At Vila Nova de Gaia, on the south side of the Douro at Porto, the river flows under the Ponte de Dom Luis towards the Atlantic, 550 miles from its source in northern Spain.
Dazzling light and ferocious heat bounces off white stones.
Other than access to the river (and the lower taxes that brought Port producers here in the first place) it seems an unlikely place to make and store wines.
Vila Nova de Gaia, photographed by Stuart George in July 2010.
A Colheita is a Port wine from a single year that has been aged in wood for at least seven years – essentially a vintage-dated Tawny Port.
The economics of aged Ports are challenging. It means locked-up capital, loss of wine by evaporation, and high insurance charges.
A Port shipper has to make wine that will not be bottled or sold for perhaps 50 years or more. A modern bank manager would be appalled by such a business plan.
But It does mean that these exceptional wines are great value for money for 50-year olds 😁.
“Even though the clock would like to convince us otherwise, time is not the same for everyone…”. – José Saramago, Todos os Nomes (All The Names)