BIG & BREAKING NEWS: IVDP - VIOLENCE IN THE DOURO - BENEFICIO

[Roy Hersh]

Everybody who cares enough to be a part of this Forum should read this article. This is an astounding turn of events and especially at this time of year.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2011/0 ... -in-douro/

[Andy Velebil]

I think I've got an extra riot helmet for anyone going. Seriously, it's horrible news that things had to get this bad to get the governments attention and to force them to take action. The reduction in Beneficio was huge when I first heard about so I guess in hind sight something was bound to have happened. But who would have thought it would have been so drastic. First and foremost, hopefully no one was injured and I hope this incident will be the first and last of it's type. A sad day for sure.

[Eric Menchen]

So was the slashed beneficio a result of the harvest assessment, or just a political or economic thing? If the latter, they should have gone more gently and hoped no one really noticed.

[Derek T.]

This is quite unbelievable.

All I can say is "well done, Paul!" for speaking up so candidly in support of the people who have been the backbone of the Douro for centuries.

Today I was alerted to another article on the same website from a few months ago that might have already been discussed here but, with this new context, is probably worth repeating:

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2011/0 ... rom-douro/

What a sad day for the industry that all here love and support.

[Christian Gollnick]

Thanks for sharing these two articles, Roy and Derek. This whole issue is terrible, especially for the small farmers. It seems like history repeats itself over and over again - how often have we heard the sentence "O Douro da crise e fome" over the last centuries. Crisis and hunger - the old problems. The amazing thing is that Portugal has a high-profile product that nobody really can copy. No port wine can be produced in China or Taiwan (as far as I know...) - and even so Portugal and the port industry have somehow not managed to position this fantastic product in a way that the whole world wants it and is willing to pay huge premiums for it.
When you see all the hard work that goes into port wine (creating the vine yards, grafting the wines, protect them against everything that nature throws at them, harvesting the grapes with only minimal use of machines, processing the grapes, storing and working with the wine over so many years) than I have the feeling that port is too cheap. We all love to buy a decent port at a cheap price... but when I look at what we pay, and what all the middlemen have earned, then it's clear that just a very small amount of cash ends up at the wine maker.
Therefore only a little bit of cash trickles down to the small farmers, who are never able to create some wealth from their wine growing. They remain vulnerable in case that something small crisis happens, as they depend heavily on the cash from the grape sales.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to have a long conversation with Dominic Symington. It is obvious that he cares very much for the small growers. He is absolutely aware of all the people that depend on port wine and wants to see them all live well and prosper - I'm sure he is absolutely not happy about the current situation. Every grower has a family... so when we speak about 35,000 small growers, the number grows quickly to 100,000 effected people when you consider spouses and children.
When we look at the statistics that are published by the IVDP, then we see that the port industry really faces a huge problem. We have seen over-production during the last years, while the sales went south. I think that the beneficio last year was too high and should have been reduced. Maybe the current level is the "right" level for the time being - but it should not have been done in one drastic step, but in several smaller steps over a few years.
Another problem is that it might be that this year some really nice wines are produced - and the companies are not allowed to produce as much fantastic vintage as they might have been able to... (Mental note to myself: In Summer 2013, better get your orders for VP 2011 in quickly before all the good stuff is sold...).
The port industry has to reach out more to the people. It's fun to have a tasting with 20 vintages from 1863 to 1963 - however, the bread-and-butter-business for port are just plain-vanilla Tawnies and Rubies... that are not very sexy and that don't get a lot of mentioning in the blogs and newspapers... The pink port (which I still consider somehow as a distant and weird cousin rather than a close member of the port wine family... I'm sorry for being so puritan and conservative... :) ) is a step towards that... Get a drink that young people drink in bars and clubs, and it will have a great long-term-effect on all port wine).
Also: the Portuguese themselves have to learn about port. To have one bottle of cheap Ruby in the house, that will be drunk half on Christmas and the other half on Easter, is just not enough...
The things that attract me to port (the history, the exclusivity, the sophisticated people, the traditions) are maybe exactly the things that scare other people away... I don't want that we get to a level where teenager have port-wine-shots at the beach-party in Lloret de Mar... but I'm sure that there is a huge market potential for port our there that the current marketing campaigns have not yet reached.
I'm sure that every one of us is doing a great job at promoting port to our friends and colleagues (I at least turn every social event into a reason to drink some port...) - but it seems that we are just not enough to save our industry...
The EUR 8 million that the Portuguese government "confiscated" from the IVDP could have used for a really impressive marketing campaign... but now there is only bitterness towards a government that has no real idea what a treasure the port industry is... Accusations will be flying back and forth, in the end there are no winners... The EUR 8 million will disappear between all the billions of EUR that Portugal owes to the world, and the port industry has to build up the reserves from scratch... Crise e fome... again.
So, that was a much longer post than I planned originally - but this whole situation makes me on the one side sad and frustrated, but on the other side I also want to help... Therefore: Get more friends to try port, demand port in restaurants (no vintage!!!!! that doesn't work), build up your collection now to create additional demand from the liquor stores and double your own port consumption...

