News archives 2009

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News archives 2009.
All articles older than 1 to 3 months are entered in News archives. We start with a title list with accompanying dates. You will find the full articles by linking the titles.

Companhia das Quintas was founded by Miguel Melo Azevedo in 1999. The company is growing quickly and aims to belong to the Top 5 in Portugal. CdasQ owns quintas in Bucelas (north of Lisbon, also main office), Palmela, the Beira Interior, Estramadura, the Alentejo, Bairrada and the Douro.
The company has a Dutch export manager, Martijn Boer.

Q. da Fronteira (= border) is situated at the Douro river near Barca de Alva. The quinta has an area of 90 hectares, of which 54 hectares are vineyards class A. In 2009 the benefiçio of 130 pipas (casks of 550 litres) was sold to Sogevinus (Cálem, Kopke, etc.). There are plans to produce a limited edition of top Port in the future, but it is not yet decided as to when.
CdasQ already owns Q. da Cova da Barca situated immediately next to Q. da Fronteira. This quinta without Port rights is 60 hectares large of which 16 hectares of vineyards.

Jorge Serôdio Borges was contracted as winemaker for the Douro activities (also Q. do Passadouro and together with his wife Sandra Tavares da Silva: Wine & Soul).

See: http://www.companhiadasquintas.com/

No Nacional Vintage 2007.
26/12/09. In his blog, Christian Seeley answers the question on why no Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage 2007 was made even though this was a good year. He draws a comparison to 1996. That year there was an excellent Nacional Vintage, but no Q. do Noval Vintage. In 2007 it was the other way round.
Apparently you can state that all thoroughbreds have their own character.

See for his article: http://www.christianseely.com/2009/12/08/nacional-2007/

Tasting containers with Churchill’s Port Wine.
26/12/09. The Port & Wine Company in the Dutch town of Utrecht, a company owned by Dineke and Menno ten Berge, has marketed a box with six 25 ml glass containers of Churchill’s Port.

The used types are the Dry White, Ruby Reserve, Ruby Finest Reserve - Unfiltered, Tawny Reserve, LBV 2002 - Unfiltered and the 10 Years Old Tawny. The set is an ideal possibility for a good introduction to Port Wine. The price of the box set is 18.50 Euros.
The aim is that this product will be sold through the better specialized shops.
For the time being they are available through http://www.vanwageningenendelange.nl/
The company will also make a box with Madeira’s. This one will contain the Rainwater, Finest Dry 5 Years, Finest Medium Rich, Bual 10 Years Old, Malmsey 15 Years Old and the Single Harvest 1998 of Henriques & Henriques.

The box with tasting containers is an idea of Ron Kercher of the M Factory. He markets them like Nosing and Tasting Kits with rare and special whiskies.
See: http://www.rarewhiskysite.com/2.html

Sales numbers January - November 2009.
26/12/09. The sales results for the first ten months of this year continue to be bad though the decreases of the Special categories has somewhat. The latest numbers (export + Portugal) of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) are as follows (between brackets the numbers of January to September 2009):

-      the volume of all Port sold decreased by 6,9% (5.4%).
-      the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 6,2% (6.6%).

-      the volume of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 10,1% (12.6%).
-      the revenue of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 9,7% (14.5%).

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=73&codSeccao=6&idioma=0

IVDP events calendar as of January 2010.
26/12/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following event in Germany:

Germany:
. February 12th - Vintages 2007 tasting by Axel Probst - Leverkusen - for professionals and consumers. See: http://www.worldofport.de/events.htm

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?content=eventos

Revista de Vinhos no. 241, December 2009.
26/12/09. The December issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
-      The Quinta do Noval LBV 2004 Unfiltered scored 17 points from 20.
-      The Q. Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo Vintage 2007 scored 17 points.
-      The Rozès Q. Do Pégo Vintage 2007 scored 16.5 points.
-      The Rozès Vintage 2007 scored 17 points.

Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores:
The editorial staff gives an extensive report on the tenth anniversary of this event, as organised by Revista de Vinhos in Lisbon from November 13^th to 16^th . For the results of the competitions organized there, please see our News item of 05/12/09: Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores 2009.

Twenty years Revista de Vinhos:
The editorial staff sketches a portrait of an era by means of images of the front pages of a selection from the 240 published issues including a brief extract of these issues.

Quintahotel da Pacheca:
Samuel Alemão reviews this new hotel with its magnificent driveway. The Serpa Pimentel family gave the 15 room hotel the name of Winehouse hotel. The restaurant has 48 places and is open every day for lunch and dinner. Alemão judges the accommodation with 18.5 points out of a possible 20. Unfortunately the website www.quintadapacheca.com does not yet contain much information about the hotel/restaurant.

Terravino 2009.
26/12/09. During the fourth Mediterranean International Wine and Spirits Challenge Terravino in Eilat, Israel from November 13^th to 19^th a gold medal was awarded to the Cordovero Ruby (see our News item of 01/09/07: First Kosher Port Wine – Cordovero.).
Terravino 2009 was recognized by the O.I.V. The WAWWJ ranking of the Terravino 2008 was 7,65 from 10. The numbers of O.I.V. wine entries amounted to 551.
For more information see: http://www.mediterraneaniwc.com/2009_en.htm

Decanter: Top Ten Fortified Wines for Christmas 2009.
26/12/09. On December 11^th the English magazine Decanter published its Top Ten Fortifieds Wines for Christmas 2009. This list contains three Port Wines:
-      No. 2: Sainsbury 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      No. 5: Delaforce Quinta de Corte Vintage 1991.
-      No. 6: Q. Da Passodouro Vintage 1999.
The full list can be found at: http://www.decanter.com/recommendations/subrecommendation.php?rid=625&sid=1844

Grand Prix Magazyn Wino 2009.
26/12/09. Sandra Tavares da Silva and Cristiano van Zeller of Quinta do Vale D. Maria have won the award Producer Of The Year in the Grand Prix Magazyn Wino of the Polish magazine of the same name.

The Q. do Crasto Vintage 2004 won the bronze medal in the category best “Liqueur wine”.

For more information see: http://www.magazynwino.pl/pl/239_wydarzenia/515_nagrody_grand_prix_2009_magazynu_wino.html
(Source: aicep Portugal Global of 11/12/09.)

Liv-ex Fine Wine Power 100 list 2009.
26/12/09. On December 14^th the English electronic market place for wine traders, Liv-ex (http://www.liv-ex.com/), published its annual list of the strongest wine brands. Five criterions are judged for this list: the monetary value total trade, the average score from Robert Parker or from Wine Spectator, the average best price, the average price increase and the production weighted average price. This year we find two (last year 3) Port brands in the list, both of the Fladgate Partnership:
-      No. 48 Taylor’s (in 2008: 72).
-      No. 66 Fonseca (in 2008: 83).
The Drinks Business (http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/) has published an extensive analysis of the results in its December issue. The article can be found at: http://liv-ex.typepad.com/files/fine-wine-power-list0002.pdf

Top 200 Marcelo Copello - Brazil.
26/12/09. On December 18^th the Brazilian wine writer Marcelo Copello of the website Mar de Vinho published his Top 200 for the ninth time (The Best Of 2009). We find the following Port Wines in the category sweet and fortified:
-      Messias Colheita 1990.
-      Fonseca Vintage 2007.
-      Burmester 40 Years Old Tawny.
For more information see: http://www.mardevinho.com.br/colunas/top-200-os-melhores-de-2009

Top lists Jancis Robinson.
26/12/09. From November 21^st Jancis Robinson has published some lists with wines that are drinking well now in the Financial Times. On December 18th this was her choice of Strenght and Sweetness. She has grouped these by style and then upwards by price per cl. In the category Strong and Sweet we find the following Port Wines:
-      Sainsbury Ruby.
-      Quinta do Noval 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Delaforce Q. da Corte Vintage 1991.
-      Fladgate Partnership - Quinta & Vineyard Bottlers Vintage 1994.
-      Taylor’s Q. da Vargellas Vintage 2001.
-      Dow’s Q. do Bomfim Vintage 1998.
-      Dow’s Vintage 1963.
For more information see: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/09563752-e9ca-11de-ae43-00144feab49a.html

Next publication.
05/12/09. Our next publication will be on December 26th or 27th and not in the first weekend of January.

Update Types and Round trip.
We have actualized our Files articles Types and Round trip.
The most important change in Types is the new legislation of August 2009 by which the Aged White and the Rosé Port became official.
In Round trip we completed the references to our most recent News items and we renewed some URL’s.
All changes are printed in italics.

Vintages 2007 tasting in Leverkusen.
On February 12th Axel Probst organizes a tasting for professionals and consumers with many Vintages 2007 in the German city of Leverkusen.
All information can be found at: http://www.worldofport.de/events.htm

Two new weblogs.
05/12/09. Recently Ramos Pinto started a blog at http://blog.ramospinto.pt Since then they have published about their own company and the latest harvest.

Christian Seely, managing director of the French AXA Millésimes, did the same at http://www.christianseely.com/ He writes about the wine companies he is responsible for in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Languedoc, Hungary and Portugal. These are in Portugal Quinta do Noval and the private project Q. da Romaneira (see our News item of 02/06/07: Hotel Q. da Romaneira: no price list.

Articles of Sarah Ahmed.
05/12/09. Recently the Wine Detective or Sarah Ahmed published two good articles on Port Wine. Sarah, who lives in London, is wine writer, jury member and events organizer. See: http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/

In “Port, launch of the 2007 Vintage” she describes 34 wines which she judged in London during two tastings in May. See: http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/regional-reports/portugal/port-launch-of-the-2007-vintage/ See also our News items of 05/09/09: Vintage 2007 tastings. and of 07/11/09: Revista de Vinhos no. 239, October 2009. (Tasting)

In “The Douro Boys – 2007 table wines & port” she describes the five members of the group and a tasting of fifteen 2007 Vintages which were opened and/or decanted respectively 12 hours, 1 day and 2 days beforehand. See: http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/regional-reports/portugal/the-douro-boys-2007-table-wines-port/ See also our News item of 07/11/09: Revista de Vinhos no. 239, October 2009. (Decanting times)

Website Borges renewed.
05/12/09. The Borges website has been renewed completely. The design is attractive and the information is good. The section A Arte de Vinho (the art of wine) combines poetical texts with nice advises.
The site is available in English, Portuguese and French.
See: http://www.borgeswines.com/

International wine route VinDuero/VinDouro.
05/12/09. Some local authorities in Spain and Portugal have set up the first European international wine route in their border region. The region encloses two areas of natural beauty: the Parque Natural Douro International in Portugal and the Parque Natural Arribes de Duero in Spain. The route has already been named the Grand Canyon Tour of the Douro.
José Luíz Pascoal, the mayor of Trabanca in Spain, is the great stimulator behind the plans, for which 2.5 million Euros have been set aside. All regional aspects which offer potential tourism will be involved in the route, like wine, national heritage, gastronomy, history and tradition, restaurants, hotels and the landscape. Moreover this route is ideal for bird watching.
The following towns and villages on the Portuguese side are mentioned with one or more possibilities to visit:
-      Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.
-      Freixo de Espada-a-cinta.
-      Caradeza de Ansiães.
-      Torre de Moncorvo.
-      Bemposta.
-      Palaçoulo.
-      Miranda do Douro.
See: http://www.rutainternacionaldelvino.com/ The site is still only available in Spanish.

