News Archives 2007

www.infoportwine.com
News archives 2007.
All articles older than 1 to 3 months are entered in News archives. We start with a title list with accompanying dates. You will find the full articles by linking the titles.

Desire Petroleum plc is a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London, dedicated to exploring for oil and gas in the Falkland Islands. Desire was founded in 1996 and participated in the first round of drilling in the North Falkland Basin in 1998.

The capital injection enables the investment of four million Euros in a winery (ready in 2009) and in the table wines. The company will plant an extra 25 hectares of vines at Quinta da Gricha. Aim is to enlarge the 2007 production of 252,000 bottles of Port Wines and 120,000 bottles of table wines to 300,000 bottles each within five years.
(Source: Expresso of 08/12/07.)

New web shop Garrafeira Nacional.
30/12/07. Garrafeira Nacional, the shop in the heart of Lisbon, has launched a new web shop with a good selection of Port Wines. The prices are moderate. A part of the offer is not in stock.

You find extraordinary offers particularly in the sections Colheitas and Raros (rare Port Wines). The section Colheitas also offers several years of the Niepoort Garrafeiras and amongst Raros you find several years from the nineteenth century. Regrettably the bottling years are lacking in the section Colheitas.

See: https://www.garrafeiranacional.com/

Link of the months January and February 2008.
30/12/07. For these months we have chosen www.premiumport.com
Premium Port Wines, Inc. is the sales organisation in the United States for all products of the Symington Family Estates.
The PPW website offers a wealth of information about Port, Madeira and Douro wines. Besides it is an excellent example of a marketing site.

Best Vintages of the Symington Family.
30/12/07. Late November The Symington Family Estates have organized in Portugal a tasting with their choice of their fourteen best Vintage Ports of the twentieth century. These are:
2005 Vesúvio
2005 Senhora da Ribeira
2000 Graham’s
1998 Malvedos
1994 Vesúvio
1985 Graham’s
1983 Dow’s
1980 Warre’s
1977 Smith Woodhouse
1970 Graham’s
1966 Warre’s
1963 Dow’s
1945 Dow’s
1924 Warre’s
(Source: Jornal de Negócios of 30/11/07.)

New labels Offley.
30/12/07. Offley has launched a new label for its Standard Ports (see photo). The first letters of the types dominate the design: R for Ruby, T for Tawny, W for White and L for Lacrima (very sweet).

Again design prize for Solene.
30/12/07. The half a litres Solene Reserve Ruby and Tawny have again won a design prize, this time a Merit during the first edition of the European Design Awards.

European Design is a Paneuropean institution consisting of an awards scheme, a conference and an annual catalogue for the European communication design industry. The three events are organized by European Design in collaboration with the European Design Media Network. See: http://www.ed-awards.com/

See also: http://www.portosolene.com/

News of Q. do Ventozelo, December 2007.
30/12/07. In its eighth Newsletter Quinta do Ventozelo brings the following news:

This year the commercial team expanded the number of export countries to 25. The company now reaches the best points of sale in an important part of the world, in shops as well as in restaurants.
For its importer in The Netherlands, Q. do Ventozelo made its first one litre bottle of Port Wine. It is a Reserva Ruby in a taut bottle which looks much like the half a litre bottles of Solene. This product is available in the Henri Bloem shops and will be launched in other countries too. See photo:

Sales numbers January - October 2007.
30/12/07. In the course of the year figures seem to improve more and more. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold increased by 4.8%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold increased by 3.6%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 12.1%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold increased by 6.6%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of January 2008.
30/12/07. Just now the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has not planned any activities.
See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Revista de Vinhos no. 217, December 2007.
30/12/07. The December issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New product:
The LBV 2003 of Wiese & Krohn gets 15.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Press choice Encontro Vinhos e Sabores:
At the event Encontro Vinhos e Sabores organized by Revista de Vinhos from November 3rd to 5th in Lisbon the Press prize for fortified wines was granted to the Offley 30 Years Old Tawny.

Q. de Santo António:
Fernando Melo reviews this Quintahotel near Adorigo/Tabuaço. He rates the tourist activities with 17.5 points on a score chart to 20. See also: Round trip 14.2a.

Conceito Vintage 2005:
Luís Antunes describes the launch of three Douro wines and one Port Wine of the Carla Ferreira family (Quinta do Cabido, winemaker Rita Marques). He rates their Vintage 2005 with 17 points.

2005 Vintage (by Roy Hersh).
08/12/07. On November 29th Roy Hersh has published an excellent and extensive article about these newest Vintages on his website ForTheLoveOfPort. His tasting regimen was extensive and careful like always.

In general, Hersh calls the 2005 Vintage suitable for early consumption, although some have the qualities to improve for three decades or more. His rankings for the 2005 Vintage are on average 91.5 points, only a little over his rankings for the 2004 Vintage with on average 91 points.

At first Hersh judged 23 2005 Vintages and gives extensive tasting notes of them. The highest score is for Quinta do Vesúvio with 95-97 points. At the bottom of the list we find Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira with 85-87 points.

The judgements of some wines that did not arrive in time will be admitted in his December Newsletter.

The article can be found at: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=110&Itemid=46

Julia Harding wins Noval Award for Communication.
08/12/07. The English Institute of Masters of Wine has granted its Award for Communication to Julia Harding MW. This award is sponsored by AXA Millésimes, the owner of Quinta do Noval and is presented to a recent Master of Wine who has excelled in communicating about wine. The prize includes a cheque for £1000, a trip to Q. do Noval and a mixed case of Noval Port, including the legendary Nacional.

Formerly a professional book editor, Julia has put her skills to very good use in her wine career. At the same time as working for Waitrose on their wine information, Julia edited the Concise Wine Companion in 2001, earning the trust and praise of Jancis Robinson MW, so much that she worked part time with Jancis on the Oxford Companion to Wine in 2003, which she copy edited. After gaining her Master of Wine in 2004, in December 2005 Julia moved to work full time with Jancis, where she now helps both with her books and on the renowned website.

Sogevinus Port Wine stand wins design prize.
08/12/07. The fair stand used by Sogevinus (Cálem, Burmester, Gilbert’s, Kopke, etc.) for the first time during the Vinexpo 2007, has won the Gold Premium in the category from 54 to 108 m² of the first Prémio Excelência StanDesign 2007. The booth has been designed by Bactéria Comunicação and was chosen out of nine finalists by a jury of national specialists.

The prize is an initiative of EcorexEventos, part of the Ecorex group. The presentation took place on October 18^th during the International Exhibition and Conference on Events and Fairs Marketing in Batalha, Portugal. Through the price the organizations objective is success at fairs and exhibitions, both national and international, through increasing innovation on the way brands exhibit their business and portfolio. In 2008 the prizes will be granted again.

News from Q. do Portal November 2007.
08/12/07. In its third Newsletter Vinhos, Quinta do Portal brings the following news:

1. The company marketed four new products. The LBV 2003 and the Vintage 2005 were already announced in the second Newsletter. New are the 30 Years Old and the 40 Years Old Tawnies, announced with "A revelation of some of our family treasures! Unmissable."

2. The agriculturist Miguel Sousa says in his harvest report: "The 2007 harvest was later than usual due to the delay in the vegetative cicle of the vines, more evident in the white varieties. The weather was dry and generous (with the exception of some rain in the beginning of October) and the grapes were very healthy at the time of picking. Despite all the difficulties we had a production increase of 10%.

And winemaker Paulo Coutinho wrote: "The harvest has finally reached its end. The Red wines finished the melolactic and the last white wines are now finalising the alcoholic fermentation. It is truly an unsual year. But the news are very good: the average quality of the wines is high, and if the ageing confirms it, we'll have again (after 4 years) a Portal Vintage Port and the Quinta do Portal AURU. Great premiere for the new winery!"

Link of the month December 2007.
08/12/07. For this month we have chosen www.quintadosilval.com

This company is less known as a Port Wine producer, though their LBV’s and Vintages are excellent. Quinta do Silval is especially attractive because of its hotel (see also Round trip 14.2e.). The offered tastings and arrangements are a good reasons for a visit.

The website of QdoS is of a pleasant design and offers good information in English and Portuguese.

Cockburn’s stays at Fortune Brands.
08/12/07. The American Fortune Brands has sold its wine interests with the exception of its brands Cockburn’s and Sherry Harveys, because fortified wines offer higher yields than (its?) table wines according to the company.

Fortune Brands, with its daughter Beam Global Spirits & Wine, only looks after the marketing and sales of Cockburn’s. In 2006 the possessions in Portugal were sold to the Symington group, who entered into a twenty years contract for the production (see our News item of 02/09/06).
(Source: Jornal de Negócios of 19/11/07.)

Wine Enthusiast: Symington producer of the year.
08/12/07. For its Annual Wine Star Awards the American magazine Wine Enthusiast has chosen The Symington Family Estates as European Winery of the Year.

Feature articles on each of the winners appear in the December 15^th Special Annual Awards issue, published on November 12^th. The recipients will be honoured at a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the New York Public Library on Monday, January 28, 2008.

For more information see:
http://www.winemag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications
%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=690AD74554
BF44E7B74C25460C088EA7

Polish prize for Niepoort.
08/12/07. Niepoort has won a silver medal in the category best “Licor wine” with its LBV 2001 in the Grand Prix Magazyn Wino of the Polish magazine Magazyn Wino. See also: http://www.magazynwino.pl/onas/
(Source: aicep Portugal Global of 13/11/07.)

Two stories on Douro tourism.
08/12/07. Almost simultaneously, two stories on the Douro region tourism appeared in November:

- In The New York Times: In Portugal, a New Stop on the Global Wine Trail by Gisela Williams, see: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/travel/11next.html

- In Food & Wine Magazine: The Next Must-Visit Wine Country by Ray Isle, see: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-next-must-visit-wine-country

The recognizable (sponsored?) cause seemed to have been the recent opening of the luxury Aquapura hotel (see our News item of 06/10/07) and the extravagant Hotel dos Sonhos/Quinta da Romaneira (see our News item of 02/06/07). No matter how good both stories may be, especially with regard to the Douro table wines, it is disappointing to notice that the group of magnificent Quinta hotels, inaugurated last years, has been totally neglected (see Round trip 14.2. with S. António, Chão d’Ordem, Nova, Portal, Silval and Vallado). Isle furthermore disqualifies himself by still indicating Port Wine as only a dessert wine.

IVDP events calendar as of December 2007.
08/12/07. Just now the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has not planned any activities.

Wine Tourism Awards 2008.
08/12/07. During its meeting in Oporto in November, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network has handed out its fifth annual awards. The capitals, which are part of the group, are: Bilbao-Rioja, Bordeaux, Cape Town, Florence, Melbourne, Mendoza, Oporto en San Francisco-Napa Valley.

International and National Winner Awards were granted to:
- Confraria do Vinho do Porto - Port Wine Brotherhood in the category Wine Tourism Services.
- The House of Sandeman in the category Art and Culture.

National Winner Awards were granted to:
-         Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo in the category Architecture, Parks and Gardens.
-         Quinta(hotel) de Santo António in the category Accommodation.
-         Cálem Winery in V. N de Gaia in the category Wine Tourism Services.

For more information see: http://www.greatwinecapitals.com/bestof/view_list.php

Revista de Vinhos nr. 216, November 2007.
08/12/07. The November issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
Judgement by the editorial staff. Score chart from 0 to 20.
-         Wiese & Krohn Colheita 1968 18.5 points.
-         Quinta dos Murças (Covelinhas, Peso da Régua) 10 Years Old Tawny 16.5 points.
-         Rozès Q. do Pégo LBV 2003 16 points.
-         Rozès LBV 2003 16.5 points.

