Description
Book SynopsisAn essential reference guide to port, this book is recommended reading for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and other certification programmes. It describes the unique features of the Douro Valley, the cycle of work in the vineyards, historical production techniques and more recent innovations, and the role of the wine lodges where port matures before being shipped to its worldwide markets.
Ben Howkins offers a concise history of port and the port trade as they have developed over the last 300 years. He covers important changes in recent ownership of the major shippers and highlights the people driving change in the industry while protecting port's heritage.
Trade ReviewBest wine books of 2015: Howkins's book has brought a few generations into the Port fold, and here it is again, updated and reading as well as ever. When the book first appeared, patamares, the bulldozed terraces that replaced dry-stone walling, were all the rage; now they're being adapted to more conservation-friendly methods. Then it was auto-vinification; now lagares are back. Port is better than ever, the region has a new confidence, and this book will both instruct and entice you.
Table of ContentsForeword Preface Note on the Fourth Edition Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Port - An Historical Perspective 3. Vineyards and Vines 4. Port Maturation 5. The Leading Port Producers 6. Port Styles 7. Vintage Port 8. Visiting the Region 9. Oporto 10. World Markets 11. Fifty Shades of Port Appendices 1. Vintage Ports and their Shippers 2. Glossary of Wine Terms 3. Further Reading Index