IVDP events calendar as of December 2009.
05/12/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Germany en Portugal:

Germany:
. February 12th - Vintages 2007 tasting by Axel Probst - Leverkusen - for professionals and consumers. See: http://www.worldofport.de/events.htm

Portugal:
. December 12th - Vinho do Porto e Chocolates, um mundo de harmonias - Casino da Figueira, 18.30

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?content=eventos

Revista de Vinhos no. 240, November 2009.
05/12/09. The November issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
-      The Quinta do Estanho LBV 2003 scored 16/20 points.
-      The (Wiese &) Krohn LBV 2004 scored 16.5/20 points.
-      The Ramos Pinto LBV 2004 scored 16.5/20 points.

Álvaro Siza Vieira:
Samuel Alemão interviewed the Portuguese architect Siza Vieira as a result of his designs of the Adega Mayor in the Alentejo and the extension of Quinta do Portal including a warehouse building. Siza Vieira is also the designer of the Port glass with the striking square stem.

Noval Award 2009 for Susie Barrie.
05/12/09. The English wine writer and broadcaster Susie Barrie MW has won the 2009 Award for Communication of the Institute of Masters of Wine. This award is sponsored by AXA Millésimes entitled (Quinta do) Noval Award. Barrie won the prize for her paper ‘UK market attitudes towards brut nature Champagne”. She also won the Robert Mondavi Winery Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award.
For more information see:
http://www.mastersofwine.org/en/about/meet-the-masters/profile/index.cfm/id/726292F5-17D2-4050-AD300A943A6531B0

http://www.mastersofwine.org/en/news/index.cfm/id/99EF51C0-4427-4BE7-AB85EE9045B6463D

http://www.mastersofwine.org/filemanager/root/site_assets/press_releases/noval_2009_v2.pdf

Nat. Geographic: Douro 7^th or 14^th ex aequo?
05/12/09. National Geographic Traveler has published the results of its sixth annual Best Rated Places. In this competition 133 destinations were judged by a panel of 437 experts. Their judgment is based on six criteria: environmental and ecological quality, social and cultural integrity, condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and outlook for the future.
The Douro region has scored high with 76 points (highest score Fjords region, Norway with 85 points). However, the Douro is indeed seventh together with three other destinations, but because of some ex aequo listings, thirteen other places score higher.
For more information see:
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/destinations-rated/intro-text and
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/destinations-rated/list-text

Great Wine Capitals: Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2010.
05/12/09. The Great Wine Capitals Global Network has granted its annual tourism awards for the seventh time. Florence en Melbourne have terminated their membership. New members are Firenze and Mainz/Rheinhessen.

A Global Winner Award was granted to Quinta do Seixo (Sandeman) in the category Architecture, Parks and Gardens.

National Winner Awards were granted to:
-      Winelands of Portugal/Douro (DOC DMC Services Events&Wine) in the category Wine Tourism Services.
-      Castas e Pratos (in railway station Peso da Régua) in the category Wine Tourism Restaurant.
-      Quinta da Baseira & Q. Da Freixo (Amarante, Vinhos Verdes) in the category Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices.
-      Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo in the category Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.greatwinecapitals.com/?it=winner_lst&mop=53&tp=51&year=2801&regi=17&cati=0

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Int. Wine & Spirit Comp. 2009.
05/12/09. During the first edition of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition from October 31^st to November 3^rd the Best Fortified Wine Trophy was awarded to the Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny.
The competition contained about 1,300 entries.
See: http://www.asiasbestwinesandspirits.com/Listoftrophies

Rodeo’s International Wine Competition 2009.
05/12/09. During the seventh Rodeo’s International Wine Competition in Houston on November 14^th and 15^th Awards were granted to the following Port products:

In the category Red Port and Port-style wines (glass-aged, ≤5 years in wood):
- Graham’s Six Grapes: Gold medal and Class Champion Award.
- Broadbent Auction Reserve, Lot 1: Silver medal and Reserve Class Champion Award.

In the category Tawny Port and other oxidized red fortified wines:
- Graham’s 20 Years Old Tawny: Gold medal and Class Champion Award.
- Kopke Colheita 1998: Silver medal and Reserve Class Champion Award.

The competition contained 1,761 entries (in 2008: 1,969).

For more information and the other medals see:
http://www.hlsr.com/downloads/2009WineChamps.pdf

Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores 2009.
05/12/09. During the Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores (Meeting between wines and tastes) in Lisbon from November 13^th to 16^th prizes to Port and Port region products were awarded in two competitions. This event is organized by the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos.

In the Concurso Escolha da Imprensa 2009 (Press choice) the Burmester Colheita 1955 won the Grande Prémio Escolha da Imprensa in the category Fortified wines.
In the same category Prémios Escolha da Imprensa went to:
-      Quinta das Tecedeiras Vintage 2007.
-      Ferreira Duque de Bragança 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Q. do Pego Vintage 2007.
-      Rozés Vintage 2007.
-      Cálem Colheita 1989.
-      Q. Seara d’Ordens LBV 2005.
-      Kopke Colheita 1979.
-      Messias Vintage 2007.
For more information see: http://www.revistadevinhos.iol.pt/artigo308-surpresas_no_concurso_escolha_da_imprensa

In the Concurso Melhor Carta de Vinhos 2009 (Best wine list) the following restaurants in Oporto and the Port region were chosen:
- In the category “Melhor Carta de Vinhos” (Wines generally) the second prize went to Buhle in Oporto.
- In the category “Melhor Carta de Vinhos Regional” (Regional wines) the first prize went to Castas & Pratos in Peso da Régua for its Douro wines, the second prize to DOC in Armamar also for its Douro wines and the third prize ex aequo to the Vintage House in Pinhão for its Port wines.
- In the category “Melhor Carta Vinho a Copo” (Wine a glass) the second prize went to Shis in Oporto.
For more information see: http://www.revistadevinhos.iol.pt/artigo307-concurso_melhor_carta_de_vinhos_2009

Concurso Gastronomia com Vinho do Porto 2009 (2).
05/12/09. On November 23^rd the winners were announced of the sixth edition of this bi-annual competition for combinations with Port (or Douro wines) for Portuguese restaurants. Gold diplomas were awarded to:
-      Restaurant Castas e Pratas in Peso da Régua.
-      Restaurant D.O.C. in Armamar.
-      Restaurant Pai Ramiro in Porto.
For the complete results see: http://www.gastronomiacomvinhodoporto.com/downloads/Vencedores%202009.pdf
See also our News item of 03/10/09 about the candidades and their combinations.

Harvest results.
07/11/09. On October 14^th Oscar Quevedo wrote on his blog http://quevedoportwine.com/:
“Some thoughts about 2009 Harvest:

generally there was few quantity per vine
the quality of the grapes for Port was excellent
the quality of the grapes for Douro wines was good, but they will age early
over 800 kilograms of grapes were necessary to make 550 litres (1 pipa) of wine (normally 750)
the sugar content of the grapes was high, resulting in quite alcoholic wines
the colours of the wines are deep and dark - some very promising Ports
after some years focusing only on still red wines, this year we made 2.000 litres of still white wine”

On October 18^th Adrian Bridge of The Fladgate Partnership wrote to us:
“The harvest is now over - in fact for most areas it finished in September. The weather continues as warm and dry. However, on 6th October between 5.00 am and 6.00 am 85ml of rain fell in Régua. This is equivalent to 10% of the annual rainfall in an hour. Needless-to-say it was straight in the river with an erosion factor of about 7 tonnes per hectare - the river turned light brown.

“The harvest from the higher and less exposed areas produced better wines than normal. This is due to the heat and lack of rainfall. These Ports contrast to the high sugar levels and hot grapes (37 c) that came in from around Barca D'Alva at the start of harvest.

“Towards the end of harvest the normal levels of production with 750 kg of grapes per pipe were experienced - at the outset it had needed 900 kg of grapes to make a pipe.

“The summary of the year is that a number of good Ports have been made but their quality will need to be evaluated in the Spring to see just how much.

“The acute shortage of grapes has presented difficulties to the production of table wine as farmers have sought to fill their Port quota (Benefício) before selling their excess to table wine. Again quality from higher vineyards should be good but the overall quantity lower.”

On October 26^th Paul Symington published his harvest report on the weblog of Quinta dos Malvedos. Yields were substantially down, in his own family vineyards by as much as a third. The bunches though were in excellent condition and gave good concentrated colours and aromas. Good Ports and wines were made from certain vineyards in some of the Douro areas. This diversity allows to select some lovely wines in a year such as this.
For his full report see: http://malvedos.wordpress.com/

Many tourists during harvest.
07/11/09. During the harvest weekend of October 3^rd to 4^th all 2,500 hotel beds in the Port region were occupied and people had to sleep in cars or in the railway station of Peso da Régua. Obviously the restaurants were also well filled.
At the moment the region receives 140,000 stays a year. It is hoped to increase this to 600,000 stays in 2015. Room prices vary this year from 60 Euros to 1,100 Euros in Quinta da Romaneira dos Sonhos.
(Source: Jornal de Notícias of 06/10/09.)

Financial problems in the Douro.
07/11/09. The situation is bleak for some employees and small farmers in the Port region. In several newspaper articles is complained about the low prices of 1,000 to 1,100 Euros a pipa Port (550 litres). Also the 225 to 400 Euros for table wine and 150 Euros a pipa for regional table wine were mentioned. These revenues are apparently unchanged for the last ten years.
Members of some cooperations have not received any payment since 2005 or 2006, with the consequence that hundreds of their employees have either been underpaid or not paid at all.

Some 80 employees of the Casa do Douro also have a salary arrears of five months again, but this is due to other reasons (see our News item of 01/03/08: Great changes at the Casa do Douro.).

Vintages 2007: more than ever.
07/11/09. On October 23^rd the Confraria do Vinho do Porto organized the official ceremony of the general declaration of the Vintage 2007 in the Palácio da Bolsa in Oporto. It is the largest declaration ever, with 91 approved wines by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto.
For a report in Portuguese and several photos see: http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=1&ACT=5&content=485&mnu=1
See also the tasting in Revista de Vinhos no. 239, October 2009.
And a short impression by Oscar Quevedo at: http://quevedoportwine.com/wine/vintage-port-2007-general-tasting-at-palacio-da-bolsa-portoprova-geral-de-porto-vintage-2007-no-palacio-da-bolsa-porto/

Dutch site for buying and selling Port Wine.
07/11/09. The Dutchman Anton Woertman has started a site for buying and selling Port Wine. At the moment he offers some attractive bottles. He is also able to supply the Siza Vieira Port glasses of Schott Wiesel.
See: http://www.portagonist.nl/page1.html

Video series Ports to Remember.
07/11/09. On May 29^th 2002 Luiz Henrique Conceição of the active Canadian Port Wine Club (www.portwine.com) wrote to us that he was working on a video series entitled Ports to Remember and that he hoped to finish the movies in some months. Those few months became more than seven years but finally a series of ten videos of half an hour each is available, produced by Conceição.
The subjects of the movies with wine writer Tony Aspler are:
-      Generic Ports.
-      Cálem.
-      Churchill’s.
-      Cockburn’s.
-      Ramos Pinto.
-      Ferreira, Offley and Sandeman (Sogrape).
-      Graham’s and Warre’s (Symington).
The videos can be viewed online or be downloaded for 1.25 Canadian dollars each or for 9.95 dollars for the full series. Payment is possible through Paypal or by Credit Card. Visa, Master Card or American Express are accepted.
For more information and the download link see:
http://www.portwine.com/ports2remember.htm
http://www.portwine.com/products/product8-1.htm

PFV - Symington active in the Far East.
07/11/09. The hotel chain Shangri-La, together with Primum Familiae Vini (a group of leading wine families, www.pfv.org), organizes three gala dinners for invitees from trade and press. A member of each family will be present at the dinners, the moderation will be by Serena Sutcliffe M.W., head of Sotheby’s Wine Department.
Places and dates are:
-      November 16^th Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.
-      November 18^th Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo.
-      November 20^th Pudong-Shangri-La, Shanghai.
During each dinner a PFV collection case with a top wine of each member will be auctioned by Mrs Sutcliffe. The Symington Family Estate will deliver the Graham’s Vintage 2000.