Q. do Portal:
Luís Lopes describes this company of the Mansilha Branco family. They not only invested much money over the last few years, but were also qualitatively and commercially successful. Of course, their own hotel Casa das Pipas and the by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira designed working accommodation with visitors centre were amply mentioned in the story. Lopes values the Portal products as follows:
-         10 Years Old Tawny 16 points.
-         20 Years Old Tawny 16.5 points.
-         30 Years Old Tawny 18 points.
-         40 Years Old Tawny 17.5 points.
-         Colheita 1995 16 points.
-         LBV 2003 17 points.
-         Vintage 2005 17 points.

Particular architecture:
Samuel Alemão reviews some wineries/working accommodations/visitors centre with eminent architecture. In the Douro region he mentions Q. de Nápoles of Niepoort, Q. do Seixo of Sogrape, Q. do Portal and Q. da Touriga Chã in Vila Nova de Foz Côa that won the Douro architecture prize in 2006.

Next publication one week later.
03/11/07. Our next publication will not be in the weekend of December 1^st and 2^nd but in the weekend of December 8^th and 9^th .

Harvest 2007 (2).
03/11/07. After a good start (see our News item of 06/10/07) , the end of harvest report of October 22^nd by The Symington Family Estates is even more positive. The group writes among other things:

“A very good vintage has been completed in the Douro, making it likely that this will prove to be one of the exceptional years when the weather combines with the work of the viticulturists and winemakers to produce some very special wines.”

“On 15 October Charles Symington wrote: One feels very fortunate to have had near perfect conditions throughout this vintage, allowing us to produce some very promising wines.”

”There is no doubt that the Douro valley has produced some exceptional Ports and Douro DOC wines this year. Their evolution in vat and cask over the coming months will be followed with great interest.”

The complete report can be found at: http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20071022_1

Adrian Bridge, general manager of The Fladgate Partnership, stated in the Portuguese newspaper Público of October 31st that the harvest results are exceptional. He calls it very probably that the 2007 Vintage will be declared generally (so by all large Port Wine houses).

The Fladgate Partnership buys Q. da Eira Velha.
03/11/07. The Newman family has sold its Quinta da Eira Velha, west of Pinhão, to The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Delaforce). The take-over price has not been revealed.

Quinta da Eira Velha, with vineyards class A, is 50 hectares in size and produces 100 pipas or 72,000 bottles of Port Wine annually. Since 1893 this quinta has been owned by the Newman family, English traders, who exported European wines to Newfoundland (Canada) and brought back cod fish and salt. Their Port company Hunt, Roope and Co, also active in bottling Port Wine outside Portugal, was sold to Ferreira in 1956. The quinta stayed in the hands of the family who were successful with the brand Newman’s Celebrated Port. Since 1980 Martinez Gassiot was in charge of the day-to-day management. In 2006 Beam Global sold this Port house and the properties of Cockburn’s to The Symington Family (see our News item of 02/09/06). This caused the Newman family to now sell Quinta da Eira Velha.

Winemaker David Guimaraens stated in the Portuguese newspaper Público of October 20^th to be very happy with the purchase, also because the grapes of Eira Velha can only be used for the Port production. The Fladgate Partnership wants to engage exclusively in Port production and not with Douro table wines. Guimaraens also said that the brand Newman’s Celebrated Port will be maintained and that the possibilities of the brand Eira Velha are still under consideration.

Two Standard Ports 22 years stored.
03/11/07. A short time ago we got from a visitor to our site a Standard Ruby and a Standard White which had been stored for 22 years. These had been bought by a Port lover in the western part of the Netherlands. After he passed away his widow stored the bottles upright in a cabinet in the living room.

Both bottles had a deviating form, better than the straight standard bottles. See the photos below - © infoportwine-eleonora. The Ruby had a guarantee seal of the Instituto do Vinho do Porto. The White did not have such a seal, but had a back label with the text “Certificado de origem de Vinho do Porto” of the IVP. The White had a screw cap closing, the Ruby a stopper cork.

Under normal circumstances no high expectations should be had regarding these two bottles. Standard Ports are not meant to store, but are meant to be consumed within one or two years after bottling. In addition upright storage in living room conditions is deadly for a wine.

Nevertheless when we first saw the bottles we became curious. The liquid level was still acceptable (halfway the neck) and both bottles showed some sediment. We had higher expectations for the Ruby than for the White.

The White was of Porto Cruz. The colour was light amber, like that of a 20 to 25 years old Colheita. Immediately after opening both the smell and the taste reminded us more of a Bagaceira (Portuguese wine spirit) than of a Port Wine. The following day this had already changed and on the second and third day it was a super old Port Wine we quickly finished.

According to the IVDP test requirements a Standard White has to score 5 points on a score chart to 10. We gave this unintentionally aged Standard a 7.5.

The Ruby was of Dalva (C. da Silva) with seal number CD/15/181825. The colour was like a light rosé table wine. Smell and taste had nothing at all of a Port Wine. Instead it reminded us of a strong extract of roses. This did not change in the days after opening the bottle. It was certainly not nice and not drinkable. We even had no use for it in the kitchen.

Why did the White improve and was the Ruby undrinkable? We think that the main difference is in the way of closing the bottles. The screw cap of the White was on very tight. We even had to use a small pipe wrench to open it. On the other hand the stopper cork of the Ruby came out very easily. So, in this case a screw cap produced the best results after 22 years. It does, all in all, make us curious regarding other Port Wines stored much too long.

Link of the month November 2007.
03/11/07. For this month we have chosen www.smithwoodhouse.com The Symington Family Estates owns this Port house since 1970.

The design of this website reflects something of the age of the house (1784). The site is only available in English. The product information is excellent and calls the Smith Woodhouse Port Wines drier than most other Port Wines.

Ports in top lists Wine & Spirit.
03/11/07. The following two Vintages, both with 94 points, are on the list of the 100 best wines of the American magazine Wine & Spirits:

- Taylor Fladgate Vargellas 2004.
- Taylor Fladgate Vargellas Vinha Velha 2004.

Quinta de Roriz is, as the only Port producer, on the list of the best wine houses with two Douro wines and its 2004 Vintage (87 points).

Croft Quinta da Roeda 2004 Vintage is on the list of the 100 best buys with 92 points (in the USA 45 dollar).

On October 9^th Nicholas Heat of The Fladgate Partnership said in the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias:
“The magazine publishes other lists and on the 100 most sold in restaurants one, for the fifth successive year, five of the eight most sold are ours, like the Croft 20 Years Old Tawny and the Fonseca BIN no 27.”

Distribution Q. do Crasto in Portugal by QVB.
03/11/07. Quinta and Vineyards Bottlers of The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Delaforce) will do the exclusive distribution in Portugal of all Port Wines and table wines of Quinta do Crasto. The agreement has taken effect on October 1^st.

Quinta do Crasto of the Roquette family also works together in the group Douro Boys with Niepoort, Q. do Vallado, Lemos & Van Zeller and Q. do Vale Meão.

Considering the policy of The Fladgate Partnership to produce no table wines, the excellent Douro wines of Q. do Crasto will be very welcome.

Sales numbers January - September 2007.
03/11/07. The sale volumes continue to increase, especially in the Special Categories, but revenues stay behind. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold increased by 1.2%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 0.4%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 4.9%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold increased by 1%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of November 2007.
03/11/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal and Spain:

Belgium:
. November 23rd-11th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Bruges.
. November 26th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Antwerp.

Denmark:
. November 12th - Port Wine Festival - Bourse palace of Copenhagen.

Norway:
. November 14th - Port and Douro wine tasting - Grand hotel Oslo.

Portugal:
. November 3rd-5th - Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores 2007 - Centro de Congressos de Lisbon.
. November 19th-25th - Port & Douro Wine Show - 2nd edition - Lisbon.

Spain:
. November 6th - Port Wine tasting with cheeses and sweets - Jornadas Internationais de Sommeliers - Hotel Melia Golf - Gerona.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Wine for Asia - Singapore.
03/11/07. During the fifth Wine for Asia in Singapore from October 25^th to 27^th a gold medal was awarded to the Vista Alegre Vintage 2004. For more information see: http://www.wineforasia.com/2007/doc/WSAA_gold_medalists.pdf

Revista de Vinhos no. 215, October 2007.
03/11/07. The only Port Wine information in the October issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos concerns two new products. The Niepoort Morgadio Da Calçada LBV 2003 gets 16.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20. The Poças Colheita 1991 was chosen to one of the six Selections of the Month with 17.5 points.

Harvest 2007.
06/10/07. On September 21^st we received the following report from the Symington group:

“Symington Family Estates has started to harvest grapes at its Quintas in Portugal’s Douro Valley. The vintage started at the family’s key properties in the Douro on the 20^th of September. This is significantly later than usual due to mild weather conditions that permitted a longer, more even maturation cycle.
Brief showers fell on the evening of the 16^th and morning of the 17^th of September, bringing heavy rain and localized thunderstorms, but otherwise picking weather has been ideal in the Douro, with clear blue skies and cool evenings.
Although yields are lower than in past years, the fruit is in excellent condition, benefiting greatly from the three weeks leading up to the start of the vintage, when warm dry weather provided perfect ripening conditions.
The musts being produced are showing very good colour, aromas and concentration with optimal sugar levels. The family is pleased with the good start and is hopeful that if the fair weather continues for the next 10 to 14 days, some exceptionally fine wines will be made this year.”

The next report will not be released until November at the earliest, after the group has had a chance to look at the wines and to make the first assessment of quality.

On September 24^th Quinta de Ventozelo wrote in its Newsletter no. 7:

“This year's harvest has been delayed two weeks. We only started it the 17th of September! It's been a very humid year with high temperatures during the maturation stage, a very positive situation for the phenolic maturation and tannins levels. Right now, as grapes are being picked, the maximum temperature is between 25-30ºC (77-86 Fº), something that improves the grapes maturation levels. The grape juices have a very good acid-sugar balance and high levels of polyphenols. As per quantities, we expect to harvest 800 tons of grapes. It's still a bit too early to say for certain, but the quality of the juices we're getting makes us think 2007 is going to be an exceptional year.”

At http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=405 we found:
By Axel P on September 25^th:
“Most of the guys I talked to are not too happy with the conditions in 2007. Although some say, that it wasn’t that bad etc. and had some marketing phrases on, I don’t think its worth watching out for this vintage too strongly although its a 7-year like 77 and 97...

Jorge Borges from Passadouro told me, that he is pretty happy with his harvest.”

By Frédérick Blais on September 26^th :
“Got some news today from Q. do Nápoles. So far the quality is excellent, the favorable weather is improving the quality and they are really excited.”

By Derik T. on October 2^nd :
“From what I have seen 90%+ of the harvest is in. Two winemakers at different quintas have told me that 07 will be very good for Douro red and possibly Vintage Port, although not a chance of a classic year.”

By Frédérick Blais on October 5th:
"Got some words today from a winemaker for a big company that has some holdings in the Douro Superior.

He said that the harvest is of very good quality so far, especially with the colors, he never saw deep colors like this before from the Douro."

