www.infoportwine.com
Library.
Changed 30/12/01;07/09/02;04/10/03;06/12/03;03/01/04;02/10/04:12/02/05;02/04/05;
05/11/05;01/04/06;01/07/06;03/01/07;01/08/09;06/08/11.
Contents:
- Our
favourites.
- Croft
Port: the book.
- ICEP
brochure: Uniek zijn kent geen prijs.
- ICEP brochure: Iocca,
Pasquele: Port.
- IVDP book: Port Wine.
- IVP brochure:
Port Wine, the guarantee of a symbol.
- QuidNovi:
Caves D’ouro - O Património do Vinho do Porto.
- Afonso, João: A minha
selecção 2002.
- Breidenich Heike:
Douro - A New Generation.
- Howkins, Ben: Rich, Rare &
Red.
- Jefford,
Andrew: Port - An essential guide to the classic drink.
- Lima,
José Joaquim Da Costa: A Few Words About Port.
- Martins, João
Paulo: A Wine Lover's Guide To Port. 2001 and 2011.
- Masson,
Christine: The Douro the Land of Port Wine.
- Mayson, Richard: Port and the
Douro. 1999 and 2004.
- Mayson, Richard: Port In A
Storm.
- Oldenburg, Henrik: Port.
- Pierik, Rudolf: Port.
- Spence, Godfrey: The Port
Companion.
- Zamith, Abílio
Forrester: Port Wine Guide.
- Some classics.
Our favourites:
01/04/06. Each book we admit in our Library has its own
charme. Nevertheless we certainly have some preferences especially based on
quality and topicality.
1. “Port
and the Douro”
(1999 and 2004) by Richard Mayson is absolutely our “Port bible”. We were
able to find almost everything we ever looked for in this book. When we leave
for the Port region with only one book we definitely take this Mayson with us.
2. “A
Wine Lover’s Guide To Port” (2001) by João Paulo Martins is the very
best small book we know. It is amazing how much relevant information Martins was
able to admit to this booklet. It is specifically suitable for those who want to
orientate himself quickly. The booklet is available in Portuguese, English,
Spanish and French.
3. “Port”
(1999) by Henrik Oldenburg is the book that answers questions other books have
not yet been able to.
01/08/09. Croft Port: the book.
Publ. The Fladgate Partnership; 2008; ISBN 978-989-20-1075-5; meas.
222x284x12 mm; 96 pages-hardcover; 20 Euros; for the moment only available at
the Croft cellars.
Basis of the book is history. Andrew Jones (journalist, researcher, writer,
radio program maker) spent four years researching every aspect. Lady Lucy Croft
donated the family archives with some 800 handwritten letters. By courtesy of
her son Sir Thomas Croft the numerous family portraits were reproduced. He also
made the architectural design for the new visitors centre of Quinta da Roêda.
“The story of Croft begins neither in Portugal nor with the Croft family.
Perversely, it begins with the Thompson family, and it begins in York in the
Armada year of 1588, long before Port wine as we know it featured on anybody’s
table.”
In 1681 Thomas Croft entered the firm by marriage. In 1892 the Gilbey family
bought 50% of the Croft shares. The English import firm Gilbey created the
successful Croft Invalid Port, both popular and controversial. It promised
health benefits. At least it brought Croft a healthy cash flow.
In 1950 the British government checked these medicinal claims and Croft Invalid
was ordered to be withdrawn from sale. Almost Croft’s whole market disappeared
overnight. The house never fully recovered from the loss of this brand.
Of course a chapter has been dedicated to Quinta da Roêda. Since the purchase
in 2001 Fladgate renewed the winery and started a replant program of five
hectares a year ending about in 2020.
A special part of the book is a never-to-be-repeated tasting of Croft Vintages,
because in the case of some Vintages these were the last bottles in their
cellars. A group of thirteen international tasters and five Croft toppers judged
twenty Vintages in November 2007. The published tasting notes are a selection of
the most typical characterizations.