Sales numbers January - September 2009.
07/11/09. The sales results for the first nine months of this year continue to be bad though the decreases diminish somewhat. The latest numbers (export + Portugal) of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) are as follows (between brackets the numbers of the first half year 2009):

-      the volume of all Port sold decreased by 5.4% (4%).
-      the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 6.6% (6.7)%.

-      the volume of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 12.6% (15.4%).
-      the revenue of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 14.5% (21%).

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=73&codSeccao=6&idioma=0

IVDP events calendar as of November 2009.
07/11/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in England, France, Japan, Portugal and Spain:

England:
. November 13th-15th - BBC Good Food Show - London.

France:
. November 9th - Education Hotel schools - Lycée Louis Armand, Nantes.
. November 12th-13th - Education Hotel schools - Lycée ds Metiers de L'Hotellerie et du Tourisme - Grenoble.

Japan:
. November 11th - Jukusei - Seminar Port Wine - Tokio, Omotesar.
. November 12th - Jukusei - Seminar Port Wine - Tokio, Akasaka.
. November 13th - Jukusei - Seminar Port Wine and cheese - Tokio, Kamyiacho.
. November 14th - Jukusei - Seminar Port Wine and cheese - Tokio, Omotesando.

Portugal:
. November 13th-16th - Encontro com o vinho e Encontro com os sabores - Centro de Congressos, Pavilhão do Rio - Lisbon.
. November 28th-29th - Porto & Douro Wine Show, 4th edition - Convento do Beato, from 15.00 to 21.00 - Lisbon.

Spain:
. November 16th - Action with Sommeliers - Zaragoza.
. November 18th - Action with Sommeliers - Oviedo.
. November 20th - Action with Sommeliers - Madrid.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?content=eventos

Revista de Vinhos no. 239, October 2009.
07/11/09. The October issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Tasting 2007 Vintages:
João Paulo Martins and João Afonso report about a tasting with 57 Vintages 2007. This year has been declared the year with the largest number of Vintages so far. Martins and Afonso call the wines well structured, robust but fine, with satin colours, but with good existing tannins.
The winners were Fonseca and Quinta do Vesúviu both with 19 points.
At the bottom of the list we find Q. da Costa das Aguaneiras (Fernando de Albuquerque) with 14.5 points.

Decanting times 2007 Vintages:
Luís Antunes writes about an alternative tasting by 30 professionals of 15 2007 Vintages, organized by Niepoort,. One bottle of every wine was decanted 48 hour in advance, a second one 24 hours before and a third one two hours before the tasting. He and many others liked the 24 hours before decanted version best.

Harvest 2009:
João Afonso, João Paulo Martins and Luís Antunes visited several quintas during the harvest. In the Douro these were the Quinta da Foz, Q. da Faísca and Lavradores de Feitoria.

Interview with Bento Amaral:
João Paulo Martins and Luís Lopes interviewed the head of the tasting department (Câmara de Provadores) of the IVDP, Bento Amaral. He continues to call himself a lucky devil for being allowed to do what he loves and not having to pay for all the good wines he tastes. Apart from the new types Rosé Port and 10 Years Old White he mentions a new variation of the Lágrima Tinto or Red (in any case Ramos Pinto, see https://www.garrafeiranacional.com/pt_pt/maxshop/produto/5362/porto-tawnyrubybranco/ramos-pinto-lagrima-tinto/).

The Vintage:
João Afonso wrote a good story about the characteristics and qualities of the King of Port Wine.

Octavian Vaults Library Collection 2009.
07/11/09. Every year the International Wine Challenge (see our News items of 06/06/09: International Wine Challenge 2009. and 27/06/09: IWC 2009 (2) – Trophy’s and Great Value Awards.) also organizes a special tasting of 5 and 10 years old wines entitled Octavian Vaults Library Collection. We find the following three Port Wines of Adriano Ranos Pinto in the results of the wines from 2004:
-      ARP Ervamoira Vintage 2004 with 95/100 points.
-      ARP LBV 2004 with 93/100 points.
-      ARP Vintage 2004 also with 93/100 points.
For more information see: http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/LibraryCollectionResult.aspx

World Value Wine Challenge 2009.
07/11/09. The Osborne LBV 2003 received the highest score with 88 points in the category Runner Up Fortified of the World Value Wine Challenge of BTI in Chicago.
For more information see: http://www.tastings.com/LatestWineReviews.html

Food and Wine: 50 Wine Classics You Must Try 2009.
07/11/09. The American magazine Food and Wine has admitted the Dow’s Vintage 2007 in the category Spain and Portugal of its selection of 50 Wine Classics You Must Try.
For more information see: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/50-wine-classics-you-must-try

International Value Wine Awards 2009.
07/11/09. For the International Value Wine Awards of the Canadian magazine Wine Access, wines are judged which are sold in Canada for 25 Canadian dollars or less. During the judging in Calgary from June 7^th to 13^th a Judges’ Choice was awarded to the following Port Wines:
-      Graham’s LBV 2001 88 points.
-      Taylor Fladgate 10 Years Old Tawny 88 points.
-      Fonseca Bin No 27 Finest Reserve 86 points.
-      Fonseca LBV 2003 86 points.
-      Sandeman LBV 2000 86 points.
-      Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve 86 points.
-      Graham’s Six Grapes Vintage Character (!) 85 points.
For more information see: http://www.wineaccess.ca/articles/item/cash-in-on-the-world%2526%2523039%3Bs-best-wines-for-%2425-or-less

IWSC 2009 (2).
07/11/09. On June 6^th we published the Best of Class Gold Awards of the International Wine and Spirit Competition (see here). Now the Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage 1998 won also the National Wine Trophy in the category Port Wine.

The following Port companies have been nominated for the election of the Portuguese Wine Producer:
-      Symington Family Estates.
-      Adriano Ramos Pinto.
-      Quinta Nova de Nossa enhora do Carmo.
-      Rozès.
The result will be announced on November 26^th .

The entry numbers for the IWSC amounted this year to 6,500 for wines and spirits together.

For more information see: http://www.iwsc.net/pages/product_trophies/ and http://www.iwsc.net/pages/producer_trophies/

Cellars of the World - International 2009.
07/11/09. The Cellars of the World - International is the wine competition of the Ottawa Wine & Food Show. The judging was on October 17th. We find three medal winners from the Port Wine industry in the category Port - all prices:
- Gold for the Ferreira Dona Antonia Reserve.
- Silver for the Taylor Fladgate First Estate.
- Bronze for the Taylor Fladgate 10 Years Old Tawny.
The 2008 ranking of the WaWWJ for this competition is 6.00/10.00. The entry numbers amounted to 360.
For more information see: http://www.ottawawineandfoodshow.com/wineCompetition.html

Wine Enthusiast: Top 100 Cellar Selections 2009.
07/11/09. The American Wine Enthusiast Magazine has published its Top 100 Cellar Selections of cellar-worthy wines for a fair price. In the list we find three 2007 Vintage Ports :
- 6th the Dow's Vintage 2007 with 96 points.
- 15th the Taylor Fladgate Vintage 2007 with 95 points.
- 23rd the Niepoort Vintage 2007 with 96 points.
For more information see: http://www.winemag.com/Media/PublicationsArticle/Top%20100%20CS.pdf

New Port weblogs.
03/10/09. In a short time five new blogs have started, two of Port lodges and three of quinta’s.

Kay Steffey Bouchard writes on http://quintadotedo.wordpress.com/ She owns Quinta do Tedo together with her husband Vincent Bouchard. For the time being she has published four times, especially on the viniculture aspects of their quinta. So far we unfortunately miss the more actual information, for example something about this year’s harvest.

News of Fonseca’s Quinta do Panascal (The Fladgate Partnership) is published on http://quintadopanascalvisitorscentre.wordpress.com/, also about the running harvest.

The staff of Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos (Symington Family Estates) publishes intensively about the harvest on http://malvedos.wordpress.com/

Items about the products and activities in the lodges of Croft and Taylor’s (both of The Fladgate Partnership) are published on http://croftportwinelodges.wordpress.com/ and http://taylorsportwinelodges.wordpress.com/

Harvest 2009.
03/10/09. For the first time this year the harvest in the Douro can be followed in detail on the internet. Especially Quevedo and Q. dos Malvedos prove to be real bloggers:
http://quevedoportwine.com/
http://malvedos.wordpress.com/

But information can also be found at other addresses:
http://quintadopanascalvisitorscentre.wordpress.com/
http://churchillsestates.blogspot.com/
http://www.niepoort-projectos.com/dirk.php

Generally the harvest has started 10 to 20 days earlier than normal. The conditions in the Douro are heavy. Three dry winters have stressed the vines and the weather has been warm since mid August, by which some varietals have suffered but others have benefitted. Probably the results will differ from lot to lot.

Sales 2007 Vintages better than expected.
03/10/09. On September 10^th Richard Woodard published in the English magazine Decanter about the market for the 2007 Vintages. He writes that the sales are buoyant, with strong demands in the UK market.
The Symington Family Estates (Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, etc.) claim it will sell 3 million English pounds of 2007 Vintages by the time its en primeur campaign ends at the end of September.
Paul Symington said: “Considering the gloomy comments sometimes made about Port and the fact the UK is in the middle of the worst recession for some 40 years, this is fantastic news and we are very pleased with the 2007 campaign”.
Adrian Bridge of the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft) told Decanter: “The UK has cemented its position as the pre-eminent market for en primeur vintage Port. We're pleased with it. Continental Europe is also very good, but North America is a little soft. That's what I would expect, given that they are much more cautious over there”.
See for this article: http://www.decanter.com/news/289028.html

Nicolau de Almeida nominated by Wine Enthusiast.
03/10/09. On September 3^rd the American magazine Wine Enthusiast published the 50 nominees for the ten categories of its tenth annual Wine Star Awards. In the category Winemaker of the Year João Nicolau de Almeida of Ramos Pinto will enter into Roberto de la Mota - Argentina, Ben Glaetzer - Australia, Ernst Loosen - Germany and Scott McLeod - California.
The result will be published in the December 15 issue which will be available at the beginning of November.
For more see: http://www.winemag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=893157557F4C471B90CE816DBB0EB3A6

IVDP events calendar as of October 2009.
03/10/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Brasil and Portugal:

Brasil:
. November 5th - Great tasting of 2007 Vintages - Consulado Geral de Portugal - SP São Paulo.

