The Estate of Valdoeiro, located in the rural area of Vacariça, Mealhada county, is one of the most beautiful and well planned agricultural properties of the Bairrada AOC region.

The start of its grape-growing tradition, centuries ago, is lost in time, but its recent history begins in the early 1940’s when the property was acquired by Messias family from the heirs of the Viscount of Valdoeiro, since then, through a number of subsequent acquisitions, the Estate has doubled in size, reaching its current total of 130 ha, 70 of which are dedicated to vineyards.

There’s an old saying which describes the soil of the Quinta do Valdoeiro: "The vineyard must suffers, to give a good wine". If this is true, the soil of the Estate is particular well suited to this type of cultivation: it is poor, low yielding soil, composed of a sandy top layer with a layer of solid clay underneath.

This is very difficult for the roots of the vine to penetrate, in their search for nutrients essential to plant life. Other factors that contribute to the quality of the grapes produced here include the slight difference of elevation in the ground surface, and the sunny slopes, which face south and east.

In 1985, Messias proved its commitment to creating a more competitive position for the company in domestic and foreign markets by undertaking a gradual renovation of the Estate ’s vineyards. It began by selecting those grape varieties which were better suited to furthering the company’s strategic goals.

The first vines to be planted were four white varieties, three indigenous - Arinto, Bical, Cercial - and one international - Chardonnay; and one red: Castelão. Later, two other imported red varieties were planted: the well-known native Bairrada grape, Baga, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the most widely planted grape in the world.

The most recent plantings, completed in 1994, were selected in order to respond to the trends of the market.

Again, priority was given to one indigenous Portuguese grape, Touriga Nacional (considered the most noble of the red Portuguese native grape varieties) and one international grape, the powerful Syrah, which produces outstanding wines in all continents.

The first wine bottled which bore the Estate of Valdoeiro label dates back to the vintage of 1983.

This was a wine produced whit the most modern technology, including fermentation at low controlled temperature. This imbued the wine wtih a fruity and light character, a marked contrast to other indegenous white Portuguese wines.

In subsequent vintages, the white Estate of Valdoeiro continued to justify the attention of consumers and wine press,and was awarded the "Prize of Prestige and Quality" for its 1998 vintage by ICEP (Institution for the International Promotion of Portuguese Products).

It was designed the "Best White Wine" of the 1988 vintage.

Even though it had achieved a level of success, the company did not rest on its laurels. At the same time that the new vineyards were reaching maturity, Messias enologists began doing micro-vinifications, with the goal of selecting those varieties which were best suited to the production of the Valdoeiro white.

The result was that in 1993 the white Estate of Valdoeiro became a blend of the following grape varieties: Arinto, Bical and Cercial, fermented in new french 250-liter oak barrels. This yields a more complex and richer wine than the previous one.

This was also the first time the Estate of Valdoeiro was bottled under the designation, D.O.C. Bairrada.

For the 1995 vintage, Messias started to bottle single varietal wines, using the same three white varieties (Arinto, Bical and Cercial) that were blended to create the Valdoeiro White; these three were first released in 1996.

They also released the property’s first red single varietal wine, the Castelão, in 1997, followed by the release of the Chardonnay in 1998. These same vineyards also successfully produced two single varietal sparkling wines under the Messias label, based on the Arinto and Bical grapes.

The great variety and quality of their grapes allow Messias to make plans for the production of other new wine in the near future. In the first phase, the Baga and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes will be used; the next phase will focus on Touriga Nacional and Shiraz.