Port+wine

**Port** is a portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley, in northern Portugal. It is a typical sweat, red wine, usually served a dessert one and comparable to italian Marsala wine.

**How to drink** Serving Port Wine is surrounded with myths and traditions. This is not strange for a drink so closely associated with British social life, both past and present. Traditionally, Port always moves around the table in a clockwise direction, therefore from right to left. The host fills the glass of the guest on his right. He then passes the Port to the guest on his left who, in his turn, pours out the host ‘s glass and so on.Using a decanter with a rounded bottom can prevent the problem of not passing the Port. The Port then has to be passed around until the bottle is empty or at the most can be put in a holder in front of the host.

**Origins of Port** Established in 1756, the port wine producing Douro region is the third oldest protected wine region in the world after the //Tokaj-Hegyalja// region in Hungary, established in 1730, and Chianti, in 1716. In 1756, during the rule of the //Marqu////ês// //de Pombal//, the //Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro//, was founded to guarantee the quality of the product and fair pricing to the end consumer. The Companhia was also in charge of regulating which port wine would be for export or internal consumption and managing the protected geographic indication. Port became very popular in England after the //Methuen Treaty// of 1703, when merchants were permitted to import it at a low duty, while war with France deprived English wine drinkers of French wine. The long trip to England often resulted in spoiled wine; the fortification of the wine was introduced to improve the shipping and shelf-life of the wine for its journey.

**Brands** Producers of port wine are often called "shippers". In the early history of the port wine trade, many of the most powerful shipping families were English. Over the years Portuguese, as well as Dutch, German and Scottish-owned shippers have also become prevalent in the port industry. A list of some notable shippers and the business groups that own them include:
 * The AXA Millésimes group - own Quinta do Noval
 * Churchill's
 * Niepoort
 * Quevedo