Harvest report 2007 by Frédérick Blais.
06/10/07. Frédérick Blais published his personal harvest report “12 days at Quinta do Nápoles 2007” at: http://www.frederickblais.com/niepoort2007/ It is an extensive and excellent article by a real Port lover. It offers lots of information about harvests in general and especially this year’s, and it presents much knowledge about the Niepoort company and its people.
His magnificent photos can be found at: http://www.frederickblais.com/pics/index.php?cat=9
More of his articles can be found at: http://www.frederickblais.com/

New production director Q. do Côtto.
06/10/07. Quinta do Côtto, of the Montez Champalimaud family, has appointed Diogo Frey Ramos as its new production director. He will manage the entire process, from vineyard to bottle.

Diogo Frey Ramos (1978) received his education at the University in Vila Real. He did work placements at Osborne, Muros de Melgaço and Gaivosa and worked at Q. de Covelos of José Carlos de Morais Calheiros Cruz for some time. He is the winemaker of the project Tavadouro of his family. He is one of the young winemakers who developed and gave a look the table wine sector in the Douro a look like that of the Douro Boys.

Q. do Côtto is 50 hectares in size. The second quinta of of the Montez Champalimaud family, Paço Teixeiro, encloses 12 hectares. Both quintas are situated in the Baixo Corgo, west of Peso da Régua. See also our ‘Link of the month October 2005’.

2005 Vintages (4).
06/10/07. The German Gerd Gerhard is the first one who has published some judgements of 2005 Vintages on the internet. He quotes the wine guide ‘Vinhos de Portugal 2008’ by João Paulo Martins. The survey can be found at:
http://www.portwein-shop.de/portwein-shop/shop_content.php/coID/10/product/vintage---charts.html

Port Wine replaces altar wine.
06/10/07. On September 21^st the Belgium newspaper De Morgen wrote that more and more priests use Port Wine instead of altar wine during Eucharist. This wine sours faster than Port Wine and because of decreasing church attendance and less altar boys it takes more time to empty a bottle.

An opened bottle of altar wine is gone bad after at least two weeks and in the view of the priests Port Wine remains good months after opening. In canon law it says only that the used drink has to be made of grapes.

News from Q. do Portal September 2007.
06/10/07. In its second Newsletter Vinhos, Quinta do Portal brings the following news:

The replantation work at Q. da Abelheira (15.4 ha) and Q. dos Muros (1.7 ha) is being finalized. With this work we now have 50% red varieties, 35% white varieties and 15% Moscatel Galego.
In October we will release our 2003 LBV and our 2005 Vintage.
The 2007 harvest will serve as a test that will determine our wines profile for the following years. The new winery has 15 fermentation vats where the process will be robotized, three robotic lagares and new presses. Everything within a philosophy of not using any pumping neither for the musts nor for the wines, just gravity.
A machine that makes the sorting automatically will also be a plus in a difficult year with heterogeneous grapes. This will also be very important to sort grapes from traditional vineyards planted with mixed varieties.

Q. do Estanho at stamp.
06/10/07. The mini state San Marino, south of the Italian city of Rimini, issues a series of eight stamps with reproductions of European wine labels. The stamps cost 0.65 Euros.
One of the stamps pictures the label of the Vintage 1996 of Quinta do Estanho. Below there are photos of the original and the stamp.
(Source: Aicep Portugal Global of 24/09/07.)

Link of the month October 2007.
06/10/07. For this month we have chosen http://eng.sogrape.pt/marcas/9/historia of Offley.
Sogrape does not present its different brands with own websites, but as part of a joint site with all concern activities. However, from the in 2002 purchased Sandeman, the original website was also maintained.
The Sogrape sub-sites are somewhat statically designed and miss a look of their own. Offley's product information is excellent and is available in Portuguese and English.

New hotel next to Q. da Pacheca.
06/10/07. Recently the luxurious hotel Aquapura Douro Valley has been inaugurated at Quinta de Vale Abraão. The hotel has 50 rooms, of which there are nine suites and one presidential suite, all with a view of the Douro or vineyard. Twenty-one villa-apartments with private swimming pool and private sun terrace are situated alongside with the hotel. The hotel has two restaurants, two bars, a swimming pool bar/restaurant, 2,200 square metres SPA with ten treatment rooms, a yoga studio and other facilities. The whole complex encloses eight hectares with hotel, SPA, villas, forests and vineyards. The price of the rooms are from 210 Euros.

Aquapura Hotels Villas & SPA is a Lisbon based private development group specialized in five-star and residential boutique hotel properties.

Q. da Pacheca of the Serpa Pimentel family is situated south-west of Peso da Régua in Cambres-Lamego. This quinta is 36 hectares in size. The adjacent Q. de Vale Abraão, where recently 17 hectares of new vineyards were planted, is the second quinta of the company. We were not able to find out how the relations with Aquapura exactly are.

See also: www.quintadapacheca.com and www.aquapurahotels.com/portugal/hotel.aspx

IVDP events calendar as of October 2007.
06/10/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium, Canada, Canary Islands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden:

Belgium:
. October 18th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Brussels.
. November 23rd-11th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Bruges.
. November 26th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Antwerp.

Canada:
. October 22nd - Port and Douro wine tastings - Toronto.
. October 24th - Port and Douro wine tastings - Montreal.
See: http://www.ivdp.ca/2007/index_en.php

Canary Islands:
. October 8th - Port Wine seminar for members of the UAES - El Gabinete Gastronómico.

Portugal:
. November 3rd-5th - Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores 2007 - Centro de Congressos de Lisbon.
. November 19th-25th - Port & Douro Wine Show - 2nd edition - Lisbon.

Spain:
. October 22nd - Port Wine seminar for members of the UAES - Restaurante El Fogón de Baco - Camino de Valladolid, 13 - 28250 Madrid.
. November 6th - Port Wine tasting with cheeses and sweets - Jornadas Internationais de Sommeliers - Hotel Melia Golf - Gerona.

Sweden:
. October 16th - Port Wine tasting - Vinkallaren Grappa - Stockholm.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

MUNDUSvini 2007.
06/10/07. During the seventh International Wine Prize Competition MUNDUSvini of Meiniger Verlag in Neustadt - Germany no Great Gold Medals were granted to Port Wine products. The Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny won a Gold Medal. The other medals and awards can be found at:
http://www.mundusvini.de/4784700--~de~internationaler_weinpreis~ergebnisse~2007.html
and choose: Weinart: Port/M/S; Herkunfstland: Portugal; Anbaugebiet: Douro; Appellation: Porto.

Revista de Vinhos no. 214, September 2007.
06/10/07. The September issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New product:
The 2005 Vintage of Quinta do Vesúvio gets 18 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Luís Soares Duarte:
Luís Antunes wrote the profile of winemaker Luís Soares Duarte who works as a consultant for including the Quintas do Infantado and Seara d’Ordens. His Port Wines get the following judgements: Q. do Infantado Dona Margarida Reserva 17 points and Q. Seara d’Ordens LBV 2000 16 points, LBV 2001 16.5 points and Vintage 2004 also 16.5 points.

Colheita tasting:
João Paulo Martins describes a tasting with 20 Colheitas from 1985 to 1997.
The Q. do Noval 1986 scored highest with 18 points.
At the bottom of the list we find Adega Cooperativa de São João de Pesqueira Fraga D’Ouro 1986 with 13 points.

Hotel Rural Quinta do Vallado:
Fernando Melo reviews this company over three kilometres northeast of Peso da Régua (see also Round trip 14.2f.). He rates the tourist activities with 18 points on a chart to 20.

Harvest expectations 2007 (2).
01/09/07. On July 27^th Diário Económico wrote that for the Douro region a decrease by 30% of the harvest was expected compared to 2006 (see our News item of 04/08/07).

On August 16^th Jornal de Notícias quoted a spokesman of the ADVID (Desenvolvimento da Viticultura Duriense) who predicted a decrease of 10 to 18%.
On August 21^st Diário de Notícias wrote that the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estatísticas) and the IVV (Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho) expected a decrease of about 10%.

The newspaper O Primeiro de Janeiro wrote on July 16^th that Quinta do Vallado expected the same yield as in 2006, while Q. Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo forecasted a lower yield.

All reports mentioned that it has been a difficult growing season with many fungus diseases like mildew and oidium.

First Kosher Port Wine - Cordovero.
01/09/07. The American Royal Wine Corporation (www.royalwines.com) has taken the initiative to market the first Kosher Port Wine, the Cordovero Ruby. Soon a LBV will also been launched, which means that the project has already been started more than four years ago.
The Port Wine is made by The Fladgate Partnership/Quinta and Vineyard Bottlers (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft, Delaforce and Romariz; www.fladgatepartnership.com) in their winery at Quinta da Nogueira in São João da Pesqueira. As far as we know, the grapes come from Quinta da Brunheda in Carrazeda de Ansiães (in the Port Wine enclave at the EN 214 between Tua and Vila Flor), but we did not succeed in getting this confirmed.

The fact that a wine is kosher has no effect on its taste.
A wine is kosher if it is made using strict rabbinical production techniques in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. A kosher wine cannot include any chemical or animal additives, gelatine, lactose, glycerine, corn products or nonwine yeasts. In addition, Sabbath-observing Jews must conduct the entire wine making process under rabbinical supervision. The equipments and machines must be used exclusively for the production of kosher products.

The Royal Wine Corp owns the brand name Cordovero. This company has supplied the used kosher wine alcohol, after approval of course by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP).

Codovero is a very common Jewish name with as most important rabbi Mozes Cordovero (1522 - 1570).

Daniel Rogov, wine critic of the Ha’aretz newspaper in Tel Aviv, wrote the following tasting note on the Ruby:
“To the best of my knowledge, the first kosher Port Wine produced and this one a joint effort between Royal Wines in New York and the highly respected lodge of Taylor Fladgate. Darker garnet in colour than most Ruby Ports and on the palate and nose one might think this a higher-level Tawny (Infoportwine: Ruby Reserve?). Ripe and spicy, with well integrated tannin and good balancing acidity, showing generous prune, black cherry, caramel and vanilla along with a firm structure and a generous finish on which you will find a hint of cinnamon. A very well-made Ruby! Drink now or in the next year or two. Score 88.”

Link of the month September 2007.
01/09/07. For this month we have chosen www.quintadocrasto.pt
Quinta do Crasto, of the Roquete family, is situated north of the Rio Douro in Gouvinhas (Sabrosa) between Peso da Régua and Pinhão. The company is 130 hectares in size of which 70 hectares are vineyards with Port rights class A. The company is very active in Douro wines, but also makes excellent top Ports like LBV’s and Vintages. In spring 2007 Q. do Crasto announced substantial investment plans (see our News item of 05/05/07).
Their website is nicely designed and offers good information in Portuguese and English.

Sales numbers first half 2007.
01/09/07. In the first half of this year only the volume of the Special Categories has increased. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold decreased by 0.4%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 2%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 6.2%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold increased by 0.1%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of September 2007.
01/09/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium, Canada, Canary Islands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland:

Belgium:
. September 28th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool - Marcinelle.
. October 2nd - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Namur.
. October 18th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Brussels.
. November 23rd-11th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Bruges.
. November 26th - Port Wine Workshop - Hotelschool Antwerp.

Canada:
. October 22nd - Port and Douro wine tastings - Toronto.
. October 24th - Port and Douro wine tastings - Montreal.

Canary Islands:
. October 8th - Port Wine seminar voor members of the UAES - El Gabinete Gastronómico.

Denmark:
. November 12th - Port Wine Festival - Bourse palace of Copenhagen.