The
book contains chapters entitled: 1. History: A tale of family enterprise from
1588, 32 pages; 2. Roêda: The diamond in the ring, 14 pages; 3. Vintage: Origin
of a Vintage Port, 12 pages; 4. Grand tasting: Vintage Ports back to 1900, 10
pages with the Vintages 1900, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1955,
1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1985, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2003; 5. Port and
food: Croft in the kitchen, Croft in the dining room, 12 pages, recipes with
Port, combinations with Port, cigars and Port; 6. The future of Croft, 5 pages.
28/07/01. ICEP brochure:
Uniek zijn kent geen prijs, Portwijnen (Dutch). Publ.
ICEP Brussels; meas. 180x297
mm; 25 pages. (ICEP
means: Instituto do Comércio Externo de Portugal: The Portuguese Service for
Trade and Tourism; abroad to be found in the embassies.)
This brochure is undated, nicely styled and fit with a nice cream coloured
cover. It is striking that, except for Vintage, this publication mentions
nothing on traditional bottling of other types, not even LBV (see:
Files/Types).
28/07/01.
ICEP brochure: Iocca, Pasquele: Porto, A Portuguese Creation, A British Discovery, An
American Passion - A Guide To Portugal’s Most Famous Wine. Publ. ICEP New York;
meas.
Excellent brochure that gives more information than some books of over a 100 pages. Rightly
the name of the author is prominently mentioned. The
date of publication however is not mentioned.
12/02/05.
IVDP book: Port Wine.
This splendidly designed book is an proprietary production of the IVDP. The work
of the eight authors has been co-ordinated by Gasper Martins Pereira, historian
and professor at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Oporto.
Port Wine offers magnificent photographs, but also many informative maps and
tables. At one of the first pages a tribute is paid to the authors who made the
IVP book Port Wine - Notes on its History, Production and Technology in 1981.
The book contains chapters about: 1. Port Wine Regions by FranVois
Guichard, 27 pages; 2. Port-A Wine with History by Gasper Martins Pereira, 25
pages; 3. From the Vine to the Glass-The Making of Port by David Guimaraens, 43
pages; 4. The
Regulatory Institutions by Fernando Peixoto and Alberto Ribeiro de Almeida, 23
pages; 5. The Port
Wine Markets by Teresa da Silva, 19 pages; 6. Selecting and enjoying Port by
George Sandeman, 29 pages; 7. The Port Wine Route by Manuel Carvalho, 29 pages;
8. Chronology by Gaspar
Martins Pereira, 8 pages; 9. Bibliography, 5 pages.
The
book does not have an index.
Guichard gives a surprising perspective on the
Port areas in chapter 1 by discussing not only the Douro and V.N. de Gaia but
also Oporto.
Martins Pereira plainly states in chapter 2 that Tuscany and Tokaj were
demarcated earlier as a wine region, although two other authors, in their
chapters, persist that the Douro region was the first. Martins Pereira not only
mentions the 26 hanged demonstrators from 1757, but also the 12 killed in 1915,
all at demonstrations against organizational measures in the Port industry.
In chapter 3 by David Guinaraens we miss essential illustrations of the
vineyards forms and the wine production methods, but the table with vineyard
operations is excellent.
In chapter 4 the laws and the functions of the organizations of and for the Port
industry are especially dealt with. It is striking that the two authors do not
say anything about the problems of the Casa do Douro.
Silva Lopes illustrates in chapter 5 the development of Port markets among other
things by means of the quantities that were sold in bottles and not in bulk (from
8.6% in the fifties and sixties to 100% after 1996). An appendix with sales
figures from 1678 to 2000 shows that it took almost 100 years before the United
Kingdom was not the sole recipient of the produce and that in 1963 export to
France outnumbered export to the UK for the first time.
In chapter 6 George Sandeman gives an
intensive and personal impression of his love for Port (according to him only
correctly written as Porto or Port Wine) and all its variations.
Carvalho lyrically pleas in chapter 6 for Port tourism and presents much useful
information, but does not say a word about the unique archaeological and
palaeolithic places of interest east in the region (see:
Files/Round trip 11).
The Chronology by Martins Pereira adds much to his text in chapter 2.
The extensive bibliography is mainly a survey of scientific and historical
sources and not of recently published popular books.
This IVDP publication may not be absent from any Port library.
