Gavião has long been identified with wine production. In fact, artefacts from the period of the arrival of the Romans (particularly around Belver) suggest that wine had already been made there at the time of the conquest.
Later, upon the granting of the charter of Gavião in 1519, an annual tribute of 25 almudes (420 litres) was levied to the Prior of Crato.
Legend has it that until the Marquis of Pombal created the Douro Demarcated Region, much of the wine was grown on the banks of the Tagus and then sent north, where it was bottled and sold as Port wine. Until recently, it was not unusual to find people around Gavião who produced a good quality sweet fortified wine called Abafado.
In the early 19th century many vineyards were planted the most up-to-date techniques available at the time and were later replanted following the phylloxera blight.
In 1817 appellate judge João Pequito de Andrade planted a vineyard in the Vale da Torre (Abertas). 9063 vine cuttings from Sardoal and from other family vineyards were planted with the effort of 533 local men who earned 300 réis/day. Parts of the vineyards were planted in stone terraces, with walls built by workers brought in from other locations.
The judge’s son, Minister and Peer of the Realm António Pequito de Andrade continued to plant vineyards on the steep banks of the Tagus. He also became active in replanting after the phylloxera plague in 1865.
The niece and heir Maria Adriana Pequito de Seixas de Andrade and her daughter Teresa Pequito Rebelo had a several vineyards in the parish of Gavião earlier than 1926. These vineyards continued along under the same production methods until the mid 1960s when they entered into decline. Old vines on terraces that were hard to work mechanically were systematically abandoned, consequence, as well, of the migration of the population to the cities.
Although most of the Gavião wine was sold in bulk, a few exceptions, such as the Casa Rebelo, bottled noteworthy quantities (30,000 L) considering the limited capacity of these old vineyards.
In the late 1990s and the beginning of this century a new generation of grape growers undertook the recuperation of the old vineyards whose reputation and the excellent quality of the terroir promised success.
Today, the property – now much reduced in size – belongs to Isabel Maria de Andrade Pequito Rebelo Vaz Raposo who replanted nine hectares in Abertas (Vale da Torre) in 2003 and two hectares in Fonte dos Garfos in 2009. These new vines, together with new methods, have come to guarantee not only great quality but also greater volume as well.
Since 2005, Fonte dos Garfos has been producing quality wine resulting from the particularly excellent features of the vineyard and the new techniques applied to carefully selected grapes that are then subject to vinification by highly qualified winemakers.
2010 witnessed the opening of a shop in the Vila do Gavião. Exports began the same year.
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