Portugal:
. September 24th-October 15th - Concurso de Gastronomia com Vinho do Porto.
. October 23rd - Great tasting of 2007 Vintages - Palácio da Bolsa.
. November 28th-29th - Porto & Douro Wine Show, Lisbon, 4th edition - Convento do Beato, from 15.00 to 21.00.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?content=eventos

Revista de Vinhos no. 238, September 2009.
03/10/09. The September issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Quinta Dona Matilde:
António Falcão writes that the Barros family has bought back Q. Dona Matilde from Sogevinus. This quinta takes up 98 hectares, of which 28 under vine. The company produces Douro wines. The grapes for Port production are sold to Taylor’s.

Museus do Vinho:
Samuel Alemão reviews some wine museums. He judges the Museu do Douro in Peso da Régua with 17 points on a score chart to 20 and the Museu do Vinho do Porto in Oporto with 12 points especially because of the site which should be in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Quinta Nova:
João Paulo Martins reports the launch of some new wines of Q. Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. He judges the Ruby Reserve with 15 points and the LBV 2005 with 16 points.

Quinta da Veiga:
In the news section the tourist accommodation with eight rooms of Q. da Veiga is reviewed. The quinta is situated beyond Q. de la Rosa on the road from Pinhão to Covãs do Douro.

Wine competitions generally. 03/10/09.

New biological competition in Germany.
03/10/09. The fair organization BioFach and the organizer of the MUNDUSvini competition (see here) Meiniger Verlag will jointly start a new competition for biological wines. The judging of this Erster Internationaler Bio-Weinpreis MUNDUSvini BioFach will be in Neustadt from December 7^th to 9^th . The organizers expect about 700 entries, the closing date is November 7^th .
For more information see: http://www.mundusvini.de/7506384--~de~InternationalerBioWeinpreisMUNDUSviniBioFach~MUNDUSvini~mundusvini_allgemein.html

Concurso Gastronomia com Vinho do Porto 2009.
03/10/09. This year the IVDP and the Revista INTER Magazine organize the sixth edition of the bi-annual competition for combinations with Port (or Douro wines) for Portuguese restaurants. Almost 100 participators have entered their creations for three courses. They all combine their dessert with Port. Much less participators pair their starter with Port and only four restaurants offer Port with a starter, a main course and a dessert.
Judging will be in September and October.
All combinations can be found at: http://www.gastronomiacomvinhodoporto.com/docs/restaurantes.php

The Gourmand Awards 2009.
03/10/09. The book Uma Cozinha no Douro by Rui Paula (publ. Quid Novi) has received the Best In The World Gourmand Award in the category First Cookbook in Paris on July 1^st . The book contains recipes from restaurant D.O.C. in Armamar.
The photos in this book by Nelson Garrido finished third in the category Best Cookbook Photography In The World.
The book was sponsored by Sogevinus (Cálem, Kopke, etc.).

The book Vinhos do Douro by Francisco Esteves (publ. Colares) gained the third place in the category Best Book In The World for European Wine.

For more information see: http://www.cookbookfair.com/html/paris_july_1_2009.html

Concours International des Vins de Montagne 2009.
03/10/09. During the 17^th Concours International des Vins de Montagne in Saint-Vincent, Italy from July 2^nd to 4^th the following Port products won a medal:
-      Caves Santa Marta (Adega Cooperativa de Santa Marta de Penaguião) LBV 1994 a Great Gold Medal.
-      Caves Santa Marta Vintage 1996 a Gold Medal.
The prizes were announced during the Award Ceremony on September 4^th .
The competition contained 508 entries (in 2008: 534).
For more information see: http://www.cervim.org/en/awards-ceremony-09.aspx

MUNDUSvini 2009.
03/10/09. During the ninth International Wine Prize Competition MUNDUSvini of Meiniger Verlag in Neustadt - Germany from August 28^th to 30^th and from September 4^th to 6^th two gold medals were awarded to the following Port products:
-      Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Offley LBV 2004.
The competition contained 5,726 entries (in 2008: 5,343).
For more information see: http://www.mundusvini.de/7554484--~de~internationaler_weinpreis~ergebnisse~2009.html and choose: Weinart: Port/Madeira/Sherry, Herkunfstland: Portugal and Anbaugebiet: Douro.

New Zealand International Wine Show 2009.
03/10/09. During the fifth New Zealand International Wine Show from September 7^th to 9^th gold medals were awarded to the following Port products:
-      Graham’s 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Sandeman LBV 2000.
-      Sandeman Vintage 2000.
The competition contained more than 2,000 entries (in 2008: 2,273 - a record).
For more information see: http://www.nziws.co.nz/index.htm

Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition 2009.
03/10/09. During the first Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition in San Diego on September 26th and 27th a silver medal was awarded to the Osborne LBV 2003.
The competition contained 552 entries.
For more information see: http://www.sommelierchallenge.com/results_so.html

Croftmanship by Axel Probst.
09/09/09. Recently Axel Probst of the website World of Port published a good article about the Port house Croft. The in German written story contains a preface, the paragraphs History, Quinta da Roêda, Location on site and Executive Summary and 21 tasting notes.
The article can be found at: http://www.worldofport.de/Download/World_of_Port-Croftsmanship.pdf

Vintage 2007 tastings.
05/09/09. Recently the results of some important 2007 Vintage tastings were published:

Mark O’Halleron and Rosemary George MW reported in Decanter. They tasted 41 brands. They gave short notes, but no points. See: http://www.decanter.com/recommendations/subrecommendation.php?rid=555&sid=1696

Richard Mayson, the author of Port and the Douro, judged 48 brands. He wrote short notes and rated Graham’s with 19.5 points and Dow’s, Quinta do Vesúvio Capela and Taylor’s Q. de Vargellas Vinha Velha with 19 points.
At the bottom of the list we find Q. do Portal with 10 points and Q. do Ventozelo with 9 points.
See: http://www.richardmayson.com/Port_Notes/2009/05/27/2007_Vintage_Port/ and
http://www.richardmayson.com/Port_Notes/2009/07/07/2007_Vintage_Port_Part_II/

Wine Spectator published the scores of 43 barrel samples without further notes. The Taylor’s Fladgate Q. de Vargellas Vinha Velha got 97-100 points and Graham’s 96-99 points.
At the bottom we find Ramos Pinto Q. da Ervamoira and Q. de Santa Bárbara (Poças) both with 84-87 points.
See: http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/0,3739,262,00.html

Q. do Vesúvio Vintage tasting.
05/09/09. Jamie Goode, the English wine writer, reports on his website Wineanorak of his tasting of all Quinta do Vesúvio Vintages from 1989 to 2006. The highest score goes to the year 2003 with 97/100. The lowest rating is for the Vintages 1992, 1998 and 1999 with 91/100 points.
See: http://www.wineanorak.com/portugal/vesuvio.htm

Douro in “New 7 Wonders of Nature”.
05/09/09. The Douro river/valley has made it to the final 77 in the competition for the “New 7 Wonders of Nature”.
This competition and others are organized by the website http://www.vote7.com/ founded by the Swiss Bernard Weber in the year 2000.
Voting started in December 2007 between over 440 locations in more than 220 countries. On July 7th 2009 a list with the 77 highest scoring participators was determined. One of these was the Douro river/valley. Unfortunately the “Panel of Experts” did not choose the Douro as one of the 28 finalists, but it has been placed on the Reserve List.
The official declaration of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” will be in 2011.

Villas for sale in vineyard.
05/09/09. The villas near the Aquapura Douro Valley Hotel at Quinta de Vale Abraão (next to Q. da Pacheca) are for sale, for full as well as partial ownership (no time sharing).
It involves 14 villas at the Douro bank and 7 villas in the vineyards. The areas vary from 102 to 252 square metres with prices between 460,000 and 965,000 Euros. Partial ownwership is possible as of 112,500 Euros.

See: http://www.aquapurahotels.com/footer-menu/property-owner/information/fractional.aspx
See also our News item of 06/10/07 New hotel next to Q. da Pacheca.

Porto VIP Passport with Cálem.
05/09/09. Cálem is participating in the new Porto VIP Passport, together with seven other organizations in Oporto en Vila Nova de Gaia. The passport is valid for 48 hours, costs 39 Euros and therefore gives a high discount if all participators are visited.
The joined tourist and cultural attractions are:
-      Fundação da Casa da Música.
-      Fundação de Serralves.
-      Douro Azul.
-      STCP Serviços.
-      Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis.
-      Museu do Carro Eléctrico.
-      Sea Life.
-      Cálem.
Unfortunate maybe for Port lovers is that the Museu do Vinho do Porto does not participate.
The passports are available including at the cash desks of the participating organizations, in the hotels in Oporto and V.N. de Gaia and at the kiosk of STCP Serviços in the Praça da Liberdade.

For more information see also: http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/media/docs/Caves_Calem_inovam_com_Porto_VIP_Passport-PR.pdf

Sales numbers first half year 2009.
05/09/09. The sales results for the first six months of this year continue to be bad. The latest numbers (export + Portugal) of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) are as follows (between brackets the numbers of January-March 2009):

-      the volume of all Port sold decreased by 4% (2.8%).
-      the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 6.7% (8.8)%.

-      the volume of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 15.4% (18.6%).
-      the revenue of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 21% (23.7%).

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=73&codSeccao=6&idioma=0

IVDP events calendar as of September 2009.
05/09/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Portugal, Spain and the USA:

Portugal:
. November 28th-29th - Porto & Douro Wine Show, Lisbon, 4th edition - Convento do Beato, from 15.00 to 21.00.

Spain:
. September 17th-26th - Festival de Cinema de San Sebastian, eight lunches with actors and directors

USA:
. September 24th - Tasting wines of the Demarcated Douro Region - Boston University.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?content=eventos

Revista de Vinhos no. 237, August 2009.
05/09/09. The August issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Best buys:
We find four Port Wines in the annual section with best buys: Adega Cooperativa Favaios Monge 10 Years Old Tawny 16 points, Cockburn’s 10 Years Old Tawny 17 points, Andresen Century 10 Years Old Tawny 17 points and Warre’s Otima 10 Years Old Tawny 17 points.

Day’s journey in the Douro:
Samuel Alemão wrote an extensive itinerary for a day’s journey in the Douro region. He selected:
-      Quinta and hotel da Pancheca.
-      Quinta da Casa Amarela.
-      Quinta and hotel do Vallado.
-      Quinta de Nápoles (Niepoort).
-      Quinta do Panascal (Fonseca).
-      Quinta do Seixo (Sogrape).
-      Quinta and hotel do Portal.
-      Quinta and hotel Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo and its Wine House in the Pinhão station.
He mentions the Museu do Douro, the city of Lamego, the panorama point (Miradouro) of São Salvador do Mundo near S. J. da Pesqueira and the historical trains between Régua and Tua as other places of interest.
He advices DOC, Douro In, Cacho d’Douro, Cêpa Torta and Ponte Romano as restaurants.

Barco Rabelo Regata:
Samuel Alemão also reports on the 26^th Regata, but he missed the AEVP communiqué (the association of large shippers) in which was announced that there were two winners this year (see our News item of 01/08/09 Two winners Barco Rabelo Regata.).