05/07/03.
IVP brochure: Port Wine, The guarantee of a symbol. Publ. Instituto do
Vinho do Porto (nowadays IVDP) Oporto/Peso da Régua; meas. 180x297 mm; 16 pages.
This brochure with a cover in lilac and black has been designed beautifully with
attractive photographs. The publication date is not mentioned but given the
information about the new Vieira Port glass and the replacement of the Vintage
Character by the Reserva it will be somewhere in the 2nd half of 2002.
It is amazing that in the text for the Late Bottled Vintage only the
traditional, unfiltered variant is mentioned (page 7: Ruby Style). How
attractive this version may be, the modern bottled, for quick consumption
meant, LBV can not be ignored completely (see Files/Types
1d).
01/07/06. QuidNovi: Caves D’ouro - O Património do Vinho do Porto (Portuguese and
English).
Publ.
QuidNovi, Matosinhos; 2005; ISBN 989-554-234-8; meas. 220×304×20 mm; 192 pages.-hardcover; 24,95 Euros.
The title of this book is too
modest. It offers much more than information about the cellars. The book offers
on as many as 41 companies short descriptions of:
-
the company and
its history,
-
its visitors
centre,
-
its quintas and
wineries in the Port region,
-
important,
recent awards,
-
some special
Ports,
-
some
characteristic and often informative photographs.
33 of the reviewed 41 companies are situated in Vila Nova de Gaia of which 18
companies have a public visitors centre.
In addition the book contains:
-
descriptions of
the most important organizations: AEVP, IVDP and the Confraria,
-
a map with 67
quintas,
-
a map with 33
lodges in Gaia,
-
a producers
survey of the most important Vintages years from 1900 to 2002.
Unfortunately the book was only published in Portuguese. We were not able to
find out if and when an English translation will be published.
15/12/01-06/01/02.
Afonso, João: A minha SelecVão
- Anuário de Vinhos 2002
(Portuguese). Publ. Livros Cotovia-Lisbon; October 2001; ISBN 972-795-026-4; meas.
115x195x20 mm; 328 pages-hardcover; 13.29 Euro.
A handy, nicely designed book with tasting notes of mainly Portuguese wines, of
with 50 pages about Port Wine.
Described are:
- 191 Vintages especially from the nineties, but also from the sixties,
seventies and eighties.
- 107 LBV's almost all from the nineties, but also the Burmester 1964 and 1985,
Quinta das Baldias 1987 and Warre's 1984. We are missing here the years of
bottling (see:
news item of 20/10/01) and we are doubtful if the indication Unfiltered is
complete.
- 65 Colheitas from 1900 till 1992.
- 42 Tawnies 10 Years Old.
- 40 Tawnies 20 years Old.
- 12 Tawnies 30 Years Old.
- 11 Tawnies More than 40 Years Old.
Even without acknowledge of Portuguese, the book is useful because of its ratings from
0 - 20.
05/11/05. Breidenich,
Heike: Douro - A Nova Geração/Die Neue Generation/The New Generation. Illustrations
João Miguel Carvalho. Publ. Edições Caixotim, Porto; May 2005; ISBN
972-8651-72-4; meas. 229x306x21 mm; 192 pages-hardcover; 58.50 Euros.
In 2003 the German Heike Breidenich realized a
dream. For half a year she worked in vineyards, cellars, bottling plants and
wineries in the Port area.
She wrote a fascinating book about it in two parts, part one contains the report
of her experiences with Dirk van der Niepoort and Jorge Borges in leading roles,
part two consists of a review of the “Douro boys” and “Girls”, the
new generation of wine makers.
Though it is a book on Douro table wines, it is a “must” for every Port
lover because it is about people, quinta’s and companies from the Port
industry.
Breidenich is not a professional writer or wine expert but her book is highly
successful.
The chapters about her stay in the Douro region especially read like an exciting
story and are moreover extraordinary informative.
The book is trilingual (Portuguese, German and English), in the first part
always in three columns on two facing pages, in the second part in three boxes a
page. The English version contains quite a lot of inaccuracies but remains
acceptable.
