Calém | Douro
Calém is one of the well-known Portuguese port houses ("port lodges"), located in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro River from Porto.The house was founded in 1859 by António Alves Calém, making it one of the few major port brands of Portuguese origin (rather than British, which was historically the norm in the sector; think of names like Taylor's, Graham's, and Croft). The company remained in the hands of the Calém family for a long time, until it was acquired by the Sogevinus group in the early 2000s (which also owns other port houses such as Burmester, Gilberts and Dacosta, Kopke, and Barros).
Calém is also known for its cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, which are popular with tourists for tastings and tours, often combined with fado performances. The brand positions itself as accessible and recognizable, both within Portugal and internationally.
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António Alves Cálem founded the house in 1859, but did not start with port wine itself. While most port houses focused on Great Britain and other European markets from the outset, Cálem deliberately chose a different path: he set his sights on Brazil. With his own fleet, he exported Portuguese table wine to Brazil, taking advantage of the free trade regime in the Douro wine region.
The most surprising part of the story: Cálem actually became a port merchant more or less by accident. To prevent the ships from returning empty from Brazil, they had wood brought back for barrels on the return journey, which led to their own cooperage; from there, they rolled into wine storage and aging, becoming port merchants more by chance than by design. To ensure continuity, António made his son, António Alves Cálem Jr., a partner, and changed the company name to AA Cálem & Filho. The company subsequently remained in family hands for generations: the founder's son, António Cálem Jr., became President of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of parliament in 1915, after which he handed over the house to his sons José Joaquim Oliveira and Joaquim Oliveira Cálem, both of whom joined the company in 1920. They later retired to make way for the fourth generation, Joaquim Manuel P.O. Cálem, who led the company from 1974 until its sale in 1998.
The famous Cálem logo, a caravel loaded with barrels of port, was not introduced until around 1965, serving as a visual translation of the reputation for fearlessness and daring that the house had built up worldwide through its ships and crews. Their first Vintage Port was produced in 1870. In 1885, António Alves Cálem purchased the Quinta do Foz estate, which has been closely associated with the house ever since.
In 1934, they launched the "Velhotes" series, which essentially means "the oldies," and which became enormously successful. Cálem grew into the market leader in Portugal itself, a position it holds to this day. In 1998, the family decided to sell the company. The first buyers were Rogério Leandro da Silva (former export director of Rozès) and Manuel Saraiva. Shortly thereafter, the Sogevinus group began buying up shares, and by 2003, Sogevinus was the sole owner. An interesting detail: the historic Quinta do Foz and Quinta do Sagrado vineyards remained outside this acquisition; however, Cálem retained the right to continue using grapes from these quintas and to sell single-quinta vintage ports under its own name.