Symington biological:
João Afonso describes the enormous plans of the Symington group with 150 hectares of biological managed vineyards in the Douro Superior and the Cima Corgo. It concerns quinta’s bought from Cockburn’s in 2006. The largest part is allowed to carry the designation biological as of 2010 (after 5 years). At the moment Symington already markets the Altano Organic Farming Douro Tinto 2007.

New competitions in USA.
05/09/09. Robert Whitley (see: http://www.whitleyonwine.com/), the director of the San Diego International Wine Competition, the Monterey Wine Competition and the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition, has announced two new competitions. On September 26^th ad 27^th the first edition of the Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition will be organised (see: http://www.sommelierchallenge.com/) and in January 2010 the Winemaker Challenge will be introduced.
Besides competition director, Whitley is also publicist and one of the two founders of Wine Review Online (see: http://www.winereviewonline.com/home.cfm).

Japan Wine Challenge 2009.
05/09/09. During the 12^th Japan Wine Challenge in Tokyo from July 14^th to 16^th the following medals were awarded to Port products:
-      Dalva LBV 2004 (C. da Silva) silver.
-      Cruz Reserve (Gran Cruz) bronze.
The competition contained over 1,400 entries (in 2008: over 1,700).
For more information and the other awards see: http://www.japanwinechallenge.com/information_results2009.html

IWPZ Zürich 2009.
05/09/09. During the Internationale Weinprämierung Zürich from July 14^th to 17^th the following diplomas were granted to Port products:
-      Quinta Seara D’Ordens Vintage 2005 gold.
-      Q. do Passadouro LBV 2004 silver.
The competition contained about 2,100 entries (in 2008: 2,071).
For more information see: http://www.iwpz.ch/

Tasters Guild International Wine Judging 2009.
05/09/09. During the 14th Tasters Guild International Wine Judging in Washington DC from August 20^th to 23^rd a Sandeman Tawny (25-35 US dollars) won a gold medal.
The competition contained more than 2,100 entries.
For more information see: http://www.tastersguild.com/JudgeResults/2009Judge/state.htm

Taylor’s and Croft: Port, strawberries and chocolate.
05/08/09. During the month of August Taylor’s and Croft offer the opportunity in their cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia to dip strawberries in the chocolate of Godiva, the international originally Belgian company. The costs amount to 1.80 Euros.

Taylor’s suggests to combine this with a LBV or a chilled 20 Years Old Tawny.
Croft advises the combination with its Pink, the first rosé Port.

Benefício 2009.
01/08/09. The interprofessional council (Conselho Interprofissional da Região Demarcada do Douro) of the IVDP has set the benefício (production quota) for the next harvest at 110,000 pipas (casks of 550 litres) of most (before adding aguardente). This is 13,500 pipas or almost 11% less than in 2008.
The harvest bulletin (Comunicado de Vindima) of the IVDP has not yet been published, but spokesmen from the sector explain the decrease with the stagnating sales numbers (volume in 2008 -5.4% and in the first trimester -2.8%).
The representative of the large shippers (AEVP) was pleased, but the president of the Casa do Douro (small farmers) was highly dissatisfied.

The development of the benefício has been as follows during the last few years:
2001: 154,000 pipas.
2002: 135,000 pipas or – 12.3%.
2003: 107,900 pipas or – 20.1%.
2004: 126,000 pipas or + 16.8%.
2005: 120,000 pipas or – 4.85%.
2006: 123,500 pipas or + 2.9%.
2007: 125,000 pipas or + 1%.
2008: 123,500 pipas or – 1.2%.
2009: 110,000 pipas or – 10.9%.

Harvest expectations 2009.
01/08/09. On July 10^th the ADVID expected an average yield in the Douro of 241,000 pipas (minimal 219,000, maximum 265,000 pipas of 550 litres). This is an increase of 14% compared to 2008. The ADVID is the development institute for the viniculture in the Douro.
For the complete bulletin see: http://www.advid.pt/ and choose Boletins técnicos da ADVID and Boletim Informativo 05 - Previsão do potencial de produção 2009.

On July 18th Ana Mota of Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo said to the press agency Lusa: “At the moment the expectations for the harvest are very heartening. However some types, like the Touriga Nacional, the Touriga Franca and the Tinto Cão, were considerably afflicted during the flowering, because it rained in that period.”

200 years old Port Wine from ocean.
01/08/09. Hungarian investigators have found about 1,000 bottles with 200 years old Port Wine in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Pernambuco/Brazil. The discovery was made by the company Octopus which is specialised in deep sea investigation. See: http://92.61.114.104/hu/team/default.asp (only Hungarian).
The bottles are undamaged. The wine has been tasted and analysed by the Hungarian Huba Szeremley (connoisseur and entrepreneur) and by the University of Budapest. They stated that the Port is suitable for consumption.
Octopus wants to expose the discovery in the short run in Brazil, Portugal and Hungary. Nothing can be said yet about the value, but Octopus likes to get into contact with interested parties.
(Source: Portugal Global of 07/07/09.)

Q. do Vallado buys quinta in Douro Superior.
01/08/09. Quinta do Vallado near Peso da Régua (see: http://www.wonderfulland.com/wonder2006/wine/vallado/indexwine.htm) has bought a 40 hectares quinta in Orgal near Castelo Melhor in the Douro Superior. The plot was kept by 100 different owners, was bought for 400,000 Euros and got the name Quinta do Orgal. The quinta is situated on the south bank of the Douro, is there one kilometre wide and extends as far as a height of almost 400 metres.

At the moment the quinta not yet produces grapes. From 2010 vines will be planted which demands an investment of about 1.6 million Euros. The yield will be used for Port Wine as well as for table wines.

All this is part of a plan to double the production from 300,000 to 600,000 bottles a year. For this purpose QdoV builds a new winery which will be inaugurated for the next harvest.

QdoV has also plans to build eight new rooms next to the existing hotel.

(Sources: Oje and Expresso of 10/07/09 and QdoV.)

Croft Port: the book.
01/08/09. In 2001 The Fladgate Partnership bought the Croft company. In 2008 the Fladgate published a lovely book on this old Port firm edited by Margaret Rand.
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.

For details see: Library#Croft_Port:_the_book.

Tasting 2007 Vintages in Germany.
01/08/09. On February 12th 2010 Axel Probst (www.worldofport.de) will organize a large tasting in the Bayer Kasino in Leverkusen for which 32 brands have entered now. The event is taking place under the auspices of the IVDP, het Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto.
All Ports can be tasted during the fair. For press and trade only, free of charge from 12.00 to 16.00. For the public from 16.00 to 20.00 hours for an amount of 20 Euros. Visitors will receive a Scott Zwiesel glass of World of Port or the IVDP.
Participators are: Quinta do Noval, Q. do Noval Silval, Q. da Romaneira, Churchill’s, Messias, Q. do Vale D. Maria, Q. do Passadouro, Pintas, Niepoort, Q. do Crasto, Q. do Vale Meão, Quevedo, Sandeman, Burmester, Kopke, Cálem, Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, Q. do Vesúvio, Vista Allegre, Vista Allegre Valle Longo, Delaforce, Royal Oporto, Ferreira, Offley, Ramos Pinto, Poças Jr, Pousada, Cockburn’s, Cockburn’s Canais and Q. de la Rosa.

Soon a link will be available on the World of Port website with regular updates.

Two winners Barco Rabelo Regata.
01/08/09. On June 28th the 26th Regatta of the traditional boats for Port Wine transport was organized, an annual event. The boats Rio Torto of Dow's and Quinta dos Canais of Cockburn's were jointly indicated winners.

Indeed the Rio Torto arrived firstly, but because of irregularities at the start, the ship was moved down to the same time like the Q. dos Canais.

Model of the Barco Rabelo.

Walking routes Quinta Nova.
01/08/09. Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo (see: Round_trip#14.2c._Quinta_Nova.) offers a 17 kilometres long walking circuit over its property of 120 hectares. The circuit has been divided in three routes. These private routes have been approved of the Portuguese Camping and Mountaineering Federation and the Fédération Européenne de la Randonée Pedestre.

The circuit offers the possibility of knowing in detail the history and the customs of a wine-growing farm, but also to participate in other outdoor activities.
The three routes, with different levels of difficulty, go through the wine cellar, the two chapels, tree-lined paths and the three orchards - the Roman, African and Orange tree orchards.

The walks are free. Visitors are only asked to contact the desk in Hotel Quinta Nova between 9.00 and 17.30 for information, a map and the appropriate safety rules. See photo:

See also: http://www.quintanova.com/client/documentos/portuguese/Percurso%20Pedestre%20A4.pdf for the track,
and http://www.quintanova.com/client/skins/english/enoturismo-house.asp for the wine centre in Pinhão.

Hotel plans in Mesão Frio and winery for Q. da Rede.
01/08/09. In 2010 the group CS Hotéis hopes to be able to begin the construction of the Douro Marina Hotel. The plans date from years back when Douro Azul took the initiative. The municipality of Mesão Frio has now started the approval procedure, for which existing rules have to be changed.
The hotel will have 175 rooms, a SPA, a piano bar, a gourmet restaurant and an 18 holes golf course on both river banks.
The investment will amount to 54.5 million Euros and creates 175 jobs.

The same group will extend hotel Solar da Rede, which it also purchased from Douro Azul, with 88 rooms. For this the investment will be 18.2 million Euros. The number of jobs will increase with 30.

Near this hotel the CS group will build Solar da Rede Village, a project with 30 houses. This investment amounts to 15 million Euros and creates 10 jobs.

Finally the group builds a new winery, with three subterranean floors, for Quinta da Rede for 800,000 Euros.

These plans will reduce unemployment in the municipality, now almost 13%, to close on zero.
(Source: Oje of 01/07/09.)

IVDP events calendar as of August 2009.
01/08/09. At the moment no events have been planned by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto.

FTLOP Newsletter 44, July 2009.
01/08/09. The contents of the July newsletter of Roy Hersh/For the Love of Port is:
-      A word from Roy.
-      Port website recommendation: the American organization for sweet and fortified wines.
-      Another chance: painted cards.
-      October 2009 Port harvest tour: the last chance.
-      Guest corner: a Quinta da Vargellas tasting by Nicos Neocleous.
-      Featured article: Port harvest tour 2008 - part 1.
-      Roy’s recent tasting notes: Port, Madeira and Douro wines.
-      A question for the Port trade: a refreshing look at Tawny Ports.
-      In Augustus: Richard Mayson as forum guest.
Especially the question for the Port trade is very informative. The reactions are by Luís Rodrigues, Poças; Claudia Quevedo; João Nicolau de Almeida, Ramos Pinto; Miguel Côrte-Real, Cockburn’s; Fernando Oliveira, Sogevinus and Peter Symington.

The newsletter can be found through an orange box at the right side on the homepage and is free. You only have to registrate: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/user-profile/registers.html

Revista de Vinhos no. 236, July 2009.
01/08/09. The July issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
- The Quinta das Lamelas got 15.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart from 0 to 20.
- The Messias Colheita 1963 scored 18 points.

Conceito Vinhos:
Luís Antunes describes the launch of some Douro table wines and the Vintage 2007 by the company of the Costa Ferreira family near Numão/Vila Nova de Foz Côa in the Douro Superior. He rates the Vintage 2007 with 17.5 points.