The book contains chapters about: 1. A Sabbatical in the Douro, 3 pages; 2. The
Idea of a Sabbatical year, 8 pages; 3. The first contact with Niepoort, 18
pages; 4. The Journey to Portugal, 8 pages; 5. Douro's Uniqueness, 10 pages; 6.
The first days at Quinta de Nápoles, 14 pages; 7. Living in Q. de Santa
Eufémia, 6 pages; 8. The work in the vinery (vineyard) and in the wine cellar,
10 pages; 9. Grape gathering in Niepoort, 22 pages; 10. The farewell at Casa do
Visconde (de Chanceleiros), 6 pages; 11. The people behind the wine making, 45
pages with:
a. Dirk van der Niepoort.
b. Sandra Tavares and Jorge Borges of
respectively Quinta do Vale Dona Maria (Cristiano van Zeller) and Q. de Nápoles/Q.do
Passadouro (also their personal project Pintas).
c. Jorge Moreira of Q. de la Rosa (also his
personal project Poeira).
d. The Olazabal family of Q. do Vale Meão.
e. Marta
Casanova of Q. da Brunheda.
f. The Roquette family and Suzana Estaban of Q. do Crasto.
g. Jerry Luper of Real Companhia Velha (also
his personal project Q. da Carolina).
h. Cristiano van Zeller of Q. do Vale Dona
Maria.
i. Lavradores de Feitoria with, amongst others, the Três Bagos.
j. . Rita Marques of Q. de Veiga.
The book does not have an index.
Two
important people in the book, Jorge Borges and Dirk van der Niepoort, separated
shortly after the period described which totally changed the situation at Q. do
Passodouro (see our News item of 04/09/04).
However, Breidenich decided to restrict herself to the relevant period and not
to write an epilogue to it.
For
more information about Heike Breidenich see: http://douro-new-generation.de/zs.htm
02/04/05. Howkins,
Ben: Rich, Rare & Red - A Guide To Port. Publ. The Wine Appreciation
Guild, San Francisco; 2003; ISBN 1-891267-63-9; meas. 140x216x14 mm; 197 pages -
paperback; 20 Euros.
This book is the new edition of a text from 1987 or maybe as early as 1982. This
remains unclear, as it is not mentioned if the second edition was updated.
Including a separate preface was chosen as a way to make the book more current,
and it gives a nice but brief survey of the changes during the last 15 or 20
years. However, the orginal text has been outdated on many points becoming more
apparant in the chapter “Visiting the Region”. In spite of this the book
contains some noteworthy paragraphs like those on fertilizers, on clarifying
before bottling and on Vintages, but you would still like to see these texts
modernized. All this makes this book especially interesting as an object for
collectors.
Rich, Rare & Red contains the following chapters: - Preface to the new
edition, 15 pages; 1. Introduction 4 pages; 2. The history of Port, 17 pages; 3.
Vineyards and Vines, 29
pages; 4. Port Maturation in Vila Nova de Gaia, 12 pages; 5. Visiting
the Region, 17 pages ; 6. Port
Shipper’s Lodges, 19 pages; 7. Oporto, 8 pages; 8. Vintage Port, 14 pages ;
9. Tasting,
4 pages; 10. Gastronomy - Food and Wine, 6 pages; 11. Other Ports from Other
Countries, 10 pages; 12. World Markets, 7 pages; Appendix 1: Futher reading, 2
pages; Appendix 2: Glossary of Wine Terms, 2 pages; Appendix 3: Vintage Ports and
their Shippers - From 1870-2000, 7 pages.
The book has a good index.
01/04/06.
Jefford, Andrew:
Port - An essential guide to the classic drink.
Publ. Exeter Books, New York; 1988; ISBN
0-671-10032; meas. 200x273x14
mm; 93 pages-hardcover; antiquarian.
Though this book is already over 15 years old, it is an asset for our library.
Jefford gives an excellent, historical description of the development of Port.
His book is beautifully illustrated including many old photographs. Obviously
some developments in the field of types (Reserve) and technics (robotlagares)
are lacking. The survey of the Shippers shows well how much has changed in more
than 15 years.
