Churchill’s was founded in 1981 by master port blender Johnny Graham, making him the fifth generation of his family to produce wine in the Douro. Starting Churchill’s (named after his wife Caroline Churchill) at the age of 29, Johnny wanted to make his own distinctive style of port by combining traditional methods with his personal blending style. 

The youngest in a family of founders, who had been making wine in the Douro for two hundred years, Johnny Graham set up Churchill’s when he was just 29 years old, to bring a personal, drier style and a fresh vibe to the traditional world of port.

In 1999, Churchill’s purchased Quinta da Gricha, a 50-hectare property with 40 hectares of Grade-A vineyards, located in the Cima Corgo, that dates back beyond 1852. Named for the natural spring (“gricha”) that feeds the north-facing vineyards, Quinta da Gricha sits in a microclimate at 150 to 400 meters above sea level, with a wind exposure that naturally regulates humidity. Our oldest vines are over 60 years old and produce wines with vibrant natural acidity and complexity, supported by a mineral backbone that creates what Johnny calls ´tension´.

Johnny still makes the wine today, together with winemaker and partner-in-crime Ricardo Pinto Nunes, who joined the project in 2007. Johnny and Ricardo have worked side by side ever since - harvesting, foot-treading, sharing long lunches and covering thousands of kilometres between Porto and the Douro.

At Churchill’s, we believe in wines that are personal and without pretence; in working with nature rather than against it; and in moments that bring people closer to what gives them joy.

That is why, at Churchill’s, our Vintage, Ruby and wood-aged Ports are still produced in the traditional way - from hand-picked and hand-selected grapes, foot-trodden in our treasured granite lagares dating from 1852 at Quinta da Gricha, with longer fermentation using only indigenous yeasts. This minimal intervention approach is core to Johnny´s philosophy of winemaking, and part of Churchill’s sustainability commitment as a business.  

Since Ricardo joined, we’ve also launched our Douro wines that express the character of the region and the spirit of our vineyards.

Today, Johnny is also joined by his daughter, Zoe Graham, and son-in-law, Ben Himowitz in running Churchill’s.

We are the last remaining independent British Port house, and we plan to keep it that way.  We remain small enough to care deeply, curious enough to keep questioning, and maverick enough to do things our own way.