San Francisco International Wine Competition 2009.
01/08/09. During the 29^th SF International Wine Competition from June 19^th to 21^st silver medals were awarded to the following real Port Wine products:
-      Dow’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Poças Colheita 1986.
-      Sandeman Founders Reserve.
-      Sandeman 10 Years Old Tawny.
The 10 Years Old Tawny of Sandeman also won the Best of Nation Award.
The competition contained 4,274 entries.
For more information see: http://www.sfwinecomp.com/subresults.html

New legislation.
27/06/09. On May 21^st the Portuguese Council of Ministers approved a new law regarding the Douro region and its wines. The law came about in consultation with the sector. It concerns a simplification and junction of 15 titles, some dating as far back as the early twentieth century. Objective of the new law is to offer protection to the demarcated Douro region, the denominated Port and Douro wines and the geographical indication Duriense.

The new law contains no great changes, however two points are striking:
1.    The new Rosé Port has become definitive. This variant has been developed by The Fladgate Partnership in cooperation with the IVDP and was marketed as Croft Pink in late January 2008. See our News items of 07/06/08 The first rosé “Port Wine”. and 05/07/08 Croft Pink (2): a reply by Adrian Bridge.
2.    The “Lei do terço” in which is regulated that a shipper is never allowed to sell more than one third of his stocks annually, has been somewhat adapted. From now a trader is allowed to buy sales capacity from a colleague, although this is limited.

Cálem celebrates 150^th anniversary with action.
27/06/09. This year Cálem celebrates its 150^th anniversary. The company is doing so with a promotion for Portuguese consumers. The purchase of two bottles of Calém Port or Cálem Velhotes awards a guided tour for two people in the lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia and a White Port and a Ruby or Tawny Port tasting.
The supermarket chains Sonae, Intermarché, Pingo Doce, Jumbo and Corte Inglês are partaking in the promotion.

Also Rosé Port of Quevedo.
27/06/09. During the 2008 harvest Oscar and Cláudia Quevedo, of the company with the same name in São João da Pesqueira, decided to also produce a Rosé Port.
They knew that their vineyard Quinta da Trovisca, with its young vines at an altitude of over 1,800 feet (about 550 metres), would be most suited for doing this. The Rosé has been made of 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and 30% Sousão. The juice was cold fermented for 10 days, a process corresponding to the production of the Croft Pink.
The end product has been bottled in an attractive way. See photo.
See also our News items of:
27/06/09 New legislation.
07/06/08 The first rosé “Port Wine”.
05/07/08 Croft Pink (2): a reply by Adrian Bridge.

Hotel Quinta do Pégo.
27/06/09. Recently Hotel Quinta do Pégo (QdoP) has been inaugurated. Their website www.quintadopego.com however gives little to no information.

QdoP is situated in Valença do Douro, Tabuaço along the road from Peso da Régua to Pinhão, about three kilometres before Pinhão at the right side and opposite to Q. da Boa Vista. Until January 2000 QdoP was owned by Cálem. Then the Danish company AMKA bought 50% of the stocks. In September 2003 AMKA gained full ownership.

The company website mentions the following:
“AMKA was founded in 1978 by Anna Marie Søndergaard who started importing wines as a hobby. She named the company AMKA, which is the combination of her initials and the first two letters of her husband’s name, Karsten Søndergaard. From 1980 both Anna Marie and Karsten were employed fulltime at AMKA, and in 1992 their son Frank joined the management.”
“The company has establishments in eleven countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Portugal and Germany.”

The hotel, with probably ten rooms, (see also our News item of 30/11/02 Cálem and tourism.) will be used especially for visits of AMKA relations. In case of over capacity the rooms will be available for the free market.

QdoP is about 33 hectares in size of which some 30 hectares with vineyards class A. The company produces Douro wines and Port, including the Vintages 2000, 2003 and 2006 and the LBV 2005.

Distribution award for Croft Pink.
27/06/09. On June 18th the Masters da Distribuição 2009 of the Portuguese magazine Distribuição Hoje and the IFE (International Faculty for Executives) were presented in Lisbon. It concerned the 18th edition of this competition.
In the category Bebidas Alcoólicas (alcoholic beverages) the prize went to Croft Pink, the first Rosé Port ever, of the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft) which was marketed late January 2008.
See: http://www.ife.pt/distribuicaoh_masters.asp
For more information see the links in: Also Rosé Port of Quevedo.

IVDP events calendar as of July 2009.
27/06/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following event in Brasil:

Brasil:
. June 30th - Port and Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Naoum Plaza, Brasília.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Revista de Vinhos no. 235, June 2009.
27/06/09. The June issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Veredas do Douro:
João Paulo Martins describes the company Veredas do Douro of the Alfredo Moreira de Silva family. The company has two quintas: Q. de Valbom do Meio in Canelas, Peso da Régua with 15 hectares and Q. da Revolta in Freixo, Campanhã in Porto. Martins rates the Q. da Revolta LBV 2002 with 16 points.

Cellars of Sandeman:
Samuel Alemão reviews the Sandeman lodges along the quay in Vila Nova de Gaia (see also Round_trip#3.Lodges.). He rates the tourist activities with 18.5 points on a score chart to 20.

Sélections Mondiales des Vins 2009 - Québec.
27/06/09;10/08/09. During the sixteenth Sélections Mondiales des Vins in Québec, Canada from May 26^th to 31^st silver medals were awarded to the following Port Wine products:
-      Casal dos Jordões LBV 2004.
-      Caves Santa Marta LBV 1997.
-      Poças LBV 2003.
-      Poças Colheita 1997.
-      Gran Cruz LBV 2001.
-      Quinta Nova LBV 2004.
The competition contained 1,836 entries (in 2008: 2,131).
For more information see: http://www.smvcanada.ca/resultats.aspx?L=E and choose Country: Portugal.

Les Citadelles du Vin 2009 - Bourg sur Gironde.
27/06/09;06/07/09;10/08/09. During the Citadelles du Vin in Bourg sur Gironde near Bordeaux from June 13^th to 15^th three Trophées Excellence (Silver Medals) were awarded to the Vista Allegre Colheita 1995, LBV 2003 and Vintage 2006 (of Vallegre Vinhos).
The competition contained 887 entries (in 2008: 1,107).
For more information see: http://www.citadellesduvin.com/search_palmares.php

IWC 2009 (2) - Trophy’s and Great Value Awards.
27/06/09. On June 6^th we published the Gold Medal winners of the International Wine Challenge (see here). The following of them won a Trophy:
-      The Vintage Port Trophy: Quinta Seara D’Ordens Vintage 2005.
-      The Tawny Port Trophy: Ferreira 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      The LBV Port Trophy: Warre’s LBV 2000.
For more information see: http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/trophies.aspx

The Krohn LBV 2004, which had won a Silver Medal, also won the Great Value Award Fortified Wine between 10 and 15 English pounds.
For more see: http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/GreatValueTrophyWinners.aspx

Next publication.
06/06/09. Our next publication will not be in the weekend of July 4^th and 5^th, but in the weekend of June 27^th and 28^th .

Symington buys Q. de Roriz.
The Symington Family Estates has bought Quinta de Roriz from the João van Zeller family. This transaction comes as a complete surprise. In January 2008, after seven years, van Zeller parted on friendly terms the cooperation with the Symington group to continue business with his nephew and neighbour Cristiano van Zeller and his winemaker Sandra Tavares da Silva (see our News item of 01/03/08: Q. de Roriz breaks with Symington.).
The immediate cause for the recent sale is the crisis in the world economy, which has also hit a large, very luxury, tourism project at the quinta.
Q. de Roriz is situated on the south bank of the Douro east of Pinhão. The company is 200 hectares large of which 42 hectares with vineyards class A.

Consumer survey in UK by students.
06/06/09. Four students of the Catholic University in Lisbon are carrying out a survey about the UK consumer preferences especially focussed on Port Wine. They need at least 400 answers.
You may find their call and a link to the inquiry at this address: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1243620

Fladgate wins ecology award.
06/06/09. On May 4^th the awards of the second edition of the Prémio BES Diversidade were presented. In the category Bioversidade e Empresas (Biodiversity and Companies) the honour went ex aequo to two companies. The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft) won the prize for its project “Um Novo Modelo de Vinha no Douro (A New Model Vineyard in the Douro)”.
See: http://www.bes.pt/sitebes/cms.aspx?plg=B2008AAC-BFC3-4638-858C-C0C7DF6D96BE
The new Fladgate model has been under development since 2002 and is an example of ecological sound viniculture in mountain sceneries. It is a variant of Patamares terraces. The wide terraces, with only one row of vines, have been covered with native herbs.
See: http://www.taylor.pt/pt/news.htm See also photo.
BES is the Banco Espérito Santo S.A. a bank which also wants to engage in biodiversity.
See: http://www.bes.pt/sitebes/cms.aspx?plg=9D47B799-5CE7-4283-A39E-D6B1E2677617

PT instead of COM.
06/06/09. Wines & Winemakers (with Port of Adega Cooperativa de Mesão Frio and Quinta da Peça) has changed its website extension, giving the following motivation:

“Wines & Winemakers is formed by Portuguese producers, Portuguese wine, Portuguese winemakers, Portuguese grape varieties and Portuguese people.
It doesn’t make sense to be Portuguese and not use our Portuguese web address.
We are celebrating the fact that we are Portuguese and would like to introduce you to our web address:”

www.winesandwinemakers.pt

Sales numbers January - March 2009.
06/06/09. The sales results for the first three months of this year are bad. The latest numbers (export + Portugal) of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) are as follows:

-      the volume of all Port sold decreased by 2.8%.
-      the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 8.8%.

-      the volume of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 18.6%.
-      the revenue of the Special Categories/Premium Ports sold decreased by 23.7%.

The complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=73&codSeccao=6&idioma=0

IVDP events calendar as of June 2009.
06/06/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Brasil, France and Portugal:

Brasil:
. June 24th - Port and Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Pestana Rio Atlântica, Rio de Janeiro.
. June 30th - Port and Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Naoum Plaza, Brasília.

France:
. June 21st-25th - Vinexpo 2009, Hall 1, BD 329 - Parque des Expositions, Bordeaux.

Portugal:
. June 9th - Festival Nacional do Vinho, Combinations with Port Wine, Chef Luís Américo (Restaurant Degusto) - Amphitheatre 17.00 - Santarém.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Revista de Vinhos no. 234, May 2009.
06/06/09. The May issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

Casa do Douro searching for the future:
Samuel Alemão writes about the situation of this winefarmers organization in the Port region. The debt to the state and some banks of 105 million Euros still dominates the business. The recently reelected director sees payment with its large Port stocks as the only solution, though this disrupts the production as well as the sales possibilities of the entire sector (see our News item of 01/03/08: Three shippers buy 14,500 pipas of Port Wine from the CdoD.).

Tasting 2006 Vintages:
João Paulo Martins reports on a tasting with fourteen 2006 Vintages. The small number shows the low quality of this harvest year.
The winner is Quinta do Vesúvio with 17.5 points.
At the bottom of the list we find Q. da Colmaça (São João da Pesqueira) and Q. da Costa das Aguaneiras (Fernando Albuquerque/Casa de Mateus) both with 14.5 points.