Finland:
. October 15th - Port and Douro wine tasting - Helsinki.

Norway:
. November 14th - Port and Douro wine tasting - Grand hotel Oslo.

Spain:
. September 24th - Pairing Port Wine tasting for chefs - Restaurant Vertical - Valencia.
. November 6th - Port Wine tasting with cheeses and sweets - Jornadas Internationais de Sommeliers - Hotel Melia Golf - Gerona.

Sweden:
. October 16th - Port Wine tasting - Vinkallaren Grappe - Stockholm.

Switzerland:
. October 1st - Port and Douro wine tasting - Restaurante "Au Premier", Bahnhofbuffet HB - Zürich.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

IWP Zürich 2007.
01/09/07. During the Internationale Weinprämierung Zürich from July 16th to 20th a Gold Diploma was awarded to the 10 Years Old Tawny of Messias. More information can be found at: http://www.iwpz.ch/

Revista de Vinhos no. 213, August 2007.
01/09/07. The only Port news in the August issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos is an article by João Afonso. He writes about the purchase of Quinta do Zimbro by Manuel Pinto Hespanhol. This quinta of 20 hectares with Port rights class A, is situated in the Ribalonga valley near the estuary of the Rio Tua. Hespanhol already owned about the half (some 18 hectares) of Quinta Calços do Tanha in Vilarinho de Freires and a quinta of 7 hectares near Lamego where he lives.Together he ownes now 44 hectares vineyards. Since 1991 the company markets Douro table wines and from the 2005 harvest 3000 bottles of a Special Catergory Port were also produced. In the future Hespanhol wants to develop tourist activities at the quintas in Ribalonga and Vilarinho de Freires.

Harvest expectations 2007.
04/08/07. On July 27^th the Portuguese newspaper Diário Económico wrote that several companies and regional viniculture representatives expect that this year the harvest in Portugal will be 35% lower than in 2006. A decrease of 30% is expected for the Douro region.

A lower yield however often goes hand in hand with a higher quality. The paper also writes that many regions hope for a possibility to get rid of stocks and that the prices will increase. Probably, in the Douro region this will less apply for Port Wine, with its fixed production quota, than for the Douro table wines.

Diário Económico mentions the weather circumstances over the year as reasons for the yield decrease: first rain, next excessive heath at the beginning of fruit growing and lack of warmth at the ripening. Diseases had a better opportunity to emerge under these circumstances.

Benefício 2007.
04/08/07. Also this year the Casa do Douro (CdoD, the representative of the farmers and the cooperatives) has again caused problems with the setting of the production quota. In 2006 the CdoD refused all five proposals, after which the chairman of the Port Wine section of the Conselho Profissional had the casting vote. Afterwards this was of course blamed on him (Jorge Monteiro, president of the IVDP - Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto).

This year the CdoD refused to appoint its representatives in the Interprofessional Council in protest against the amount of specific debts to the government. We cannot help but wonder if this way the interests of the farmers is served well by the CdoD.

In case of absence of the CdoD in the consultations, the Minister of Agriculture had already issued a decree in which chairman Monteiro was authorized to take all necessary actions.

Nevertheless sessions of the Conselho have finally taken place, but with only some members on behalf of the CdoD. After this the production quota (Benefício) for the next harvest has been set at 125,000 pipas (casks of 550 litres) most (before adding aguardente). This is an increase by 1,500 pipas or over 1% compared to last year.

The development of the Benefício was as follows during the past years:
2001: 154,000 pipas.
2002: 135,000 pipas or – 12.3%.
2003: 107,900 pipas or – 20.1%.
2004: 126,000 pipas or + 16.8%.
2005: 120,000 pipas or – 4.85%.
2006: 123,500 pipas or + 2.9%.
2007: 125,000 pipas or + 1%.
The full harvest bulletin can be found on the IVDP website: http://www.ivdp.pt/destaque.asp?cod=120

New Port forum.
04/08/07. On June 20^th a number of Brits, amongst which Derek Turnball and Alex Kilbey, both also active at the Roy Hersh’s site (http://fortheloveofport.com), have started a new Port forum. They had the need for a venue where in a somewhat more relaxed atmosphere Port Wine could be discussed. They do not consider this to be criticism of Hersh but simple wanted a site with a slightly different approach. The Port Forum also includes forums about table wines, beer and spirits. See: www.theportforum.com

Symington does not discontinue foot treading.
04/08/07. On July 7^th the English newspaper The Telegraph published the article ‘Centuries of Port heritage ended by family firm’ (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/07/wport107.xml). In this article the announcement was made that the Symington Family Estates would stop the production of Port by means of foot treading. Senior winemaker Paul Symington denied this highly unlikely report as follows:

“Following your article on Saturday 7th July about our robotic lagares for making Port, we would like to take this opportunity to correct a very important point that was mis-reported in the piece.”

“The article stated that our family was ending traditional treading by foot. This is simply not true. The purpose of the ‘Symington Robotic Lagar Seminar’ was not to announce that our family planned to abandon foot treading, but to recognize the great success of the Robotic Lagares and the increasingly important role that they will play in the production of premium quality Port. At no time, however, was it suggested that we will be giving up traditional treading. On the contrary, we have gone to great lengths to maintain this centuries old tradition at two of our finest properties, Quinta do Vesuvio and Dow's Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira.”

“We are very keen to emphasise that although the Robotic Lagares were developed in part to address a shortage of labour, my family also set out to optimize the treading process and ultimately improve the quality of the wines. After 9 years of experience using the Robotic Lagares there can be no doubt that they make outstandingly good Port, at least as good as the traditional lagares and often better.”

“We would be very grateful if you could set the record straight.”

Link of the month August 2007.
04/08/07. For this month we have chosen www.valedonamaria.com
The prominent Cristiano van Zeller owns Quinta do Vale Dona Maria. Until 1993 he was co-owner and manager of Q. do Noval. Van Zeller is one of the strong promoters of Douro table wines - he is one of the Douro Boys - but he also makes excellent Vintage Ports.
The website of Vale D. Maria is nicely designed and offers excellent information in English and Portuguese.

Roy Hersh about 2004 Vintages.
04/08/07. In December 2006 the article “Roy’s 2004 Port Wine Forecast” was published at http://fortheloveofport.com. With the exception of the preface it was only available for paying visitors.
The complete article can now be found on Robin Garr’s website http://www.wineloverspage.com/port/2004forecast.phtml in the section Words About Port. The article contains the following paragraphs:
-         Preface.
-         Tasting Regimen.
-         Overall impression of the vintage and when to drink the ’04 VPs.
-         Can you please make a comparison between 2004 and any other vintage?
-         Pricing.
-         To buy or not to buy - that is what you really want to elaborate on, right?
-         The 2004 growing season and harvest conditions.
-         24 tasting notes.

IVDP events calendar as of August 2007.
04/08/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium, Canada, Canary Islands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland:

Canada:
. October 22nd - Port and Douro wine tastings - Toronto.
. October 24th - Port and Douro wine tastings - Montreal.

Canary Islands:
. October 8th - Port Wine seminar voor members of the UAES - El Gabinete Gastronómico.

Denmark:
. November 12th - Port Wine Festival - Bourse palace of Copenhagen.

Finland:
. October 15th - Port and Douro wine tasting - Helsinki.

Norway:
. November 14th - Port and Douro wine tasting - Oslo.

Spain:
. September 24th - Pairing Port Wine tasting for chefs - Restaurant Vertical - Valencia.
. November 6th - Port Wine tasting with cheeses and sweets - Jornadas Internationais de Sommeliers - Hotel Melia Golf - Gerona.

Sweden:
. October 16th - Port Wine tasting - Vinkallaren Grappe - Stockholm.

Switzerland:
. October 1st - Port and Douro wine tasting - Restaurante "Au Premier", Bahnhofbuffet HB - Zürich.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Indy International Wine Competition 2007.
04/08/07. During the 16th Indy International Wine Competition in Indiana-USA from July 26^th to 28^th the following awards were granted to real Port products from Portugal:
-         Smith Woodhouse LBV 1995: Concordance Gold.
-         Graham’s Vintage 1997: Concordance Gold and Best of Class - Port Style.
-         Quinta de Roriz Vintage 2004.
More information can be found at: http://www.indianawines.org/in.gov/awards/

Revista de Vinhos no. 212, July 2007.
04/08/07. The July issue of the Portuguese magazin Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New product:
The Castelinho 2003 Vintage gets 16 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Hotel Rural Quinta do Silval:
Fernando Melo reviews this company of the Magelhães family in Vale de Mendiz (see also Round trip 14.2e.). He rates the tourist activities with 17 points on a chart to 20.

Restaurant DOC:
So far there were no possibilities to dine directly at the Douro. The owners of the tourist company Arisdouro and of restaurant Cêpa Torta in Alijó have now inaugurated a splendid restaurant with sidewalk on the new jetty in Folgosa do Douro (Armamar). Fernando Melo describes the project and rates the kitchen in the first division.

Morgadio de Calçada:
Dirk (van der) Niepoort is the winemaker for this company of the Villas-Bôas family. Luis Antunes describes the launch of their Douro and Port Wines. He rates both their Dry White and their Tawny Reserve with 16 points, their Ruby Reserve with 15.5 points and their LBV 2003 with 17 points.

2005 Vintages (3).
07/07/07. Though 2005 did not produce a top harvest, the list with announced Vintages is slowly getting longer. After Niepoort and five Vintages of the Fladgate Partnership (see our News item of 05/05/07) we are able to report addition of the following ones:
-         Burmester.
-         Kopke.
-         Krohn Quinta do Retiro Novo.
-         Pintas (Wine & Soul).
-         Q. Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo.
-         Q. do Passadouro.
-         Q. de Ventozelo.
and of the Symington Family Estates:
-         Dow’s Q. da Senhora da Ribeira.
-         Q. do Vesuvio.
-         Q. de Roriz (jointly with João van Zeller).

Reissue maps Baron de Forrester.
07/07/07. Isaac Oelgart of the bibliophile-publishing house The Port Lover’s Library in the USA (see our News items of 06/12/03 and 03/01/04) markets a reissue of the two famous maps of Joseph James Forrester. Articles by Richard Mayson, Debbie Hall and Oelgart himself have also been included in the luxury box.
The complete prospectus can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pt/docs/Forrest%20Fl%205_29%20singles%20lo.pdf

Fraud with Port Wine inside and outside Portugal.
07/07/07. In the first trimester of 2007 the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) has confiscated over 250,000 litres of forged Port Wines in the Eastern Port region.
According to the newspaper O Público, who investigated further, it concerns a cooperative and an export firm in the concelho of Vila Nova de Foz Côa.
The newspaper came to the figure of 600,000 Euros before taxes. The production costs would amount to 105,000 Euros (0.30 Euros a litre must and 0.90 Euros a litre aguardente; ratio 4 : 1). The penalty that the companies risk could run to 30,000 Euros, only six percent of the possible profits. So it remains dangerously lucrative.
(Source: O Público of 12/04/07.)

The IVDP also diligently investigates fraud products abroad. On its website page Galeria de Fraudes (http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=96&codSeccao=6&) you will find examples from some ten countries with deceptive real names like Porto Fino from Poland and Port Wein from Moldavia.

However, this is still nothing compared to the situation in the United States. For example, the Prager Winery & Port Works writes on its website www.pragerport.com: “we have been specializing in the production of wine and various styles of California Port, which includes Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage, Tawny and even a couple of White Ports.” These products are marketed with names like Alyssa Golden Dry Port, Noble Companian Tawny Port and 2003 Royal Escort Vintage Port.

