Today, Cockburn's is the largest land owner in the Douro Superior, and maintains four vineyards, or Quintas (keen-tas) - Quinta dos Canais (dosh can-eysh), Quinta do Tua (too-ah), Quinta do Atayde (ah-tah-YEED) and Quinta de Val Coelho (coh-elyo). Grapes are crushed and fermented at the Quintas before transport to the Cockburn's lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia and Santa Maria for aging, blending, bottling and shipping.
Cockburn's is considered one of the most progressive port producers.
- Cockburn's is a leader in research, development and quality control.
- Cockburn's pioneered the concept of "block planting" in the Douro, planting each grape variety in its own separate vineyard block (traditionally they were intermixed) so that each grape ripens fully.
- Site-specific viticultural research began nearly 70 years ago, when an experimental vineyard was planted at Tua in the Douro Superior.
- Soils, grape and rootstock varieties, pruning, winemaking systems and maturation procedures have all been studied in depth.
- Cockburn's established the first nursery in the Douro for the development of rootstocks and cuttings.
- Virus-free rootstock and selected clones are planted in all estate vineyards and are made available to Cockburn's growers free of charge.
