For The Love Of Port

This site has recently had a rather large make over. Lots of pictures and it seems pretty easy to find things using the search feature, at least from the little bit I've used it recently. Worth checking out.

What does everyone think?

http://malvedos.wordpress.com/

Great story on the 1909 flood but I do miss the "Tracking the Season" reports. I wish they were published more promptly.

The picture of the Dom Luis bridge in the 1909 flood story is pretty amazing.

I notice that they refer to their '82 commemorative tawny as a 'Single Harvest Tawny Port' and not a Colheita.

Mahmoud.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I notice that they refer to their '82 commemorative tawny as a 'Single Harvest Tawny Port' and not a Colheita.

Mahmoud.

Yes so does The Fladgate Partnership. It's a British thing

Andy Velebil wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I notice that they refer to their '82 commemorative tawny as a 'Single Harvest Tawny Port' and not a Colheita.

Mahmoud.

Yes so does The Fladgate Partnership. It's a British thing

It's also more of a branding thing than anything else - it still says Colheita on the label (as required by Portuguese law), it's just hidden in the fine print.

Glenn E. wrote:it still says Colheita on the label (as required by Portuguese law)

Glenn - are you sure that it is still required by Portuguese law? I haven't had time to look up, but Oscar Quevedo suggests otherwise in his blog (link to article and quote below)

Oscar Quevedo wrote:Few days ago I realized that “Colheita”, although being generally accepted to identify this type of Port Wine, is not mandatory to be written on the label. Only the year of the harvest need to be on the label, complemented, if wished, by English terminology.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I notice that they refer to their '82 commemorative tawny as a 'Single Harvest Tawny Port' and not a Colheita.

Mahmoud.

Has anyone tracked down when the term "colheita" was first used specifically in reference to wood-aged port from a single harvest? I suspect it is later than many would imagine.

I offer two observations:

(i) colheita simply means "harvest". When i travelled in Portugal, there were all sorts of non-fortified (and presumably non-douro) wines labelled "Quinta do [XXX] Colheita 20[YY]" - red wines, white wines, and "colheita tardia" (late harvest wines). For the portuguese, it did not seem to be a term reserved for wood-aged port in the way that UK / US consumers might assume (though i am happy to be corrected).

(ii) from the snippets i have seen of the old UK merchants' lists from the 1910 - 1950 decades, this type of port was described as "aged in wood" , "late bottled" (even after 20 years in wood!) or something similar. Derek T and Julian W have, of course, scoured these lists very thoroughly so may be able to offer more insight into nomenclature through the ages and the etymology of "colheita" in the port context.

Rob C. wrote:

Glenn E. wrote:it still says Colheita on the label (as required by Portuguese law)

Glenn - are you sure that it is still required by Portuguese law? I haven't had time to look up, but Oscar Quevedo suggests otherwise in his blog (link to article and quote below)

Oscar Quevedo wrote:Few days ago I realized that “Colheita”, although being generally accepted to identify this type of Port Wine, is not mandatory to be written on the label. Only the year of the harvest need to be on the label, complemented, if wished, by English terminology.

Hmm... no, not sure. I'm sure Oscar is correct and my info is either old or mis-remembered!