You can ask yourself why one should do something against a small firm in Moldavia when all this is still allowed in the most important Port Wine market. How would the American wine industry react if Portugal would market for example a table wine blend with the name California Valley or something similar?

Link of the month July 2007.
07/07/07. For this month we have chosen www.castelinho-vinhos.com
Since the summer of 2005 Castelinho Vinhos is, as far as we know, owned by Companhia Comercial de Vinhos do Porto (CCVP), but is again mentioned as take-over candidate (see our News items of 02/07/05 and 05/05/07).
Castelinho Vinho is especially known because of the visitors centre Quinta de São Domingos in Peso da Régua. Probably the centre is the most visited in the Port region and it has an excellent restaurant.
The website of the company is nicely designed and offers good information in English, French and Portuguese.

Rabelo Regata 2007.
07/07/07. The 24^th Rabelo Regate was won by the Martinez boat. This small Port house is owned by the Symington Family Estates since the summer of 2005 (see our News item of 02/09/06). This year seventeen boats participated in the race. The Martinez team said it was their second victory, but they could not remember the year of the first one.
(Source: O Primeiro de Janeiro of 25/06/07.)

The traditional Barcos Rabelo were formerly used to transport casks from the Port region to Vila Nova de Gaia. Since 1982 the sailing race is organized annually by the Confraria do Vinho do Porto on St. John’s Day/Dia de São João (June 24^th). Aim of the Regata is not only Port promotion but also promotion of the cities Oporto and Gaia.
The match starts in the estuary of the Rio Douro and finishes near the double-deck steel Luiz I bridge.

Sales numbers January - May 2007.
07/07/07. Contrary to the first quarter the volumes and the revenues have increased in the first five months. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold increased by 3.1%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold increased by 0.8%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 9.6%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold increased by 1.5%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of July 2007.
07/07/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Brasil, Sweden and Switzerland:

Brasil:
. July 10th - Tasting Douro and Port Wines - Hotel Pestana - Curitiba.

Sweden:
. October 16th - Port Wine tasting - Vinkallaren Grappe - Stockholm.

Switzerland:
. October 1st - Tasting Douro and Port Wines - Restaurante "Au Premier", Bahnhofbuffet HB - Zürich.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Decanter World Wine Awards 2007.
07/07/07. During the judging of the Decanter World Wine Awards in the week from April 22^nd to 27^th the following regional awards were granted:
-         Regional Non-Vintage Port under 10 English pounds: Gran Cruz Ruby Reserve Tribute.
-         Regional Non-Vintage Port over 10 English pounds: Graham’s Crusted, bottled in 2001.
-         Regional Vintage Port over 10 English pounds: Taylor’s Vintage 1977.
Gold medals there were for:
-         Cockburn’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Pintas Vintage 2005 (Wine & Soul).
-         Quinta de Roriz Vintage 2003.
-         Borges Vintage 2003.
-         Warre’s LBV 1999.
More information and the many other awards can be found at: http://www.decanter.com/worldwineawards/2007/results.php

Concurso Nacional de Vinhos Engarrafados 2007 - Portugal.
07/07/07. During the Concurso Nacional de Vinhos Engarrafados in Santarém - Portugal from May 15^th to 18^th , two of the ten Prémios Prestígio were granted to the Vista Alegre LBV 2001 (Vallegre Vinhos) and the Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 2004.
More information and the gold and silver medals can be found in the Portuguese magazine Wine Passion issue that is for sale as of June 27^th .

International Wine Competition Ljubljana 2007 - Slovenia.
07/07/07. During the 53^rd International Wine Competition in Ljubljana - Slovenia on May 28^th no Great Gold Medals were awarded to Port products. Gold Medals went to the Kopke Colheita 1938 and the Burmester 40 Years Old Tawny, both of Sogevinus (also Cálem).
For more information see: http://www.ljubljanafair.com/uploads/files/prijavnice/rezultati_vinolj_2007.pdf

Les Citadelles du Vin 2007 - Bourg-sur-Gironde.
07/07/07. During the 8^th Les Citadelles du Vin in Bourg-sur-Gironde near Bordeaux from June 7^th to 9^th the following awards were granted to Port products:
-         De Trophee Citadelles to the Vista Alegre - Old White (Vallegre Vinhos).
-         De Trophee Excellence to the Gran Cruz Special Reserve and the Vista Alegre Vintage 2004.
-         De Trophee Prestige to the Gran Cruz 10 Years Old Tawny.
For more information see: http://www.citadellesduvin.com/search_palmares.php and choose Europa: Portugal and Appellation: DOC Porto.

San Francisco International Wine Competition 2007.
07/07/07. During the SF International Wine Competition from June 15^th to 17^th gold medals were awarded to the following real Port products from Portugal:
The Cockburn’s 20 Years Old Tawny won a double gold medal.
Gold medals went to the:
-         Burmester 40 Years Old Tawny.
-         Burmester Colheita 1937.
-         Cockburn’s LBV 2000.
In the category Premium Awards, Cockburn's won the Best of Nation - Portugal Award.
For more information and the other medals see: http://www.sfwinecomp.com/ and choose Results, Results sorted by Varietal and the pages 65 and 66.

IWSC 2007.
07/07/07. During the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2007 the following Gold Awards (Best in Class) were granted to Port products:
-         Colheita 1938-1937: Burmester 1937.
-         Single Quinta Vintage 2003: Rozès Quinta do Grifo.
-         Single Quinta Vintage 2004: Dow’s Q. da Senhora da Ribeira.
-         Tawny 30 Years Old: Dow’s.
-         Tawny 40 Years Old: Kopke.
-         Vintage 1994: Warre’s.
-         Vintage 1997: Dow’s.
-         Vintage 2000: Q. do Crasto Sainsbury’s Taste the difference.
-         Vintage 2003: Andresen.
For the many other awards see: http://www.iwsc.net/searchFortified.cfm?Page=AwardsFW and choose Portugal.

International Wine Challenge 2007 (2).
07/07/07. On 02/06/07 we published the gold medals of the 24^th International Wine Challenge. From this category the following Port products have now been granted an IWC Trophy:
-         Ramos Pinto 30 Years Old Tawny with the Tawny Port Trophy.
-         Quinta do Noval LBV 2000 with the Late Bottled Vintage Trophy.
-         Q. da Prelada 2004 (Samuel Magelhães e Silva, Herdeiros) with the Vintage Port Trophy.
For more information see: http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/trophies.aspx

Revista de Vinhos no. 210, May 2007 (2).
07/07/07. The only Port news in the May issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos is a new product. The Quinta do Crasto LBV 2000 gets 16.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart from 0 to 20.

Revista de Vinhos no. 211, June 2007.
07/07/07. The June issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
Judgment by the editorial staff. Score chart from 0 to 20.
-         (Wiese and) Krohn Colheita 1997 16.5 points.
-         Casal dos Jordões Vintage 2004 16 points.
-         Quinta do Estanho 30 Years Old Tawny 17 points and chosen as one of the six selections of the month.

Quinta da Pedra Alta:
Fernando Melo describes this quinta in Soutelinho near Favaios. Together with the Quintas da Cruz and das Forcadas, all three owned by the Pinto Leal family, the total surface is 100 hectares, of which 60 hectares under vine. Melo rates the tourist activities at Q. da Pedra with 17 points on a chart to 20.

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo:
João Afonso and João Geirinhas review the launch of eight table wines and three Port Wines of Quinta Nova (see: Round trip 14.2c.). Their Ruby Reserve scores 15 points, their LBV 2003 16.5 points and their Vintage 2005 17.5 points.

Pierik sells wine library.
02/06/07. Rudolf Pierik will sell his very extensive wine library. He is the author of many wine books, including “Port” from 1998.
His Port Wine library with over thirty titles is also for sale.
For information please call (0)317 - 411 538 (The Netherlands).

President IVDP criticizes pre-announcements Vintages.
02/06/07. Late April the Portuguese weekly Vida Económica published an article entitled “The Fladgate Partnership announces five 2005 Vintages”.
A week later Jorge Monteiro, the president of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP), responded with an article entitled “Approval of Vintage Port is the exclusive competence of the IVDP”.
We regret this somewhat forced controversy. But maybe the approval procedure has to be mentioned a little more emphatic in certain pre-announcements.

Every year around April 23^rd (Saint Jorge’s Day of Dia de São Jorge) the tension mounts in the Port Wine industry and amongst lovers and dealers. Then the query is which producers will release which Vintage Ports. Most of the time this is nothing more than an announcement of an intention, but every new Vintage is exciting and for many people very interesting. Rumours buzz around including at the internet and many people hope for another nice tasting or good trade. In our opinion this is one of the best promotion forms for the better Port types.

It would be a shame if these joyful expectations should die away into rules. Of course, every Vintage has to be approved first of all by the IVDP. But all producers know exactly what the standards are for it and they will surely not run the risks which would lead to a public and professional flop. And when they are a little less sure for a moment then they will certainly not make a pre-announcement.

So we hope that we enthusiasts may continue to rejoice about as early as possible and as many as possible announcements.

Link of the month June 2007.
02/06/07. For this month we have chosen www.rozes.pt
Since 1999 Rozès is part of the French Champagne group Vranken Pommery Monopole. From 1986 this group had been active in the Port industry with São Pedro das Águias. At the end of 2002 both brands were combined in SPR Vinhos S.A.
The Rozès website was nicely designed. The good and extensive information is available in English, French and Portuguese.
The paragraph How to taste a Port Wine on the page About Wine deserves special attention.

Particular tasting during Vinexpo 2007.
02/06/07. During the Vinexpo a tasting with nine Port houses, nine Champagne houses and nine Bordeaux houses will be organized in the Museum of Contemporary Art on June 18^th. The Bordeaux houses present their 2001 wines, the Champagne houses their Grandes Cuvées and the Port houses their 2003 Vintages.
The participating Port brands are Cockburn’s, Croft, Dow’s, Fonseca, Graham’s, Noval, Sandeman, Taylor’s and Warre’s.

Symington’s: strategy and more about investments.
02/06/07. In our News item of 05/05/07 we wrote already about the investments of the Symington Family Estates (including Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s) as a result of the purchase of the Cockburn’s and Martinez properties.
This information is expanded and explained in an interview by Isabel Cristina Costa in Jornal de Negócias with father and son Paul and Charles Symington (the winemakers).
Investments:
This year and in 2008 and 2009 the group will invest 2.6 million Euros in its production facilities.
The large winery Quinta do Sol, at the road from Peso da Régua to Pinhão, wil be expanded for the supply of the farmers from the neighbourhood of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. In this place the Cockburn’s winery west of the town will be closed, to the sorrow of those farmers.
Moreover Q. do Sol will be expanded with a separate winery for Douro table wines and the capacity of the bottle plant in Vila Nova de Gaia will be enlarged to be able to handle the production for Cockburn’s and Martinez too.
Strategy:
The company wants to maintain its leading position in the Special Categories and wants to invest continuously in the vineyards.
The Symington’s call the French market ill because the profit margins have been reduced so much that actually investments in promotion are not possible anymore. The small margins are also the reason that the international drinkconcerns like Pernod Ricard, Diageo and Bacardi have disposed of their Port Wine interests. The same applies for Américo Amorim with Burmester and Gilbert’s.
However, the French market will not be left from one day to the next, but in new markets like Eastern Europe, China and India will be invested. The expansion of the European Union and above all, the more and more important, Portuguese home market can also offer possibilities.
Investments in research and technology are absolutely necessary. This applies for the vineyards as well as for the wineries where the self developed robotic lagares play an ever growing role. But also in marketing much has to be invested. On the one hand in the competition for the digestives with the whiskey, cognac and vodka multi nationals, on the other to reach younger consumers for example.
Paul S. does not believe in general promotion campaigns for wine, he calls them catastrophic. Only brands score, of large as well as of small companies.
(Source: Jornal de Negócios of 15/05/07.)