International Wine Challenge 2009.
06/06/09;10/08/09. During the twenty-sixth International Wine Challenge (IWC) from April 14^th to 24^th gold medals were awarded to the following Port Wine products:
-      Sandeman 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Sandeman 40 Years Old Tawny.
-      Offley 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Ferreira 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre LBV 2003, Unfiltered.
-      MHV Regimental LBV 2004. Produced by Sandeman.
-      Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira Vintage 2007.
-      Q. Seara D’Ordens Vintage 2005.
-      Marks and Spencer Vintage 1994.
-      Dow’s Q. Senhora da Ribeira Vintage 2006.
-      Dow’s Vintage 1985.
-      Warre’s LBV 2000.
-      Warre’s Otima 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Q. do Vesúvio Vintage 2000.
We were not able to find the entry numbers. Probably they were disappointing. In 2008 there were more than 9,000.
The Trophies and other special awards will be announced on June 19^th .
For more information and the other awards see: http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/Tradesearch.aspx and choose Country: Portugal, Region: Douro and the award type.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2009.
06/06/09;17/06/09. During the Decanter World Wine Awards competition (DWWA) from April 20^th to 24^th the Dow’s Crusted Port 2003 won the “Port over 10 English pounds Trophy”.
Gold medals were granted to:
-      Dow’s Crusted 2002.
-      Ferreira 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Sandeman LBV 2004.
-      Taylor’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Tesco Finest 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Vallegre Vista Alegre Vintage 2006.
-      Warre’s Otima 10 Years Old Tawny.
The competition contained 10,285 entries and this makes it the biggest in the world according to Decanter.
For more information and the many other awards see: http://www.decanter.com/worldwineawards/2009/results.php and choose Search by location: Portugal, Port and the award type.

International Wine and Spirit Competition 2009.
06/06/09. During the fortieth International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) Best of Class Gold Awards were granted to the following Port Wine products:
-      Dow’s LBV 2004.
-      Dow’s 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage 1998.
A gold medal went to the Ramos Pinto Q. do Bom Retiro 20 Years Old Tawny.
The Product Trophies are announced in October and the Individuals and Producers Trophies on November 26^th.
The entry numbers are still unknown because the competition for the southern hemisphere is not yet closed.
For more information and the other awards see: http://www.iwsc.net/search/fortified-wine/ and choose Category: Port.

Florida International Wine Challenge 2009.
06/06/09. During the fifth Florida International Wine Challenge in South Beach on April 25^th and 26^th a bronze medal was awarded to the 10 Years Old Tawny of Sandeman.
The competition contained 238 entries.
For more information see: http://www.fiwc.net/FIWC-2009-WINNERS.pdf

Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009.
06/06/09. During the sixteenth Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Valencia, Spain from April 25^th to 27^th Gold Medals were awarded to the following Port Wine products:
-      Dalva Colheita 1985 (C. da Silva).
-      Dalva Vintage 2000.
-      Offley 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Offley Reserva Forrester (Ruby).
-      Cruz 1992 (Colheita or Vintage?).
-      Quinta Seara D’Ordens LBV 2004.
The competition contained 6,289 entries.
For more information see: http://www.concoursmondial.eu

Drinks Business Awards 2009.
06/06/09. During the London International Wine Fair (LIWF) from May 11^th to 14^th the winners of the Drinks Business Awards were announced. In the category Best Design & Packaging the Warre’s Warrior (John E. Fells) was shortlisted.
For more information see: http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/content/view/10083/415/

Concurso Nacional de Vinhos Engarrafados 2009.
06/06/09. During the Concurso Nacional de Vinhos Engarrafados in Santarém, Portugal from May 12^th to 15^th the following Port products were crowned a CNVE:
-      Vallegre Vista Alegre Colheita 1995.
-      Ferreira Duque de Bragança 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Messias 30 Years Old Tawny.
-      C. Da Silva Dalva Colheita 1985.
-      Vallegre Vista Alegre Vintage 2006.
-      Vallegre Vista Alegre Old White.
-      Quinta Seara D’Ordens LBV 2004.
-      Gran Cruz Vintage 2000.
The competition contained 518 entries.
For more information see: http://cnema.pt/xms/files/Documentacao/2009/CNVE/PremiadosCNVE2009.pdf

Critics Challenge 2009 - San Diego.
06/06/09. During the sixth Critics Challenge International Wine Competition in San Diego on May 23^rd and 24^th a Critics Platinum Award was granted to the Graham’s Reserve Six Grapes and a Critics Gold Award to the Dow’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
The competition contained 1.415 entries.
For more results see: http://www.winereviewonline.com/critics_challenge_2009_results.cfm
See also: http://www.criticschallenge.com/home.cfm

2007 Vintages (2).
03/05/09. Even though many Port houses have already announced that they will produce 2007 Vintages (see our News item of 04/04/09), The Fladgate Partnership waited untill the traditional moment on Dia de São Jorge, on April 23^rd . The company will market 2007 Vintages of its main brands Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft.

On April 8^th Maggie Rosen published an article with some quotes on this 2007 Vintage at Decanter (see: http://www.decanter.com/news/280355.html):
Dirk Niepoort: “The Vintage is very, very good. It’s less structured, and less powerful than 2003, for example, but more delicate and harmonious, and will live a long time.” Pressed for an answer he said: “To compare 2007 with 1994.”
Johnny Symington: “The cooler conditions led to ‘one of the best years we have seen for Touriga Nacional’ - which suffers if exposed to excessive heat. The final blend will reflect this with over half comprising this varietal.”
Luís Sottomayor (Sogrape): “The wines are showing a wonderful quality, assuring a long life and great evolution - precisely what you expect from Vintage Port.”

A list is kept at The Portforum, see: http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2677

Weblog Churchill’s.
03/05/09. After Quevedo en Niepoort (see our News items of 06/12/08) Johnny Graham of Churchill’s Estates has also started a weblog at: http://churchillsestates.blogspot.com/

Graham writes about his plans with this blog:
“My blog is for those of you who would like to learn more about Churchill's Port and wine - from how we make it to how you should drink it, to learn about the Vintage as and when it is happening, and to feel part of the story that is Churchill's. I will be sharing our news, my tasting notes, what I'm drinking from my own cellar, my plans for Churchill's and much much more.”

Visiting figures cellars in V. N. de Gaia.
03/05/09. In 2008, 720.000 people visited the lodges of the members of the Associação das Empresas de Vinho do Porto in Vila Nova de Gaia (see: www.infoportwine.com/round_trip.htm#Lodges.). This is 3% more than in 2007.
Most visitors came from France, followed by Portugal, Spain, England and Italy. Portugal was oust from the first place firstly in ten years. See also: http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=1&ACT=5&content=365&mnu=1

Sales numbers entire 2008 (2).
03/05/09. On April 4^th we published the most important sales numbers for 2008 (see here). Now we give a survey of the numbers of the most important countries. The sharp rise of the German sales are remarkable in these times of crisis.

The top eight in volume for all Port sold were:
1.    France 28.1%; -2.6%.
2.    Netherlands 15.2%; -7.7%.
3.    Portugal 14%; -2.6%.
4.    Belgium 12.3%; -5.7%.
5.    UK 10.2%; -12.4%.
6.    Germany 4.8%; +15.5%.
7.    USA 4.2%; -7%.
8.    Canada 2.1%; -14.1%.

The top eight in revenue for all Port sold were:
1.    France 23.5%; -1.4%.
2.    Portugal 15.9%; -3.4%.
3.    Netherlands 12.8%; -5.3%.
4.    Belgium 10.7%; -3.8%.
5.    UK 10.6%; -20.5%.
6.    USA 6.6%; -16.1%.
7.    Germany 4.4%; +20.5%.
8.    Canada 4%; -17.6%.

The top eight in volume for the Special Categories/Premium Ports were:
1.    UK 28.91%; -23.8%.
2.    France 14.04%; -2%.
3.    USA 12.98%; -13.2%.
4.    Portugal 10.7%; -7.2%.
5.    Canada 8.2%; -14.1%.
6.    Netherlands 7.83%; -0.3%.
7.    Belgium 4.12%; +7.6%.
8.    Germany 3.58%; +42.4%.

The top eight in revenue for the Special Categories/Premium Ports were:
1.    UK 19.64%; -29.7%.
2.    Portugal 15.87%; -2%.
3.    USA 14.4%; -19.9%.
4.    France 12.07%; -3.5%.
5.    Canada 9.72%; -17.4%.
6.    Netherlands 7.95%; +3.3%.
7.    Belgium 4.36%; 0%.
8.    Germany 3.28%; +45.3%.

For more information see: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=73&codSeccao=6&idioma=0

IVDP events calendar as of May 2009.
03/05/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in England, France and Spain:

England:
. May 12th-14th - London International Wine Fair - Exel, London.

France:
. May 7th - Hotel school organization - Lycée Prof. Louis Antoine Bougainville, Nantes.
. June 21st-25h - Vinexpo 2009, Hall 1, AB 328 and BD 329 - Parque des Expositions, Bordeaux.

Spain:
. May 19th - Douro and Port Wine tasting - Hotel The westin Palace, Madrid.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Revista de Vinhos no. 233, April 2009.
03/05/09. The April issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains no news on Port Wine.

Dallas Morning News Wine Competition 2009.
03/05/09. On April 16^th the results were published of the 25^th Dallas Morning News Wine Competition from February 16^th to 17^th. The Presidential Ruby of C. da Silva won a gold medal in its category.
The competition contained 3,146 entries.
For more information and the other medals see: http://www.dallaswinecomp.com/misc/2009Awards.pdf

Wine Masters Challenge 2009 - Estoril.
03/05/09. During the eleventh Wine Masters Challenge in Estoril, Portugal from March 27^th to 29^th the following gold medals were awarded to Port Wine products:
-      Gran Cruz Reserva.
-      Gran Cruz 10 Years Old Tawny.
-      Gran Cruz 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Caves Santa Marta LBV 1997.
-      Quinta do Pégo Vintage 2006.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre Colheita 1995.
-      Wiese & Krohn, Krohn 20 Years Old Tawny.
The competition contained 4,188 entries.
For more information and the other medals see: http://winemasterschallenge2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/silver-medals.html
See also: http://www.winemasters.pt

Monde Sélection 2009 - Belgium.
03/05/09. Monde Sélection in Wauthier-Braine, Belgium organized its Concours International des Vins 2009 in Maleizen from April 2^nd to 4^th. The following Port Wine products won a gold medal:
-      Quinta de Marrocos Colheita 2000.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre Colheita 1995.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre Old White.
-      Wiese & Krohn, Krohn Vintage 2003.
The competition contained 401 entries.
For more information and the other medals see: http://www.monde-selection.com/en/International_Wine_Contest/Results_2009/International_Wine_Contest_Results_2009.asp#Portugal

Wine & Spirit Design Awards 2009.
03/05/09. The English magazine Harpers Wine & Spirit has published its Design Awards in the April 17^thissue. The Best Fortified Award went to the much-discussed Croft Pink of The Fladgate Partnership. (See our News items of 07/06/08 and 05/07/08.)
See also: http://www.wine-spirit.com/category/9086/Design-Awards.aspx

Challenge International du Vin 2009 - Bordeaux.
03/05/09. During the 33^ste Challenge International du Vin in Bourg-sur-Gironde/Bordeaux on April 18^th gold medals were awarded to the following Port Wine products:
-      Sandeman Imperial (Tawny) Reserve.
-      Sandeman 40 Years Old Tawny.
-      Sandeman Vau Vintage 2000.
-      Wiese & Krohn, Krohn Colheita 1991.
-      Wiese & Krohn, Krohn LBV 2004.
-      Wiese & Krohn, Krohn 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Caves Santa Marta LBV 1997.
-      Caves Santa Marta Vintage 1998.
-      Barão de Vilar Colheita 1999.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre LBV 2003.
-      Vallegre, Vista Alegre Vintage 2006.
-      Ferreira LBV 2004.
The competition contained 4,721 entries.
For more information and the other medals see: http://www.challengeduvin.com/search_palmares.php and choose Europa: Portugal and Appellation: DOC. Porto.

