Van Zellers & Co. is a family-owned wine and Port house with deep roots in the Douro. According to the family history, the van Zellers have been linked to winegrowing and the wine trade in the region since 1620, while Van Zellers & Co. was officially founded as a trading house in 1780. Today the company is led by Cristiano van Zeller and the next generation of the family. Its portfolio combines classic Ports, very old Tawny and Single Harvest stocks, and Douro DOC wines.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official foundation | 1780 |
| Family tradition in Douro | Since 1620 according to family history |
| Ownership | van Zeller family |
| Base | São João da Pesqueira / Ervedosa do Douro |
| Region | Douro, Portugal |
| Focus | Port, old Tawny stocks, Vintage Port, Douro DOC |
| Main lines | Van Zellers & Co., CV - Curriculum Vitae, VZ |
| Website | https://www.vanzellersandco.com/ |
According to the family account, the van Zellers came from the Low Countries to Portugal and established themselves in Porto. Their connection to the Douro and wine dates to 1620. During the eighteenth century the family developed trade routes between Portugal and the Baltic markets. Van Zellers & Co. was officially founded in 1780 and by 1811, according to its own chronology, exported more than 1,000 pipes per year. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the family remained closely associated with Port through estates and companies including Quinta de Roriz and Quinta do Noval. Cristiano van Zeller, representing the fourteenth generation, revived Van Zellers & Co. as an independent company from 1989. In 2007 he received the VZ and Van Zellers & Co. brands from within the family and began rebuilding stocks of old Port. Following the sale of Quinta Vale D. Maria in 2017, the family focused more closely on Van Zellers & Co., which was relaunched in 2020. Francisca van Zeller represents the fifteenth generation.
Van Zellers & Co. works with vineyards in several parts of the Douro and places particular emphasis on old mixed plantings. Varieties cited by the house include Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Sousao, Rufete, Donzelinho Tinto and Tinta Francisca. For Vintage Port, hand-picked red grapes are crushed and fermented in granite lagares. Fermentation is stopped by adding grape spirit, after which the young Ports mature for around 18 to 24 months in old wooden vats before bottling.
The range covers White Port, Reserve White, Reserve Ruby, Reserve Tawny, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Year Old Tawny, very old Tawny bottlings, Late Bottled Vintage, Vintage Port, historical Single Harvest Ports and very old White Ports. The Crafted by Time concept highlights long cask ageing, while the XIX Rare Port Collection comprises three exceptionally old Tawny Ports whose origins reach back into the nineteenth century.
The house is notable for its long family history, its link between traditional Port knowledge and the modern Douro, and its work with old vines and historical cask stocks. Cristiano van Zeller also participated in several projects that helped raise the international profile of dry Douro DOC wines from the 1990s onward.