Tolchards Wine Brochure 2023 - Magazine - Page 256
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PORT
A FA S C I N AT I N G H I S T O RY
P O R T I S ONE OF TH E G REAT CLA SSIC EURO PEA N W INES
W ITH A LONG A N D FA SCINATING HIST ORY.
Port wine is produced in the mountainous
eastern reaches of the Douro Valley in northern
Portugal, one of the world’s oldest and most
beautiful vineyard areas where wine has been
made for at least two thousand years. In 1756
the Port wine vineyards of the Douro became
the first vineyard area in the world to be legally
demarcated. Like other great classic wines,
Port owes its distinctive character to a unique
association of climate, soil, grape variety and
wine making tradition. The unique terroir of
the Douro Valley and its remarkable wines
cannot be replicated elsewhere.
The first shipments of wine under the name
Port were recorded in 1678. Although the wine
is produced inland in the vineyards of the upper
Douro Valley, it takes its name from the coastal
city of Oporto from which it is traditionally
exported. Until well into the 20th century,
the wine was carried down the river Douro
from the vineyards in special boats known as
barcos rabelos. The wine was then unloaded
into the ‘lodges’ of the Port houses which line
the narrow lanes of Vila Nova de Gaia opposite
the old city centre of Oporto, to be aged,
blended, bottled and finally shipped.