[Andy Velebil]

Christian,
First let me welcome you to FTLOP . A great first post that I will comment on shortly when I have a little more time. But I did want to ask if you work in the industry in some capacity?

[Christian Gollnick]

Thank you, Andy, for the nice welcome. And no, unfortunately I don't work in the industry... But port and Portugal are my passion...

[Derek T.]

Are you the same Christian who is responsible for 5% of your countries entire port consumption?

[Christian Gollnick]

Hello Derek.... Yes, that is me... But that is unfortunately not a difficult achievement if you live in the Cayman Islands... Everybody else here drinks Red Stripe or Corona... However, I have managed another achievement that is very difficult to copy: I have bought at least a bottle of port in EVERY port-selling liquor-store in my country!!! Try this in the UK or USA...

[Derek T.]

Hello Derek.... Yes, that is me... But that is unfortunately not a difficult achievement if you live in the Cayman Islands... Everybody else here drinks Red Stripe or Corona... However, I have managed another achievement that is very difficult to copy: I have bought at least a bottle of port in EVERY port-selling liquor-store in my country!!! Try this in the UK or USA...

Good to see you here, Christian, and thank you for your insightful post above.

Back on topic, I wonder where this will end. The economy of the Douro, particularly of the independent farming community, has been sadly neglected by the authorities for many year. Some port shippers actively speak out against the regulations and "traditions" that cause the misery we are seeing now but unfortunately there are not many public voices that support practical ways of dealing with the problem. Hopefully the events of the past week will cause a change for the good. Unfortunately, history suggests otherwise.

Perhaps it is time for the port-drinking community to step-up and have a voice on this? We can debate it here until the end of time but relatively few will read our words. How do we get a message to the Portuguese government and the IVDP to let them know out thoughts? Perhaps it is time for some good old-fashioned letter writing? And, as Christian suggests, buy more port!!!

[Marc J.]

Wow!!! I knew that the beneficio was a contentious topic, but I had no idea that the reduction would result in violence. I just seems to me that the drastic reduction in the beneficio was a little extreme and possibly should have been re-evaluated. I do hope that a compromise can be reached fairly quickly and without additional violence.

[Moses Botbol]

What are the solutions?

If Symingtons or TFP could choose their short & long term roadmap, what would it be?

[Victor D.]

Everybody who cares enough to be a part of this Forum should read this article. This is an astounding turn of events and especially at this time of year.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2011/0 ... -in-douro/

The last line in the article SAYS IT ALL IMHO.

For folks traveling there anytime soon, check with the State Dept., their web site or call to get the latest status of the situation. MANY times what you read publicly, is NOT the full story. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... _1168.html Always good to know where embassy's are located, etc. Enrollment in the STEP program is also a beneficial thing to do. https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/

As you know, (politically speaking), we being Americans are not the most well liked folks out there. Not saying this is the case out in Portugal, just be VERY well informed before you travel anywhere abroad.

