Editing Port wine (section)

==History and tradition==
{{See also|History of Portuguese wine}}

The wine-producing Douro region is the third oldest protected [[appellation|wine region]] in the world after [[Chianti]], in 1716, and [[Tokaj]], in 1730.

In 1756, during the rule of the [[Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal|Marquis of Pombal]], the [[Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro]] (C.G.A.V.A.D., also known as the General Company of Viticulture of the Upper Douro or [[Douro Wine Company]]), was founded to guarantee the quality of the product and fair pricing to the end consumer. The C.G.A.V.A.D. was also in charge of regulating which port wine would be for export or internal consumption and managing the protected geographic indication.<ref name="ocw"/>{{rp|536–540}}

In 1678, a Liverpool wine merchant sent two new representatives to [[Viana do Castelo Municipality|Viana do Castelo]], north of Oporto, to learn the wine trade. While on a vacation in the Douro, the two gentlemen visited the Abbot of Lamego, who treated them to a "very agreeable, sweetish and extremely smooth" wine, which had been fortified with a distilled spirit. The two Englishmen were so pleased with the product that they purchased the abbot's entire lot and shipped it home.<ref name="Southeby's pg 334">{{Cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Tom |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/148799493 |title=The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia |date=2007 |publisher=DK |others=Sotheby's |isbn=978-0-7566-3164-2 |edition=4th |location=New York City |oclc=148799493}}</ref>

Port became very popular in England after the [[Methuen Treaty]] of 1703, when merchants were permitted to import it at a low duty, while war with France deprived English wine drinkers of [[French wine]]. British importers could be credited for recognising that a smooth, already fortified wine that would appeal to English palates would survive the trip to London.

[[File:Bodega Sandeman, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, 2012-05-09, DD 06.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Sandeman cellar, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal]]

The continued British involvement in the port trade can be seen in the names of many port shippers and brands: Broadbent, [[Cockburn's Port House|Cockburn]], Croft, Dow, Gould Campbell, Graham, Osborne, Offley, [[Sandeman (wine)|Sandeman]], [[Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman|Taylor]], and Warre being amongst the best known. Shippers of Dutch and German origin are also prominent, such as Niepoort and Burmester. The British involvement grew so strong that they formed a trade association that became a [[Factory House|gentlemen's club]]. A few port shippers and producers were also established by native Portuguese families: Ferreira and Quinta do Crasto are among the best. Both Ferreira and Quinta do Crasto can be credited for pioneering the Douro as a table-wine-producing region, Ferreira making Barca Velha since 1952 and Quinta do Crasto becoming the second producer of note, starting in the early 1990s.