Included in the demarcation of the vineyard that was made in 1757, according to the model designed for the Douro by the Marquis of Pombal, Quinta do Espinho is now owned by the brothers Joaquim and Alberto, from the Macedo Pinto de Tabuaço family.
Since at least the 17th century, the Macedo Pinto family has been associated with Douro winemaking and the production of shipping wine, as Port Wines were called.
Extending along the banks of the river Távora, from the farm to Tabuaço, the farms of this family were said to be the best and most extensive areas of vineyard in Portugal, few of which can be compared abroad (PINHO LEAL, Augusto Soares d’Azevedo Barbosa de, Ancient and Modern Portugal, Lisbon, Livraria Editora Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, 2006 [1873], tomo 9, pp. 466-475).
Especially cherished in the memory of the family is Avô Vítor de Macedo Pinto. Born in 1869, he was a doctor, owner and prominent republican, having been Mayor of Tabuaço, deputy to the National Constituent Assembly of 1911, President of the Chamber of Deputies and Minister of the Navy. He was one of the great defenders of the Douro cause, having signed the Manifesto of November 1890 (in the aftermath of the English Ultimatum), integrated the movement of the paladins of the Douro, dynamised the regional movement of defence of the “Porto” brand and the first to affirm the need to regulate the Douro table wine sector.