Vic

[Christian Gollnick]

Hi Vic:

Well.... I have seen a few of the videos on Youtube about this "manifestacao" of the grape farmers... And I'm sure you would have been fine, if you would have been in Regua... Even as an American... As you say, what the media report is not always the reality... And what the State Department says, also not necessary... It's often in their interest to exaggerate... If you think that an American should be careful when he/she travels to the Douro, then I have the feeling that the media and the Government have won in their try to plant fear into the citizens... In my eyes, the Douro is and will stay one of the safer places on this planet... The way that Homeland Security treats the people at the airport is for sure worse than anything that might wait for you in the Douro...

[Victor D.]

I was not saying this or that about Portugal, but anywhere one travels. We're at war and have been for a long time since 9/11. That is not fear, but a sad true fact at the present time. I could go on and on about case files about US citizens abroad....

One who travels abroad needs to be diligent at all times is all I'm saying. Govy anti uprisings and it's citizens is common in many places across the globe as of late.

[Andy Velebil]

Victor,
I understand your points and as someone who works in law enforcement I am one who is always very aware of what is going on around me, especially when I travel. The Douro is one of the few places I've been where I've never felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable. Keep in mind that the Douro has over 30,000 independent grape growers, so most people who live in the Douro area are somehow connected to growing grapes. It's always amazing how many people seem to know, or know of, everyone else there, like one big extended family. And while I'm not naive enough to think some crime doesn't exist there, it's also one of the safest places I've been.

[Moses Botbol]

I have to agree with Andy. The Douro is as safe and friendly as a place can be.

[Derek T.]

I was not saying this or that about Portugal, but anywhere one travels. We're at war and have been for a long time since 9/11. That is not fear, but a sad true fact at the present time. I could go on and on about case files about US citizens abroad....

One who travels abroad needs to be diligent at all times is all I'm saying. Govy anti uprisings and it's citizens is common in many places across the globe as of late.

Victor,

I'm not American, so I might have a different frame of reference on such things, but I have to say that the few people in the world who have a desire to bring terror into the lives of the rest of us have won the battle if we allow ourselves to believe for one second that a few angry farmers in a remote Douro village can in any way be associated with 9/11 and the many other horrible atrocities that have happened before and since. I am quite sure those farmers and the people who we know in the port trade would be quite rightly insulted by that association.

Having been there many times I have to agree with Andy and Moses. The Douro valley is one of the friendliest places on earth. Unfortunately, the region has a long and sad history of poverty that is not yet over. The last thing its people need is anyone doing or saying anything that might dissuade others from visiting, spending money and helping to bring investment and prosperity. Please don't tar these people with the same brush as those cause mayhem in our world, no matter how tenuous the connection you are making, as it just plain wrong and unfair to do so.

Derek

[Victor D.]

Indeed Derek, you're NOT an American and do not have a clue what some Americans have endured.

This was a friendly courtesy for Americans to always take precautions when abroad period, You being a NON American may not understand that and I take exception with your tone. You're really are out of line and NO exception was taken up to now with anyone (except your tone), this was a SIMPLE precaution nothing more.

So please do not tar as you say an innocent reminder for precautions as you have no idea what is happening.

Victor Di Cosola

[Derek T.]

Victor,

Please calm down.

Despite what you seem to believe, Americans are not the only people who suffer the effects of terrorism. For my entire life the UK has lived with the threat and impact of innocent people being killed by terrorists, so I am not as ignorant of such things as you accuse me of being.

I do not in any way deny that vigilance is a good thing. But I stand by what I say above in that the situation in Regua and the Douro cannot in any way be considered in the same context as the horrors 9/11 or the bombings and mass killings in London, Europe, Mumbai and Africa in recent years.

Derek