Portugal – ‘Land of purple nectar’

Portugal – ‘Land of purple nectar’

‘Land of purple nectar’

(PORTUGAL)
Port. The mere mention of the word is likely to conjure up images of elderly professors sniffing and swirling glasses of the rich, ruby-coloured wine, discussing philosophy by the side of a log fire. A wine of depth, concentration and majestic structure, port is produced from grapes grown on the steep, rocky slopes of Northern Portugal’s Upper Douro and its tributaries and was discovered during the 17th century when two British traders added brandy to preserve the local wine for an Atlantic sea voyage. The pioneers of the port trade soon found that ‘fortifying’ did far more than just protect the wine, it actually improved it, giving it the power to mature into something unique, transformed in the cool, peaceful wine lodges that huddle in the tight streets of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the River Douro estuary from Porto…

Story length: 1,700 words (Main body 900/Port guide 800)
Available images: 18

Photography by Paul Marshall
Text by Andrew Marshall