Hotel and more on complex Croft in Gaia.
02/06/07. Late April the Master plan of the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia for the recovery of the ancient centre was presented to an international group of investors in London. Because of the consolidation in the Port industry some lodges, warehouses and bottle plants are unoccupied. The municipality hopes to extra promote tourism by the development of these sites.
During the presentation The Fladgate Partnership (TFP) of the brands Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Delaforce has also announced its plans for this area.

On the Croft complex the five stars The Yeatman Hotel has been projected with 84 rooms, two restaurants, a large swimming pool and a Wine SPA, a treatment centre on a basis of wine products. It will be built on the green part of the plot and on part of the parking place.
The construction of the hotel is to start early 2008. The inauguration has been planned in May 2009. The investment costs amount up to 30 million Euros.
TFP has earlier experience with a hotel. In 1998 their Vintage House Hotel was opened on the site of the former Taylor's lodges at the Douro in Pinhão. In 2002 they sold that hotel (see: Round trip 13b).

Besides, a complex with seventy luxury houses and apartments, shops and café’s has been planned on the rest of the parking place and on the site of the lodges.

The Croft visitors centre will be totally redeveloped. Together, the centres of Taylor’s and Croft are visited by some 85,000 tourists a year.

TFP was already constructing two warehouses in São João da Pesqueira in the Port region with a combined surface of 10,000 square metres. This project costs 1.2 million Euros and will be completed in June.

TFP has also plans to relocate its present bottle plant and warehouses to the outside of the historic centre of Gaia. However, the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto will have to give permission for this, because it is legally fixed that it is only allowed to work with Port Wine in this centre of Gaia or in the demarcated Douro region.

During the meeting in London a representative of the municipality expected the visitor numbers to the ancient centre to double from 600,000 to 1.2 million in the next four years.
(Sources: Press release TFP of 11/05/07; Jornal de Notícias of 27/04/07 and Diário de Notícias of 30/04/07.)

Hotel Q. da Romaneira: no price list.
02/06/07. In 2004 a group of English and French private investors around Christian Seely, the director of AXA and Quinta do Noval, bought the neglected Quinta da Romaneira in Pedrosa ten kilometres east of Pinhão at the north bank of the Rio Douro (see our News item of 01/01/05).

Seely manages the viniculture and the wine production of the company.

The Frenchman Thierry Teyssier organizes tourism. The main activity is a very luxury hotel - Romaneira dos Sonhos (dreams) - for at most fifty people after the example of Hotel dar Alham in a kasbah in Morocco.
The formula will be: not the straitjacket of traditional hotels; in principle everything asked by the guests is offered; it has to be a hotel without limits.
The hotel will not have a reception and no telephone and television connections in the rooms, but ipods and dvd players with large offers.
The restaurant will be managed by top cook Miguel Castro e Silva.
The hotel will not have a price list. Teyssier says about this: “When you give a present, you don’t say the price. We want to give a present to the Douro. Don’t ask for the price.”
The hotel will be inaugurated in June.
In September the restaurant will also be open for non guests.
(Source: Visão - Principal of 29/03/07.)

Sales numbers January - March 2007.
02/06/07. Only the volume of the sold Special Categories remained unchanged in the first three months. The other sales numbers decreased substantially. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold decreased by 2.7%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 5.7%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold was unchanged.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold decreased by 7%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of June 2007.
02/06/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in France and Portugal:

France:
. June 17th-21st - Vinexpo 2007 - Bordeaux.

Portugal:
. June 2nd-3rd - Tasting Douro and Port Wines - Casino de Figueira da Foz.
See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?idioma=0&cod=200&

Monde Sélection 2007 - Belgium.
02/06/07. During Le Concours International 2007 des Vins van Monde Sélection in Wauthier-Braine in België from March 29^th to 31^st no Great Gold Medals were awarded to Port products. A Gold Medal went to the Cálem 20 Years Old Tawny.
More information and the other medals can be found at: http://www.monde-selection.com/fr/wine_results_2007_Portugal.html

First women wine competition in Monaco.
02/06/07. The first edition of “Femmes et Vins du Monde Concours International” (Women and Wines of the World International Competition) was organized in l’Hotel de Paris in Monaco from April 20^th to 23^rd . During this competition wines from the entire world were exclusively judged by women.
This first time eight gold and seventeen silver medals were granted. A gold medal went to the Romariz Colheita 1963 (see also).
More information can be found at: http://www.femmesetvinsdumonde.com/pdf/Palmares_FVMCI_2007.pdf

Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2007 - Maastricht.
02/06/07. This year the fourteenth edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles was organized in Maastricht, The Netherlands from April 29^th to May 1^st.
No Highest Gold Medals were awarded to Port products.
Gold medals went to:
-         Andresen Vintage 2003.
-         Barros 30 Years Old Tawny.
-         Kopke Colheita 1938.
-         Offley Barão de Forrester 20 Years Old Tawny.
More information and the other medals can be found at:
http://www.concoursmondial.be/concours-mondial/wijn-nl/cmb_resultaat.asp?lng_id=EN

Premios Zarcillo 2007 - Valladolid.
02/06/07. This year the fifth international competition Premios Zarcillo was organized in Peñafiel near Valladolid from April 30^th to May 3^rd . No Great Golden Zarcillo’s were awarded to Port Wine products. The Romariz Colheita 1963 won a Golden Zarcillo (see also).
For more information see: http://www.premioszarcillo.com/opencms/opencms/premiados/index.html?__setlocale=en

International Wine Challenge 2007.
02/06/07. During the 24^th International Wine Challenge of William Reed Publishing/Wine & Spirit Magazine/Wine International the following gold medals were awarded to Port products:
-         Quinta da Prelada (Samuel Magelhãens e Silva)Vintage 2004.
-         Poças Vintage 2004.
-         Ferreira Q. do Porto 10 Years Old Tawny.
-         Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Sandeman 40 Years Old Tawny.
-         Ramos Pinto 30 Years Old Tawny.
-         Dalva (C. da Silva)Vintage 2004.
-         Burmester Colheita 1944.
-         Q. do Passadouro Vintage 2005.
-         Croft Q. da Roeda Vintage 1995.
-         Graham’s Malvedos Vintage 1996.
-         Graham’s LBV 2001.
-         Dow’s LBV 2001.
-         Dow’s 30 Years Old Tawny.
-         Dow’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Warre’s LBV 1999 Unfiltered.
-         Q. do Portal Vintage 2004.
-         Q. do Noval LBV 2000.
For more information and the many other awards see: www.internationalwinechallenge.com/default.aspx and choose Style: Fortified and Country: Portugal.

Revista de Vinhos no. 210, May 2007.
02/06/07. Unfortunately we have not yet received the May issue of this Portuguese magazine.

Benefício under attack.
05/05/07. After Adrian Bridge questioned the system of production rights for Port Wine in his article in the April issue of Revista de Vinhos (see below), Rupert Symington (vice director of the Symington Family Estates) followed suit. He says in an interview with the news agency Lusa that the production of low quality grapes has to be brought down drastically over the next years to keep the Port industry healthy.

Bridge suggest in his article, to completely abolish the benefício system for Port Wine or to also introduce such a system for Douro wines.

However, Symington argues in favour of buying up rights of producers of low quality grapes by owners of letter A vineyards with more grapes than benefício. A similar trade could be arranged through an auction and could be favourable for the entire region.
(Source: Comércio of 26/03/07.)

Vintages 2005 (2).
05/05/07. So far, we have found the following announcements of 2005 Vintages:
-         Niepoort.
And of The Fladgate Partnership:
-         Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas.
-         Taylor’s Q. de Terra Feita.
-         Fonseca Guimaraens Q. do Panascal.
-         Guimaraens.
-         Croft Q. da Roêda.

Gran Cruz wants to grow.
05/05/07. On March 19^th the Portuguese newspaper Diário Economíco wrote that the French Gran Cruz (see: www.portocruz.net) is trying to expand by offers for smaller Port houses. At the moment Gran Cruz is second in size with a market share of about 17%. Cruz is believed to have bid for Poças, J.H. Andresen and Wiese & Krohn. The French could be talking with CCVP (Companhia Comercial de Vinhos do Porto) about a take-over purchase of the whole company or only Castelinho Vinhos.

Is Joe Berardo able to resuscitate Casa do Douro?
05/05/07. Joe Berardo, owner of a Portuguese business empire with wine interests too, and Manuel António Santos, director of the Casa do Douro (CdoD), have launched plans that could radically change the Port Wine and Douro wine industry. Together they want to establish a company for the production and sale of Port Wines and Douro table wines. Other companies and cooperatives could join this initiative. Berardo calls such a plan necessary for the small producers and a possibility to save a part of the inheritance of the Port industry.
(Source: Diário Económico of 16/03/07.)

The CdoD would enter with its large Port Wine stocks and/or its 40% share in Real Companhia Velha (RCV) in the new company. However, banks have taken possession of all CdoD stocks because of its enormous debts. And the government has not admitted earlier plans going public with the 40% interest in RCV. This could now however happen indirectly through the plans for going public with all of Berardo’s wine interests.
In short there are more than enough problems, whilest some form of agreement also has to be reached with the large shippers.

For more information on Joe Berardo, who bought 33% of the Sogrape shares (including Sandeman) in July 2006, see our News items of 05/08/06 and 02/09/06.

Long CdoD (of 1932) was the most important organization in the Port industry. In 1990 this governmental institution bought 40% of the shares in RCV, also Royal Oporto, and consequently became a direct competitor of the large shippers, though the CdoD should be independent. This has caused major financial setbacks for the CdoD.
In 1997, after serious struggles, important CdoD activities were transferred to a new organization, the CIRDD. Late 2003 this organ was integrated into the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP). At the same time all involvement of the CdoD with the Douro table wines was transferred to the IVDP.
Since then especially the promotion of interests of the small producers and the cooperatives remains for the CdoD. The CdoD furthermore executes laboratory works for the IVDP and manages the vineyard land register (Cadastro) for this institute too.

Link of the month May 2007.
05/05/07. For this month we have chosen: www.pocas.pt
Manoel D. Poças Junior - Vinhos S.A. (of 1918) is one of the seven Port houses that are completely family owned.
The Poças website is light coloured and well organized. The good, but brief information is available in Portuguese, English and French.

Cálem: information in a cask.
05/05/07. A new location for their multimedia presentation has been put into use in the Cálem lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia. Information, as part of the guided tours, about the Douro region, the production from start to end and all types of Port Wine is presented in a large wine cask (balseiro). The presentations in six languages last five minutes. The cask offers over twenty seats.
In 2006 the visitors numbers to Cálem’s cellars increased by 20%. The company says it therefore has the most visited lodges in V.N. de Gaia.
(Source: www.agroportal.pt of 19/04/07.)