In a preface, Anthony Hogg calls this book the fourth in a series of good Port
books since 1969: Sarah Bradford - 1969, George Robertson - 1978 and Ben
Howkins - 1982.
The book contains the following chapters: - Foreword, 1 page; - Introduction:
Port in Perspective, 8 pages; - Part One: What is Port? and Port Types, 14
pages; - Part Two: Port Production - From Vineyard to lodge/Shippers/Vintages/Other
Countries, 46 pages; - Part Three: The Enjoyment/Port and Food, 9 pages; - Part
Four: Epilogue/Further reading, 3 pages.
The book has a good index.
01/04/06. Lima,
José Joaquim Da Costa: A Few Words About Port.
Publ. Institito do Vinho do Porto; 1956;
meas. 168x235x2 mm; 31 pages - paperback; antiquarian.
05/03/05. In
November 2004 we found the booklet “A Few Words About Port” from 1956 in an
antiquarian bookshop in Oporto. It only numbers 31 pages and was written by José
Joaquim da Costa Lima, agriculture engineer and director of the Instituto do
Vinho do Porto at the time. The booklet was awarded a first prize of the Office
International du Vin and now gives us a splendid picture of the changes in the
Port industry during the passed 50 years.
-
the Douro
region had been divided in the Baixo and Cima Corgo. The Cima Corgo continued to
the Spanish border. The eastern part is now indicated as Douro Superior (see
Files/What’s Port?).
-
the harvest
began early October, sometimes at the end of September. Nowadays the harvest is
generally from mid September to mid October. Maybe this is because the Douro
Superior was less important at the time.
-
Da Costa Lima
describes almost with astonishment how Vintage Ports were made in Great Britain
and were highly appreciated, to continue with: “We consider, however, that the
classic Port Wine is that which has been matured in cask, as is done in Portugal
in the wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia; as a matter of fact, it is by this
traditional process that the oenological excellence, which not all judges have
had the good fortune to know, are attained.”
-
Another
quotation: “Although Port is essentially a dessert wine, it may also be taken
as an apéritif… However, it must be emphasized that it is as a dessert wine
that it must stand its trial and be judged.”
But
not everything has changed: the high production costs are already mentioned in
1956.
07/09/02.
Martins, João Paulo: A Wine Lover’s Guide to Port - the Inside Story of a
Unique Fortified Wine. Publ. PublicaVões
Dom Quixote, Lda-Lisbon; January 2001; ISBN 972-20-1781-0; meas. 126x225x9 mm; 160
pages-paperback; 13.48 Euros. Also available in Portuguese, Spanish and French.
A well made booklet sponsored by the AEVP (the organization of shippers).The
author is among other things staff editor of the Portuguese monthly Revista de
Vinhos. He gives much good, clear information and opinions.
The booklet has chapters about: 1. The river, the city, the wine, 6 pages; 2. The
pleasure of Port (the types), 32 pages; 3. More than 300 years of history, 32
pages; 4. Soil, climate and 3 sub-regions, 8 pages; 5. Vineyards and vines-past
and present, 26 pages; 6. Making Port Wine, 16 pages; 7. From the vineyard to the
dinner table (storing, combining, decanting, glasses, which Vintages), 14 pages;
8. The institutions, 4 pages. Moreover the booklet contains a glossary, a list of
AEVP members and a separate fold-out with a map of the demarcated region with
all AEVP quintas, a map of Vila Nova de Gaia with the AEVP houses open to the
public and their opening hours, and a types scheme.
The booklet does not have an
index.
As said, Martins is clear in his pronouncements. A nice example of it is:
”Were the pips to be crushed, something that never happens, they would
transmit unwanted tannins to the wine. The continuation of this myth about
crushing grape pips is extraordinary. How many people have actually tried to
crush a grape pip? They are so tough you would need a sledge hammer.”
06/08/11.
Martins,
João Paulo: The Pleasure of Port - The Inside Story of a Unique
Fortified Wine; Publ. Livros
d’Hoje; June 2011; ISBN 978-972-20-4661-9; meas. 126x225x9 mm; 182
pages.-paperback; 14 Euros. Also available in Portuguese: Tudo sobre o Vinho do
Porto; ISBN 978-972-20-4660-2.
