our manifest

In the beginning was the Douro. Mighty river of Portugal, enchanted valley predestined for wine. At the heart of this paradise, the Dos Santos family created a glorious Port. Crafted with rigor, it spoke of a devotion to the earth, of righteous rewards for honest labor.
Dos Santos believes in virtue.

Divinely sinful yet shamefully good

heaven can wait

Divinely sinful yet shamefully good

heaven can wait

But one man’s virtue is another man’s vice. For the spirit may be willing, but the body is weak. Like impassioned Icarus, Dos Santos soared too close to the sun. Yet from its ashes, this phoenix rose anew. Dos Santos believes in temptation.

It is said that the Douro is nine months of winter, and three of hell. Yet from this hell comes a Port worthy of heaven. Through endurance, abundance. Through toil, generosity. Through dryness, exuberance. We embrace it all, for one cannot exist without the other. Dos Santos believes in diversity.

how it started

Starting its activity at the beginning of the 19th century, the wines sold by the dos Santos family managed to reach a level of prominence, both in Portugal and in the vibrant Brazilian market.Until, at the beginning of the 20th century, the eccentric and bohemian lifestyle of “Uncle Armando”, the great-grandson of the brand’s founder, led to the sale of the company together with its remarkable stocks of Port Wine.

palmtree

1836

After the Portuguese Civil War (1832-1834) Joaquim Ferreira Pinto, born in Campanhã and consul of Brazil in Porto, decided to take advantage of his commercial contacts with the newly independent South American Empire and create his own Port Wine company, in order to supply the Brazilian market with the best Douro nectars.

1852

Joaquim Ferreira Pinto, came to marry in the first half of the 19th century with Margarida dos Santos, his right cousin. From this marriage, among others, António dos Santos Ferreira Pinto was born. It was up to him, as the eldest son, to take over his father’s business and it was during his leadership that the firm reached its apogee, achieving a prominent place as one of the main companies exporting Port Wine to the Brazilian market, with its brand “Dona Othilia”.

1887

With the death of his older brother and his father, Armando dos Santos Ferreira Pinto takes over the management of the family business in Porto. However, Armando also died early, not before getting lost in an eccentric and bohemian lifestyle in Paris and Porto, characteristic of the euphoria of the Belle Époque.

1920

After Armando’s death, and as a result of his management of the family business, it was up to his sister Margarida to resolve all the issues and problems that remained and the firm and its stocks of Port Wine were eventually sold to another Port company.

2022

Alexandre Antas Botelho, from a native Douro family, revived the Dos Santos brand in 2022 to bottle Port Wine. Partnering with local producers, Porto dos Santos aims to create unique Port Wines known for elegance, balance, and a distinctive style.

Douro's Garden

The Douro is a dramatic region, a monumental staircase carved by giants and Cyclopes and farmed by mere mortals in a titanic effort. Men and women who defy the elements and the very limits of human strength, cultivating lands where there is little more than gravel, broom and gorse. But it is in this wild land that mature the grapes that make sweet nectars and, resisting the harsh climate, man takes wine from these valleys year after year, like Prometheus, who dared one day to try to reach the gods and has since paid the price for his boldness.

However, as in life itself, the Douro shows us that there is a reward for hard work, that in a virtuous existence there is also room for pleasure, because despite its austerity and harsh climate, the Douro produces some of the richest, generous and seductive wines, wines worthy of a king's table, reminding us that we only live once and that life is worth living.