Cheers! Or should I say Saúde?

Sitting sipping a glass of Portuguese wine a few evenings ago I found myself wondering exactly how old the Portuguese wine industry is – “Get a life!” can I hear you say? It must be all those foodie/wine/travel programmes on TV that I have been exposed to …!

Anyway, what I didn’t expect to find when I researched this is that it stretches right back to the days of the Roman Empire – can you believe it? Indeed, if one wants to be really accurate I have seen the date 5.000 BC mooted – but let’s not get ridiculous! And strangely enough, wine continued to be made in Portugal during the Moorish occupation, in spite of alcohol being forbidden.

Exports of Portuguese wine to England can be traced back to the early twelfth century but it was only in 1703, with the signing of the Treaty of Methuen, that this trade really flourished. The treaty was signed in order to grant Portuguese wines preference over French wines – wouldn’t you know that even back then there was a distinctly frosty atmosphere between France and England? The government of the time was trying to put a stop to this lucrative trade with France – I wonder how far that got?!

And of course it is not only wine but fortified wines like Port and Madeira that Portugal produces too. I am one of that number who is totally rejected by those pompous wine aficionados, who look down their noses at anybody who likes even a remotely sweet wine. However, somebody loves me, and to my joy I have found quite a few really good semi-sweet wines too amongst the Portuguese wines.
Portugal exports many of their finest wines for you to sample at home but you will find the prices far better in Portugal than in the UK, plus there are many other wines to be found locally that don’t find their way to our shelves, so do have a look when you are there.

Also, I don’t know whether you have discovered this for yourself, but there are a number of small, private wine makers that produce some very acceptable wines –at this stage I hastily add that I am of the ‘I know what I like’ school and by no means an expert…but the ones I have bought have been great! Rather quaintly you can sometimes see clues as to where to buy these wines: a picture of a wine jar on a house wall or a farm gate may give an indication in the smaller, more rural villages. Word of mouth is good here too – locals will happily point you in the direction of some of these smaller producers. Just remember not to keep the bottle too long after you have opened it as it doesn’t keep to well…as if that needed saying!

Two of the main wine producing regions of the country, namely the Douro Valley and Pico Island, have been declared world heritage sites by UNESCO so that’s pretty prestigious and shows you how seriously wine making is taken in Portugal – indeed it is the world’s seventh largest wine-producing country. One of Portugal’s best wine making regions is in the Alentejo and - with some of my very favourite towns to be visited in the area such as Castelo de Vide and Marvao - a wine tasting visit here could be a great option.

And when I tell you that Sir Cliff Richard produces wine from his estate on the Algarve… well, you’ll know you are in good company…yes? Have you found any of the lesser known Portuguese wines that you particularly like? If so you may want to share the name with us…?

All for now – see you next week – and cheers!

Carol

The Overseas Guides Companyhttp://www.portugalbuyingguide.com/