The Pleasure of Port is a reissue of A Wine Lover’s Guide to Port from
January 2001. Besides a new name the book has an attractive new design, many new
photographs and an update of the text. De text changes mainly concern the
organisation of the sector, new types (Rosé, older Whites) and new techniques.
The
booklet is especially suited for a first introduction to Port Wine, but also for
connoisseurs of value given the authority of Martins in the world of Port.
A well written, easily readable book with many boxes about persons and facts.
The book has been illustrated with magnificent photographs by Bruno Barbier. The
autor is editor of the gourmet website www.isaveurs.com
and published among other things the “Guide du Savour Vivre”.
It is a pity that the formal Port information is not quite correct. This
concerns the region names, the type descriptions and the testing procedures of
the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP, formerly IVP).
The book contains chapters entitled: 1. A tale of a high valley, 4 pages; 2. An
arid land but a generous wine, 26 pages; 3. The subtleties of making wine, 22
pages; 4. Wine tasting notes, 12 pages; 5. Good times in the quintas, 20 pages; 6.
A rustic and savoury cuisine (with 23 recipes from the Douro region), 26 pages;
7. Glossary, 2 pages.
The book does not have an index.
28/
One of the most complete books about Port of the last years. It’s a little bit
strange that Mayson ignores the traditional variant of
Vintage Character. For the Late Bottled Vintages he rightly pays more
attention to this aspect.
The book has a sober design. Only in a middle section there are 8 pages with
the well known, but always magnificent, colour photographs. All other
illustrations, water-colours by Leo Duff, are reproduced in grey tints.
For the first time this book combines Port and the not fortified wines of the
corresponding Douro area.
The book contains chapters about: 1. Bringing Port up to Date, 57 pages; 2. Vines,
Vineyards and Quintas, 67 pages; 3. Making
Port: Tradition and Technology, 17 pages; 4. Port Types, 48 pages with an
excellent survey of all harvest/Vintages from 1960-1998 and the specials between
1896 and 1960; 5. Port Producers and Shippers, 57 pages; and 6. Douro Wines, 25 pages. At the end of the chapters 2 and 5 some travelling tips are given.
The book has a good index.
Even though Mayson dedicates 24 pages to 69 quintas, he minimizes their
importance completely based on the score of their small number (according to him
0,01% of all properties in this area that is already extreme segmentized). He
ignores their part in the better Port types and the importance that the large
Port shippers attach to quintas in their marketing strategies. (see also:
Files/Types/1f)
We are inclined to say that this book has the power and the quality to become a
classic.
01/01/05.
The second, fully revised and updated, edition of Richard Mayson’s “Port and the
Douro” is now available. The hard
cover version has been published in the “Classic Wine Library” of Mitchell
Beazley.
The most important changes are:
-
the part on
Douro grapes has been rewritten totally.
-
the recent
changes in the wineries (robots) have been added.
-
the last
changes of types have been discussed.
-
the part on
Vintage Port has been enlarged.
-
the survey of
producers and shippers has been updated.
-
the chapter on
Douro wines has been expanded substantially.
-
the epilogue
“Future for Port and the Douro” has obviously been adapted.
03/01/04. Mayson, Richard: Port In A Storm, Oporto and the Douro 1945-2000. Publ. PLL-USA; 2000; meas. 182 x 264 x 2 mm; 16 pages; hand-sewn; U$
35.00.
This pamphlet is a magnificent bibliophilic publication in the Portonian Series
of The Port Lover’s Library (see our News item of 06/12/03) in an edition of
286 signed and numbered copies, of which 240 for sale.
In Port In A Storm, Mayson describes the viniculture, the Port production and the
Port trade in the surrounding (political) world between 1945 and 2000. The essay
is well written with excellent contents. We only miss the continuation of the
nationalization in 1975 of Borges & Irmão and Royal Oporto (Real Companhia
Velha) and the problems with the Casa do Douro in the nineties.
02/10/04.
Oldenburg, Henrik:
Port. Publ. SMAG &
BEHAG – Copenhagen; 1999; ISBN 87-90179-16-1
(English version); meas. 198x270x34 mm; 380 pages-hardcover.