Q. do Crasto invests, also in hotel.
05/05/07. Quinta do Crasto (QdoC), of the Roquete family, is situated north of the Rio Douro in Gouvinhas (Sabrosa) between Peso da Régua and Pinhão. The company is 130 hectares in size of which 70 hectares are vineyards with Port rights class A.

Because of the large demand for its wines, QdoC will invest substantially in the production. This year 90,000 new vines have already been planted in 30 hectares. It concerns the traditional types Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca. Next year this planting program will be continued.
Furthermore, Quinta da Cabreira, in the Douro Superior near Castelo Melhor (Almandra) is being developed as supplier for QdoC. This quinta is 120 hectares in size, of which soon 80 hectares will be under vine.
Finally, a new warehouse and a new winery will be built which will double the production capacity.

In the field of the wine tourism, a restaurant and a shop will be constructed which will be inaugurated in September.
The crowning glory of these developments will be a hotel with ten rooms. In addition, four houses with Douro view will be renovated and will be made suitable for tourists.

The architects Eduardo Souto Moura and José Magelhães designed the hotel and houses project. The budget for this project amounts to over 1.5 million Euros.
(Source: Jornal de Notícias - Negócias of 05/04/07.)

Symington invests in Cockburn’s.
05/05/07. Until 2012, the Symington Family Estates (including Graham’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, see: www.symington.com) will invest five million Euros in the vineyards and the four wineries of Cockburn’s (see: www.cockburns-usa.com) amongst other things through the self developed robot lagares.
In 2006 the Symington group bought Cockburn’s from Beam Global (see our News item of 02/09/06). Because of this the market share of the group increased from 17% to 22%. The trade grew with 17 million to 85 million Euros.
However, Symington is not the largest Port producer in volume after this acquisition. But the company is now market leader, with a share of 36%, in the important Special Categories.
In the twentieth century Cockburn’s, founded in 1815, maintained its good image, but ended up in difficulties because of lacking investments.
By purchasing Cockburn’s, the Symington Family Estates doubled its area class A vineyards to 950 hectares. The Port Wine stocks increased with the about 30,000 Cockburn’s pipas to some 120,000 pipas (of 550 litres).
(Source: ICEP Empresas of 18/04/07.)

Links page: additions in May 2007.
05/05/07. We added to Port links:
- www.castelinho-vinhos.com
- www.cellaraiders.com with Port Wine offers.
- www.douromagico.net photo site of Lúcia Duarte.
- www.ep-agricola-rodo.rcts.pt a school which makes and markets a Port Wine. Quinta do Rodo.
- www.sogrape.pt/gourmet With many combination advices and a special taste disc.

IVDP events calendar as of May 2007.
05/05/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Denmark, England, France and Portugal:

Denmark:
. May 7th - Port wine tasting in Aarhus.

England:
. May 22nd-24th - London International Wine and Spirits Fair.

France:
. June 17th-21st - Vinexpo 2007 - Bordeaux.

Portugal:
. May 27th-30th - Alimentária - Salão International de Alimantação - Parque das Nações - FIL Lisbon.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Wine Masters Challenge 2007 - Estoril.
05/05/07. During the ninth Wine Masters Challenge in Estoril, Portugal from March 23rd to 25th the following medals were awarded to Port Wine Products:
- Adega Cooperativa de Alijó D'Alijob Tawny.
- Adriano Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira Vintage 2004.
- Gran Cruz 30 Years Old Tawny.
- Mário Joaquim da Rocha Braga Herdeiros S. Leonardo 30 Years Old Tawny.
- Rozès LBV 2000.
- Barros Colheita 1998.
- Vallegre Vista Alegre Vintage 2004.
More information and the other medals and recommendations can be found at: www.winemasters.pt/results.htm

Challenge International du Vin - Bordeaux.
05/05/07. During the 31st Challenge International du Vin in Bourg-sur-Gironde, Bordeaux the following gold and silver medals were awarded to Port Wine products:
- Kopke Colheita 1938 - goud.
- Barão de Vilar Colheita 1997 - goud.
- Sandeman LBV 2000 - zilver.
- Poças 20 Years Old Tawny - zilver.
More information and the bronze medals can be found at: www.challengeduvin.com/search_palmares.php and choose Europe: Portugal and Apellation: DOC Porto.

Revista de Vinhos no. 209, April 2007.
05/05/07. The April issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Vintage 1994:
João Paulo Martins describes the current position of one of the best Vintages of the last decades. The tasting panel classified the wines in three groups:
-         To drink now: Rozès, Q. do Estanho, Burmester, Kopke, Barros en Poças.
-         To drink or to store: Fonseca, Q. do Noval. Warre’s, Q. do Crasto, Quarles Harris, Smith Woodhouse, Q. de la Rosa, Delaforce, Cálem, Ramos Pinto, Offley en Romariz.
-         To store: Graham’s, Gould Campbell, Dow’s, Ferreira, Q. do Vesúvio, Ramos Pinto Ervamoira, Croft en Taylor’s.

Benefício:
Adrian Bridge (general director of The Fladgate Partnership, including Taylor’s) states, in an article written by him, that at the moment the Port industry is obliged to subsidize the table wine production. The system of production rights - benefício - was meant to limit the Port production and to maintain level the prices, but according to him this is no longer working because of the pressure of the current world market. He suggests to completely abolish the system or to introduce a benefício system for the Douro wines production too.

First 2005 Vintage announced by Gerd Gerhard.
07/04/07. Most Vintages are announced on or around Saint Jorge’s Day (or Dia de São Jorge) on April 23^rd . However, as far as we know Gerd Gerhard has had the scoop for the 2005 Vintage on his excellent German weblog, especially dedicated to Port and Douro wines. On February 26^th he announced a tasting with the Niepoort 2005 Vintage on March 2^nd in Bonn.
For more information see: http://port-blog.typepad.com/

LBV prices under pressure.
07/04/07. On March 9^th, Amy Wislocki and Adam Lechmere published an article entitled “LBV Port suffering supermarket discounting” at Decanter Online.
AXA’s and Quinta do Noval’s director Christian Seely says in this article that it is becoming uneconomic to produce LBV because of price-slashing by the big Port houses, among other things by the large offer of great quality LBV’s.
Paul Symington (Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, etc.) agrees that prices have been slashed, but also says that producers have less control over retail prices. Supermarkets are able to deep-discount a Port as a loss-leader, for example around Christmas to draw buyers in.
The article can be found at: www.decanter.com/news/112423.html

Link of the month April 2007.
07/04/07. For this month we have chosen: www.delaforce.com
In 2001 the drinks concern Diageo sold the Port houses Croft and Delaforce to The Fladgate Partnership (then still known as Taylor and Fonseca). In spite of this a text on this website says that Delaforce indeed is part of the independent family group The Fladgate Partnership, but is owned by descendants of the Yeatman Family who manage the company too.
The website has been designed nicely in mainly blue and white and is well readable. The information is good and is available in English, German and Dutch. The two last languages are rare on Port Wine websites.

Various tourist news April 2007. 07/04/07.

- About 630,000 people visited the Port wine lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia in 2006, over 6% up in comparison with 2005. The most important countries of origin were Portugal, France, Spain, England and Italy.

- In January the first stone was laid for the Museu de Arte e Arqueologia do Vale do Côa, the museum that owns its founding to the Palaeolithic rock drawings in the river Côa valley. The triangular building, on the right bank of the estuary of the Rio Côa in the Rio Douro, will be 190 metres long and will have a surface area of 6,000 square metres. It is expected that the museum will be ready at the end of 2008. See also: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Archaeology_and_palaeolithic_art.

-   The chances for the re-opening of the railway between Pocinho and Barca d’Alva at the Spanish
     border have again increased slightly because of the building of this Museu do Côa. See also:
     www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Transport.

- Under consideration is also the creation of a jetty for cruise boats near this Museu do Côa.

- On March 19^th the alteration was started of the Casa da Companhia in Peso da Régua to become the permanent housing of the Museu do Douro. The project is executed by the company João Fernandes da Silva from Braga under architectural design by Duarte Cunha. The construction time is sixteen months, after which the museum has to be furnished. See also: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Museu_do_Douro.

- The Refer, the Portuguese organization for the infrastructure of the railroad network, has announced it wants to invest two million Euros in the railway from Tua to Mirandela. Maybe this will prevent the earlier announced closing of the line. See also: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Transport.

- Spanish and Portuguese companies want to invest six million Euros in the reconstruction of the Spanish village Saucelhe, seven kilometres from the border town Freixo de Espada à Cinta, turning it into a tourist centre with 300 beds. The first of the 22 houses to be renovated could already be finished in March of this year. A restaurant is already open. Fourteen new houses, a hospedaria with 21 rooms and a hotel with 18 rooms can be inaugurated at the end of 2007. Simultaneously swimming pools and more restaurants will be built.

Success for Q. do Portal.
07/04/07. The trade of Quinta do Portal, the company of the Mansilha Branco family, last year reached a level of 3.65 million Euros, or 17% more than in 2005. The export increased by 35%. The trade in Portugal also grew. The United States, Russia and Brazil are promising markets, although competition is fierce in the US. In 2006 Port Wine was 60% of total trade, the part of table wines is increasing. This year general director Castro Ribeiro expects an increase of the trade by 20%.
The renovation and extension of the winery, the bottling plant, the warehouse and the visitors centre, designed by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, will be ready in September.
(Source Jornal de Negócios of 12/03/07.)

Tasting of 18 Taylor’s Vintages in Wine Enthusiast.
07/04/07. The American magazine Wine Enthusiast has organized a tasting with eighteen Taylor’s Vintages from 1900 to 2000. Fourteen wines scored 95 points or more. Both, the 1992 Vintage and the 2000 Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage got 100 points.
Extensive information in Portuguese can be found at Lusowine at: www.lusowine.com/displayarticle2710.html

IVDP shop at airport Oporto closed.
07/04/07. On March 1^st the splendid new shop of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto at the airport Francisco Sá Carneiro in Oporto was closed because of the decreased trade in virtue of the new safety rules in the civil aviation. The volume limitation of liquids, which passengers are allowed to take along, also caused a reduction of the sales of Port and Douro wines.
On October 15^th , 2005 the shop had just been reopened after a radical alteration. See also: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#IVDP_Shops.

Sales numbers January - February 2007.
07/04/07. The sales of Standard Ports have again decreased in the first months of this year. Also the revenue of the more important Special Categories have now decreased. Only the volume of these Special Categories still rose. The latest numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold decreased by 3%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 4.7%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 2.4%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold decreased by 3.9%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of April 2007.
07/04/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Brasil, Denmark, England, France and the USA:

Brasil:
. April 24th-26th - Expovinis - São Paulo.

Denmark:
. May 7th - Port wine tasting in Aarhus.

England:
. May 22nd-24th - London International Wine and Spirits Fair.

France:
. June 17th-21st - Vinexpo 2007 - Bordeaux.

