Founded in 1920 by the brothers José, Manuel, and Albano Costa, Caves São João is a family business initially focused on selling Porto wines and liqueurs. Today, it is the oldest family business still operating in the municipality of Anadia.

In the 1930s, with the prohibition of the production of Port outside Vila Nova de Gaia, the company began to market table wines from Bairrada. At the same time, it began to produce natural sparkling wines using the classic method, with the French oenologist Gaston Mennesson playing an important role.

Wines were exported to the Brazilian market and, shortly afterwards, to the Portuguese colonies in Africa. At the end of the 1950s, one of the most famous wine brands from the Bairrada region was born – “Frei João” – and a little later, a brand from the demarcated Dão region, “Porta dos Cavaleiros”.

Under the name “Reserva”, initiated by Caves São João, it innovates in the wine market by using paper labels covered in natural cork.

Caves São João acquired Quinta do Poço do Lobo, a 37-hectare rustic property located in the small town of Pocariça in the municipality of Cantanhede. The Quinta was then completely replanted with selected grape varieties and rigorously parcelled out.

Com as uvas ali colhidas, a empresa iniciou a produção do vinho “Quinta do Poço do Lobo – Bairrada”, um Bairrada Tinto com uvas das castas Baga, Moreto e Castelão; o “Quinta do Poço do Lobo – Cabernet Sauvignon”, um vinho varietal com a casta de maior prestígio em todo o mundo; um vinho branco elaborado com a casta Arinto e o “Espumante Quinta do Poço do Lobo”, um espumante com uvas das castas Arinto e Chardonnay.

Today, after some investments in winemaking and quality control, Caves São João is ready to face future challenges in terms of production, always striving to keep up with market developments and the tastes of increasingly demanding and attentive consumers.