Authoritative and entertaining, the completely updated third edition of Richard Mayson's Port and the Douro offers unparalleled insight into the world of port and Douro wines. From the history of the wine trade in Portugal to the present day, this book is rich in information, offering readers the inside story of these magnificent wines, including a great deal of new material on the cultivation of the Douro's vineyards.
An entire chapter is dedicated to vintage port, covering harvests as recent as 2015 and providing information on vintages going back to 1844. All the producers and shippers are included in a comprehensive directory which reflects the structural changes the trade has undergone in recent years, with withdrawal of the multinationals and the sale and amalgamation of a number of famous port firms. Mayson closes by addressing some of the challenges and changes that might affect port and Douro wines in future. A comprehensive study of port and its production, this is an indispensable reference guide to the world's greatest fortified wine.
Port and the Douro
Description
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface to the third edition
1. Port and the Douro up to date
2. Vineyards, vines and quintas
3. Making Port: Tradition and technology
4. Port types
5. Vintage Port
6. Port producers and shippers
7. Douro wines
8. Directions in Oporto and the Douro
9. Postscript
Glossary
Appendices
i. Institutions promoting and regulating Port and Douro wine
ii. Port benefício / total production 2001–2011
iii. Port grape varieties
iv. Global sales of Port wine
v. Global share of premium Ports
Index
Maps
Map 1. The north of Portugal and the Douro
Map 2. The Douro, showing prominent quintas
Map 3. The location of Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia
Figures
Fig. 1. Contrasting systems of cultivation in Douro vineyards
Fig. 2. Autovinification
Illustrations
Terraces, Cima Corgo
Noble house, Vilariça
Verandah, Quinta do Bomfim
‘Bombs house’, São João de Pesqueira
Octagenarian vine
Harvester’s kitchen, Quinta do Bomfim
Granite chapel, São Salvador do Mundo
Senhora da Ribeira. ‘John Major had lunch here’
Cestos: old and new
Macacos: ‘monkey sticks’
Basket press
Balões … ‘ginas’, ‘mamas’, ‘Lollobrigidas’
Toneis, pipas and balseiros
Fonseca’s room with a view
Ponte D. Luíz and Gaia
Bacalhau
Barco rabelo
One of the world’s great train journeys