USA:
Tastings of Portuguese wines and Port Wines, with:
- seminar for the trade about wine regions and Portuguese grape types.
- tasting for the trade and journalists.
- tasting for wine club members.
. April 12th - San Francisco.
. April 15th - Miami.
. April 17th - Chicago.
. April 19th - New York.
See: http://www.ivdp.pt/destaque.asp?cod=77

Sélections Mondiales des Vins 2007 - Québec.
07/04/07. During the fourteenth Sélections Mondiales des Vins in Québec, Canada from February 5^th to 9^th the following Golden Awards were granted to Port products:
-         Barros Colheita 1996.
-         Burmester 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Cálem 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Feist (Sogevinus/Barros Almeida) Colheita 1986.
-         (Wiese &) Krohn Colheita 1978.
-         Krohn Colheita 1982.
-         Quinta da Prelada Vintage 2004, Samuel Magelhaes e Silva, Herdeiros.
-         Q. do Castelinho Vintage 2003, Castelinho Vinhos, S.A. (CCVP).
-         Romariz Colheita 1994.
-         Romariz LBV 2001.
More information and the many other awards can be found at: http://smvcanada.ca/en/index.html

Vinalies Internationales 2007 - Parijs.
07/04/07. The L’Union des Oenologues de France organized the Vinalies Internationales 2007 in Paris from March 2^nd to 6th. Gold medals went to the:
-         Barão de Vilar Colheita 1997.
-         Burmester Colheita 1999.
-         Ferreira Quinta do Porto 10 Years Old Tawny.
-         Kopke Colheita 1967.
-         Sandeman 10 Years Old Tawny.
-         Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny.
-         Sandeman 30 Years Old Tawny.
-         Sandeman LBV 2000.
More information and the silver medals can be found at: www.vinalies-internationales.fr/fr/resultats-vinalies-internationales.php?langue=fr and choose Pays: Portugal and Région: Douro.

Vinitaly 2007 - Verona.
07/04/07. During the 41^st Vinitaly in Verona, Italië from March 29^th to April 2^nd , the 15^th International Wine Competition and the 12^th International Packaging Competition were organized.

In the Wine Competition the Special Vinitaly 2007 Premium for Portugal was awarded to Sogevinus (Cálem, Burmester, Kopke, etc.). In the same competition the following Port Wines won a medal:
-         Sogevinus Kopke Colheita 1938 - Great Gold Medal.
-         Sogevinus Kopke 20 Years Old Tawny - Gold Medal.
-         Quinta do Estanho 20 Years Old Tawny - Bronze Medal.

In the Packaging Competition a Special Mention went to the Romariz Colheita 1994.

For more information see: www.vinitaly.it/concorsoenologico/interna.asp?sezione=resultati

Revista de Vinhos no. 208, March 2007.
07/04/07. The March issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New product:
The (Wiese &) Krohn Colheita 1982 gets 17.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Quinta do Noval:
João Paulo Martins and João Afonso review this king amongst the quintas. They emphatically state that the vines in the parcel that produces the Noval Nacional are definitely not from before the phylloxera period. They also participated in a special tasting. Of the second brand Silval, they tasted all years from 1997 to 2003 and valued them with 16.5 to 18 points. Of Noval, they tasted the years 94, 95, 97, 2000, 03 and 04 and came to ratings from 16.5 to 18.5. Of Nacional, they tasted and valued both the 94 and 96 with 19 points, the 97 with 17.5 points, the 99 with 18.5 points, both the 2000 and 01 with 18 points and the 03 with 19.5 points.
Please note: The photographs in the Virtual Tour at the QdoN website have recently been changed to panoramic 360° photos. See: http://www.quintadonoval.com/virtual/index.html

João Portugal Ramos and José Maria Soares Franco:
João Paulo Martins and Luís Lopes interviewed these two leading man from the Portuguese wine industry who have been friends since childhood and also studied together. Earlier this year J.M.S. Franco surprised the market with the announcement that he would leave Sogrape. Among other things he was their winemaker of the famous red table wine Barca Velha, the brainchild of Fernando Nicolau de Almeida. Together with J.P Ramos he will now start a new project in the Douro with mainly red table wine, but also white table wine and Port Wine. The production will already start in 2007. Apart from delivery by other producers there are also plans for own plantings.

School markets 10 Years Old Tawny.
03/03/07. In December 2006 students and teachers of the Escola Profissional e Agrícola de Desenvolvimento Rural do Rodo in Peso da Régua marketed a 10 Years Old Tawny. It is the first and only school which ever produced and marketed a Port wine. The whole process has been approved by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP).
Before, the wine was always produced at Quinta do Rodo but when the school came into possession of the quinta, they suddenly owned about 100,000 litres. The school’s headmaster, Luís Maduro, said to the newspaper Jornal de Notícias: “We wanted to make it into a profitable business, also because our warehouses were full.”
In 2003 the Port wine came into the possession of the school and in that year the brand “Quinta do Rodo” was created. The first lot is 6,000 litres in size and has of course been approved by the IVDP.
The wine was made of the traditional grape types and has been blended by the students, the teachers and the staff of the quinta. It has been especially stocked in casks of part Portuguese oak and some part chestnut. The price is about nine Euros a bottle. The best clients are schools in the northeast of Transmontana and by mid January over a half of the stock had already been sold.
See also: www.ep-agricola-rodo.rcts.pt/home=/index.htm
(Source: Jornal de Notícias of 16/01/07.)

Revista de Vinhos : “The Best of the Year 2006.”
03/03/07. The editors of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos have published their choice of “The Best of the Year 2006” in the no. 207 issue of February 2007. The following awards were granted to the Port wine industry:
-         Producer of the Year: Domingos Alves de Sousa (including Quinta da Gaivosa, see www.alvesdesousa.com) De Sousa also won this award in 1999, it is the first time that this award was granted two times to the same company by RdeV.
-         Company of the Year: Dão Sul equal with Niepoort, for their table wines, but Dirk will always be Dirk.
-         Winemaker of the Year (fortified wines): Peter and Charles Symington. Last year only father Peter, but now completely correct, father and son together.
-         Winegrower of the Year: Real Companhia Velha.
-         Wine tourism of the Year: Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, see: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#14.2c_Quinta_Nova.
-         There were awards of Excellence for the SPR Vinhos Dom Rozès Over 40 Years Old Tawny and the (Wiese and) Krohn Colheita 1966.
-         Best from the Port region awards went to eleven Port products.
-         Best Buy awards were granted to twenty Port producers.

Caves da Porca will be Caves de Murça.

03/03/07. To prevent misunderstandings, Adega Cooperativa de Murça will change its main brand name “Caves da Porca” into “Caves de Murça” or Adega de Murça”, because “Porca” is associated too much with pigs. This problem only doesn’t play in the interior market, because the indication “da Porca” is well known there and because this pig is the symbol of the town of Murça where a statue of the animal can also be found.

Link of the month March 2007.
03/03/07. For this month we have chosen www.quintaderoriz.com
Q. de Roriz is jointly owned by João van Zeller and The Symington Family. The company dates from before 1757. Since 1815 the quinta is in possession of the van Zeller Family. In 1999 a partnership was arranged with The Symington Family. From that year on, a Vintage has been made every year until 2004. Other Port wines are not marketed with their own name.
The website has been nicely designed, is well readable and is illustrated nice but not dominated by, photographs. The clear information is available in English and Portuguese.

Sales numbers for the whole of 2006.
03/03/07. The small increase of the sales figures in 2005 was not continued in 2006. Numbers of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto show that:

-    the volume of all Port sold decreased by 2.1 % to 90.56 million litres.
-    the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 2.2 % to 393,7 million Euros.

-    the volume of the Special Categories sold increased by 3.7 % to 17.75 million litres or 19.4 % of total
     trade.
-    the revenue of the Special Categories sold increased by 1.4 % to 144,9 million Euros or 36.6 % of total
      trade.

-    the average price decreased by 0.1 % to 4.34 Euros a litre.

The top 6 in volume were:

France 28.1 %; - 0.5 %.
The Netherlands 15.3 %; - 8.6 %.
Portugal 14.3 %; + 1.2 %.
België 12.3 %; - 3.8 %.
UK 11.2 %; - 4.3 %.
USA 4.6 %; + 12.6 %.

The top 6 in revenue were:

France 22 %; - 2 %.
Portugal 16.2 %; + 1.9 %.
UK 12.5 %; - 4.5 %.
The Netherlands 12.1 %; - 8.1 %.
Belgium 10.3 %; - 2.9 %.
USA 8.7 %; + 3.9 %.

The top 6 in volume for the Special Categories were:

UK 34.5 %; + 0.6 %.
USA 15.1 %; + 10.1 %.
Portugal 10.8 %; + 18.5 %.
France 10.3 %; - 0.1 %.
Canada 8.1 %; - 9.6 %.
The Netherlands 6.3 %; + 15.7 %.

The top 6 in revenue for the Special Categories were:

UK 27.8 %; - 0.8 %.
USA 19.2 %; + 2 %.
Portugal 15 %; + 13.2 %.
Canada 9.7 %; - 7.2 %.
France 8.5 %; - 1.8 %.
The Netherlands 6 %; + 8.1 %.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of March 2007.
03/03/07. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Denmark, England, France, Germany and Japan:

Denmark:
. May 7th - Port wine tasting in Aarhus.

England:
. May 22nd-24th - London International Wine and Spoirits Fair.

France:
. June 17th-21st - Vinexpo 2007 - Bordeaux.

Germany:
. March 18th-21st - Prowein - Dusseldorf.

Japan:
. March 13th-16th - Foodex 2007 - Tokio.

Wine Enthusiast Top 100 - 2006.
03/03/07. Two Port wines are in the Top 100 - 2006 of the American magazine Wine Enthusiast:
-    91^st place Taylor Fladgate 40 Years Old Tawny with 95 points.
-         96^th place W & J Graham’s 10 Years Old Tawny with 92 points.
For more information see: http://www.winemag.com/top2006/top_wines10.asp#nav

Essência do Vinho 2007.
03/03/07. From 16 to 18 February, the forth edition of Essência do Vinho in the Palácio da Bolsa in Oporto drew 16,000 visitors, over 40 % more than in 2006.
The following EdoV prizes went to the Port industry through a total of over 13,000 votes:
-         Best producer: Sogrape (including: Ferreira, Offley, Sandeman).
-         Best Port wine: Kopke Vintage 2003.
-         Award for Praiseworthiness and Excellence: João Nicolau de Almeida (director and winemaker of Ramos Pinto).
The following Port wines are in the Top 10 of an international tasting with the tasting panel of the Portuguese magazine blue Wine and international critics:
-         First place in that category: Croft’s Quinta da Roeda Vintage 2004 equal with Dow’s Q. da Senhora da Ribeira Vintage 2004.
-         Second was Wine and Soul Pintas Vintage 2004.
For more information see: http://www.essenciadovinho.com/

Revista de Vinhos no. 206, January 2007.
03/03/07. The only Port news in the January issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos is an extensive tasting of thirty-six Vintages 2004 entitled “More concentration, more elegance”.
The very best , with 17.5 points, are Fonseca Guimaraens, Quinta de Ervamoira and Taylor’s Vargellas.
At the bottom of the list we find Caves Vale do Rodo of the Cooperativa de Peso da Régua with 15.5 points.

Revista de Vinhos no. 207, February 2007.
03/03/07. Besides “The Best of the Year 2006” (see above) the February issue of Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port wine:

Table wine of The Fladgate Partnership:
The editor says in his preface that The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonsaca, Croft, Delaforce) has acquired 17 % of the stocks of Messias and in this way has launched the Vinho da Pólvora, a Douro table wine under 5 Euros. This can be considered amazing, as the group always asserted with great decisiveness to only want to occupy itself with Port wine.

New product:
The Quinta do Tedo Vintage 2004 gets 16 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Taylor’s:
Fernando Melo describes the tourist activities in the Taylor's complex in Vila Nova de Gaia. Melo rates it with 18 points on a score chart to 20. For the excellent restaurant in the complex see: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Lodges (last paragraph).