 1862 John da Silva and Frederick William Cosens founded Silva & Cosens, which in 1877 merged with Dow & Co and took the name Dow's.

According to the house, it makes Vintage Port, Colheitas, aged Tawnies, Late Bottled Vintage and reserve Ports; its main Douro estates are Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. Andrew James Symington became a partner in 1912; Wikidata names Symington Family Estates as the owner.

The house adds that in 1868 George Warre joined the firm, his family having been in the port trade since its earliest years, and that five generations of Symington winemakers have worked at Dow's since 1912. According to the house, the family relaunched the Aged Tawny collection and built a new winery and visitor centre at Quinta do Bomfim.

The house's website presents its wines in six categories: Vintage Port, Colheita, Aged Tawny, Late Bottled Vintage, Classic and Reserve. It describes the range as ports with a distinctive, drier profile and names two Douro estates, Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, as their source. The site also states that the Dow's name has been linked with Douro ports for over two centuries.

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. Vintage, LBV and Colheita are categories set by the rules, while a quinta name shows only where the grapes come from. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.