1981 was a very dark year in the history of QUINTA DO NOVAL. It’s lodge in Gaia caught fire – the company lost 350,000 liter of Port Wine and it’s archive. When you know how import the old stock is for a company and how closely the firms always take care of the wine, then you can start to understand what a financial and psychological impact this event had for QUINTA DO NOVAL.
When Portugal joined the European Union and the “entreposto” in Gaia became a thing of the past, QUINTA DO NOVAL was one of the first to take advantage of the situation and left Gaia. They built a large warehouse near Pinhao, just below their Quinta do Noval and since 1997 they do everything in the Douro, be it the storage of wine or be it the bottling. I’m sure they were glad to leave that place in Gaia behind them (even is in 1993 the ownership changed – I’m sure the memory of this catastrophic event is woven forever into the company’s DNA).
This is the reason why we don’t see a lodge of QUINTA DO NOVAL in Gaia. They do have a wine shop, in a very good location… However, considering the good reputation of NOVAL and the high quality of their wines, it would be nice to have a larger space, that could show better the importance of this Port and Douro Wine producer.
There are a few tables inside the small shop and also outside in front of it. For me it has become a small tradition to get a small 5 cl bottle of the 40 year old Tawny and to sit down in front of the store and to watch all the people walking by. It’s one of the best wines you can find in the whole of Gaia – it’s it’s surprisingly cheap.
The web-page of QUINTA DO NOVAL doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of this store – but it does exist, and you can find a huge selection of NOVAL Ports and Douro Wines.
QUINTA DO NOVAL- VINHOS
Av. Diogo Leite, 256
4400-111 Vila Nova de Gaia
Tel: +351 223 770 282
Fax: +351 223 750 365
Email: rosario@quintadonoval.pt