This book is a magnificent publication with an excellent and extensive content.
Oldenburg has been a winewriter for over 25 years. His former education as
historian and scientist is very recognizable in the care and attention to detail
of this book. He provides just that bit of information on many subjects that one
still missed.
The book was published in 1999. So it is understandable that in the meantime
there have been some changes. In this case it mainly concerns the changes of
types from 2002 (Vintage Character in Reserva and so on), the changes in the
organizations of November 2003 (CIRDD incorporated in IVDP and so on), the
ownership of companies and quintas and the development of robot lagares.
Regrettably Oldenburg was careless in his description of unfiltered Ports. That
he does not mention the traditional Vintage Character is still forgivable. But
that he indicates Crusted Port as “not suitable for maturation” is
incomprehensible. What else should Crusted refer to?
The book contains chapters on: 1. The history of Port, 78 pages; 2. The land of
schist, 14 pages; 3. Grape
varieties, 6 pages; 4. Benefício,
6 pages; 5. From grape to
Port, 14 pages; 6. Port types, 20 pages; 7. Port producers, 178 pages with many tasting notes; 8. Port
Associations, 18 pages; 9. Vintage
years, 12 pages (the most important years); 10. The pleasure of Port, 30 pages (to
serve and recipes); 11. Tourist in the country of Port, 12 pages
The book has a
good index.
28/07/01.
Pierik, Rudolf: Port (Dutch). Publ. Donkers; second revised edition 1998;
ISBN 90-6100-452-7; meas.
185x246x18
mm; 174 pages-hardcover.
Port is a mainly technical book. It starts with a general part of 100 pages,
followed by 40 pages mentioning shippers and Dutch importers. It’s a
pity that information about traditionally bottled Vintage Characters and Late
Bottled Vintages is totally absent. For the rest the book is fairly good except for
some minor incompletenesses and contradictions. It is written with a love for
the production of Port. For who would also like to read about the love for the
consumption of Port, The Port Companion by Godfrey Spence is a good supplement.
28/07/01.
Spence, Godfrey: The Port Companion – A connoisseur’s Guide. Publ.
MacMillan-USA; 1997; ISBN 0-02-861781-9; meas. 155x200x20 mm; 224 pages-hardcover.
Really a book written by a Port lover. Spence starts with a general part of 55
pages. This followed by a Port guide of 155 pages with information about the large
Portshippers, but also about independent quintas and some co-operatives,
containing many tasting notes.
There is a translation in Dutch: Publ. Librero; ISBN 90-5764-041-4.
It's a pity that the translators did not consult a Port connoisseur. The book
contains some
irritating mistakes. It looks like this publication has been made for discount
stores, but it is produced at such a low budget that it can be found for as
little as 7 - 9 Euros.
Zamith is a descendant of Baron Joseph James Forrester (1809-1861), a celebrity
in the history of Port. Zamith is a 34-years-old bank employee and lives in
Oporto.
The Port Wine Guide is beautiful laid out with many illustrations, but it is set
in small type. In his introduction Zamith regrets that Port is so little known
among the Portuguese. The level of information in the book is good, but it
mainly treats the traditional Port world of the major houses. No mention is made
of the developments after the entry of Portugal into EU in 1986, with
co-operatives and independent producers in the region.
The book contains chapters about: 1. History, 8 pages; 2. Region, climate and
viticulture, 4 pages; 3. Production and Categories, 8 pages; 4. Shippers, 68 pages
with short descriptions and for each house the quintas and the years of
Vintages, Single Quinta Vintages, LBV’s and Colheitas; 5. The Port Wine route,
2 pages; 6. Buying, storing and serving, 8 pages; 7. Appreciating and tasting, 4
pages; 8 Buying and investing in Vintages, 12 pages with a brief but good
5-page-survey of Vintage years; 9. Recipes, 10 pages; 10. Glossary, 4 pages and
Brief chronology, 3 pages.
The book does not have an index.
Chapters 6, 7 and 8 especially are very informative to starting Port lovers and
not only to them.
28/07/01.