Douro - Krohn

At the beginning, it was a very small firm, based on the export of Port Wine to the Scandinavian markets and to Germany.  

In 1880 Theodor Wiese decided to sell his share to Dankert Krohn - the Company was simply too small to be shared by two owners - but he went on working for W&K as a commercial agent in Norway. Due to his excellent work, sales were largely increased and the company entered a new period of economic progress.

 

On the death of Dankert Krohn in 1906 the business was continued by the widow and daughters of the founder, along with two employees, Gomes Figueiredo and Edmund Arnsby, the former a Portuguese bookkeeper and the latter a British manager. During this period, the firm extended its commercial activity to new markets, such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Gomes Figueiredo retired in 1921 when Edmund Arnsby acquired the share of the Krohn family and took as new partners his brother Frederick - an experienced Port taster who came from the House of Croft - and Edmundo Falcão Carneiro, a Portuguese export manager who had been working for the firm since 1910. Edmund Arnsby died in 1933 and his brother Frederick retired four years later. Edmundo Falcão Carneiro acquired their shares and thus gave origin to an entirely Portuguese owned Port company still going under the name of its two Norwegian founders.

 

Wiese & Krohn is now run by the third generation of the Falcão Carneiro family. Its stocks of Port reach over 5 million litres and are stored in six cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia and one cellar in the Douro Region.

 

The Company owns an estate called Quinta do Retiro Novo which is situated in one of the noblest parts of the Douro Demarcated Region - the Rio Torto valley. The Ports coming from this area are well known for their superior quality. Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage and Colheita Ports from our House are originated here.

 

Traditional suppliers to whom our Company has been buying their production of Port for a long time provide us with complementary volumes each year.

 

Export represents more than 90% of total sales and is mainly directed to Europe. In recent years, however, overseas markets have gained importance, Brazil and the USA being the two best examples of this new trend. Although other brands are being commercialised, Krohn is the most important name under which our Ports are known.

 

A Food Safety Management System has been implemented in the Company under the certification of the Portuguese Association for Certification (APCER).

 

Wiese & Krohn has been elected as a Leader PME (Small/Medium Sized Company).