Port Wine

Porto existed long before Portugal and both were around long before a good Port became famous. Today I wandered the alleyways and docks of Vila Nova de Gaia, the opposite bank of the Douro River from Porto and home of the many makers of Port Wine. Technically Port can only be made in the Douro Valley, now a world heritage site, and was traditionally transported to the "Gaia" by wooden boat. From the port of Gaia it has been exported around the world.

But Porto and the Rio Douro was sort after long before the 1800s when the port wine trade began to thrive. The cities constitution dates to 417 and many ships of the Portuguese Armada explored the new worlds and the spice trades from here.

As my friend Ruth reminded me, the churches resemble those in Macau off the coast of China and the painted houses remind me of a childhood fascination I had with the Port of Melaka in modern day Malaysia. I suspect the language also had some small influence in Indonesia (possibly through Indonesian links with Malay) as I note some familiar words or parts of them.

There are four types of Port Wine currently - white, rose, ruby and tawny. Rose is quite new and popular as a cocktail mix. It is different from Rose as we know it because it is processed the same way as a Port which involves interrupting the fermentation process for a few days. This is the cause of the extra sweetness of Port. Most port is a blend of grape types and about 100 types of grapes are grown in the Douro Valley. French oak is the favoured oak for vats and barrells followed by American and Portuguese, with each giving a different flavour. The oldest bottle of wine available for sale currently at Calem was dated 1961 although barrels dated 1958 are yet to be bottled.Read more