The History of Port

Wine from vineyards along the Duoro River in the north of Portugal has been produced for thousands of years. In the 13th century, Duoro wine was shipped down the Duoro River to the coastal town of Porto and exported to many European countries.

By the 17th century over a million cases reached Porto each year. In 1675, wine exported to Holland was called for the first time by its modern name: Porto.

The English discovered Porto wine when political problems arose between France and England in the 1660s. Bordeaux wine, the wine of choice of the well-bred Englishman, became virtually impossible to obtain during this period. English merchants living in Portugal saw this opportunity and successfully offered up the rich wines from the Duoro as a substitute.

Porto became the favorite wine of the Whig party, and was used to toast William and Mary at their coronation. In 1670, Samuel Johnston claimed that “Claret is for boys, Port is for men.” By the early 1670s, more than 1,500,000 cases of Porto wine were shipped to England.

The standard practice of the time was to add 15 liters of brandy per pipe (550 liters) or about 3% by volume, to preserve the wine for shipment.

In 1820, there was a particularly ripe vintage. Not all of the grape sugars in the juice could be fermented into alcohol, and an extraordinarily sweet, rich wine was produced. English consumers clamored for more, so Duoro producers began to stop fermentation earlier and earlier by increasing the amount of brandy. Less time fermenting meant more grape sugars retained in the wine. By 1850, standard Porto wine was approximately 20% alcohol by volume and 10% residual sugar.

As the English expanded their Empire, their love for Porto went with them. Several of England’s former colonies starting producing “Port” wine for their own consumption, as well as for export to England. Two of the most successful were Australia and the United States.

By Portuguese law, only wine produced in Portugal may be called Porto (or Oporto), but other countries, including the United States and Australia use the English translation – port –for wines produced in the Porto style.