100 Years Old Tawny.
04/04/09. At the opportunity of the centennial of the international known, still active film maker Manoel de Oliveira a special 100 Years Old Tawny was marketed, namely the “100 - Centenário de Manoel de Oliveira”. The wine is from his family’s quinta Q. da Portalinha in Santa Marta de Penaguião in the Baixo Corgo and was created by the not less famous winemaker João Nicolau de Almeida (Ramos Pinto).
The idea for this Tawny came to mind already 10 to 15 years ago when De Oliveira offered a bottle to his friend Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, the father of winemaker João. Fernando wrote: “This is a museum wine”, making De Oliveira decide to mature the Port even more.

The presentation of the hundred years old was organized in the Museu do Douro in Peso da Régua on February 27^th . The wine is sold in the museum shop exclusively.

A total of one cask - pipa - of 600 litres has been produced. The bottle was designed by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. For the time being 300 bottles have been bottled. The price is set at 800 Euros.

2007 Vintages.
04/04/09. Dia de São Jorge on April 23rd is often seen as the moment for the announcements of new Vintages. It says much about the high expectations for 2007 that already now is known that many brands wil produce a Vintage of that year. The Portforum sticks closely to the developments and gives an actual list at the following address, with 20 brands by now, among which all Symington houses: http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2677

Quevedo adopts QR Codes on Wine Labels.
04/04/09. Quevedo has started to use dynamic and interactive labels on its bottles. The company is incorporating a QR Code (QR states for Quick Response) on the back-labels of its wines, which can be read by mobile phone. The bottles with this technology have been available in Portugal since February and will be released in USA next May.

The information pertaining to the QR Code can be read in restaurants, wine shops or in any other place by scanning the code with the camera of a mobile phone. The screen will show a link to the wine database Adegga.com (http://www.adegga.com/). Comments from other users can be found there, as well as food pairing suggestions or tasting notes of the wine. Beside Quevedo's wines there are over 10,000 wines from 50 different countries available from this site. See images QR Code and backlabel.

To provide the mobile phone with a QR Code reader it is necessary to download the software (free of charge) from http://reader.kaywa.com. The QR Code technology, a two dimensional matrix code, was created in 1994 by Denso-Wave, a Japanese company. Early 2008 Adegga.com and Catavino (http://www.catavino.net/) came up with this idea to use it in wine marketing. One year later Quevedo joined the project using QR Codes for its bottles. The founder of the company, Oscar Quevedo, explains the reason for adoption of the technology as follows: "The new labels will make it easier to share opinions about our wines to consumers all around the world."

Tasting 1970 Vintages.
04/04/09. On January 30^th Axel Probst and friends organized a large tasting of 1970 Vintages in London (see our News item of 27/12/08).
Axel has now published an extensive report with ratings in German at http://www.worldofport.de/Download/World_of_Port-Vintage_1970.pdf
Unfortunately the Fonseca and the Dow’s were “corked” and the Graham’s had a very strange bouquet.
The highest scores with both 19 points were for Taylor’s and Quarles Harris. Warre’s came in as a good third with 18+ points.

Revista de Vinhos: “The Best of the Year 2008”.
04/04/09. The editors of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos have published their choice of “The Best of the Year 2008” in the no. 231 issue of February 2009. By doing so it made for their tenth version of these “Wine Oscars in Portugal”. The following awards were granted to the Port Wine industry:
-      Company of the Year: Esporão (with Quinta dos Murças).
-      Company of the Year for fortified wines: Sogevinus (Cálem, Burmester, Kopke, etc.).
-      Winemaker of the Year for fortified wines: Pedro Sá (Sogevinus).
-      Excellent Award: Burmester Vintage 2005 and Burmester Tordiz 40 Years Old Tawny, Kopke Colheita 1957, Offley 30 Years Old Tawny and Quinta do Vesúvio Vintage 2005.
-      Best from the Port regio Awards: Alfarella (Guilherme Barbosa) 40 Years Old Tawny, Borges Vintage 2005, Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 2005, Niepoort Colheita 1998 and Vintage 2005, Q. da Romaneira Vintage 2005, Croft Q. Da Roeda Vintage 2005, Krohn Colheita 1983 and Taylor’s Q. De Vargellas Vintage 2005.
-      Best Buy Awards: Barão de Vilar LBV 2003, Fonseca LBV 2001, Poças LBV 2001, Niepoort LBV 2004, Q. de la Rosa LBV 2003, Q. Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo LBV 2003, Messias Dry Old White, Q. Seara d’Ordens Reserva Ruby, Burmester LBV 2003 and Barros LBV 2003.

No cooperation Casa do Douro with Dão Sul and RCV.
04/04/09. The negotiations between the Casa do Douro and Dão Sul/Global Wines about the take-over of 51% of the stocks which the CdoD possesses in Real Companhia Velha have been terminated. (See our News item of 01/03/08.)
The president of the CdoD said he wanted to wait for a better occasion and that in this phase of the crisis negotiations are very difficult.

Still under negotiations is the 7.2 million Euros debt of the CdoD to RCV. The CdoD would like to pay off this debt with 600 to 650 thousand stocks RCV.

There still no news available regarding Joe Berardo’s plans with the CdoD (see our News item of 01/03/08).

Quinta Nova site renewed.
04/04/09. Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo has entirely renewed its website www.quintanova.com. The main menu contains The Estate/Quinta, Wine/Vinhos and Wine Tourism/Enoturismo.

The particular Port Wine encyclopaedia can be found again in “From Grape To Wine” in The Estate/Quinta.

Wine tourism has been divided into Hotel Quinta Nova and the Wine House in Pinhão. An excellent survey of the many possibilities and offers is given for both objects. The walking tours from Hotel Quinta Nova and the museum of the Wine House deserve special attention.

Sales organization Symington Portugal.
04/04/09. The Symington Family Estates have taken a 75% interest in Portfolio Vinhos in Vila Nova de Gaia, a distribution company for the Portuguese market. The other 25% of the stocks remain in the hands of the Cândido da Silva Family who founded the company in 1940. The current Symington team of seven salesmen has already been integrated in the company. Besides all proprietary products the company will offer special products of other producers too.
See also: www.portfoliovinhos.pt

Separate site lodges Graham’s.
04/04/09. The Symington group has created a separate website for the Graham’s lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia: www.grahamsportlodge.com. The site has a Portuguese, an English and a French version. Besides general information the site offers good information on individual visit possibilities, catering and events, the wine bar and the shop.

The general website http://www.grahams-port.com has also been radically renewed.

Sogrape office Hong Kong.
04/04/09. Sogrape (Ferreira, Offley, Sandeman) has inaugurated a sales office in Hong Kong.
Earlier on both Shanghai and Singapore were discarded as possible places for the office. Hong Kong was most suitable in regards to most wishes like a four hours flight to Japan, Sogrape’s main market in the region, and close to China, an important future market.

Sales numbers entire 2008.
04/04/09;16/04/09. Influenced by the worldwide crisis the sales numbers of the entire year are not good. The latest numbers (export + Portugal) of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto are as follows:

-         the volume of all Port sold decreased by 5.4%.
-         the revenue of all Port sold decreased by 7.1%.

-         the volume of the Special Categories sold decreased by 11.8%.
-         the revenue of the Special Categories sold decreased by 13.3%.

The complete information can be found at:
http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&

IVDP events calendar as of April 2009.
04/04/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Brasil, England, France, Portugal and Spain:

Brasil:
. April 23rd - Port and Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Pestana, Curitiba.
. April 28th - Port and douro Wine tasting - Hotel Unique. São Paulo.

England:
. May 12th-14th - London International Wine Fair - Exel, London.

France:
. April 28th - Hotel School organization - Lycée Ch Cros, Carcassone.
. May 7th - Hotel school organization - Lycée Prof. Louis Antoine Bougainville, Nantes.
. June 21st-25h - Vinexpo 2009, Hall 1, AB 328 and BD 329 - Parque des Expositions, Bordeaux.

Portugal:
. April 19th-22nd - Alimentária - Fil, Parques das Nações, Lisbon.

Spain:
. April 7th - Combination tasting - Restaurante La Retoñera, Trabanca.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

New website Revista de Vinhos.
04/04/09. Somewhere in 2004 the website of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos was terminated. You were always able to find the complete last edition of the magazine on this site, but apparently this could not be continued.
The site the magazine has now set up offers good information (in Portuguese), but of course not the most recent articles. The address is unchanged: www.revistadevinhos.iol.pt
The site is really actual in the matter of the section News items of which the last articles are presented on the homepage. The section Tasting notes is updated until the second last printed edition. The other sections are less up to date.

Revista de Vinhos no. 231, February 2009.
04/04/09. Besides the “Best of the Year” (see above) the February issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains an article by Samuel Alemão. He describes the tourist activities of Quinta do Portal with Hotel Casa das Pipas and the new visitors centre of architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. Alemão rates these activities with 17.5 points on a score chart of 0 to 20.

Revista de Vinhos no. 232, March 2009.
04/04/09. The March issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New product:
The Quinta de la Rosa Colheita 1997 got 16.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart of 0 to 20 and was chosen as one of the six Selections of the Month.

Quinta da Romaneira:
Samuel Alemão writes about the luxury Quintahotel Romaneira dos Sonhos. He rates their activities with 19.5 points from 20. (See also our News item of 02/06/07.)

Walking tours Q. das Carvalhas:
João Afonso reports on the walking tours at Quinta das Carvalhas of Real Companhia Velha. There are guided group activities for at least 10 people with a lunch at the recently bought neighbouring Q. do Ventozelo. The price comes to 30 Euros a person. Although this activity has already been promoted for a while, no information can be found on the extensive RCV website. Contact is possible through 00 351 254 738 050.

Florida State Fair International Wine and Grape Juice Competition 2009.
04/04/09. During the 21^st Florida State Fair International Wine and Grape Juice Competition from February 5^th to 7^th the following medals were granted to real Port products from Portugal:
-      Double Gold to the Osborne Tawny.
-      Silver to the Osborne LBV 2003.
-      Bronze to the Osborne Ruby.
The competition contained 1,382 entries.
For more information see: http://www.fgga.org/results/2009/Booklet+By+Class.pdf

Vinalies Internationales 2009 - Parijs.
04/04/09. During the Vinalies Internationales in Paris from February 27^th to March 3^rd gold medals were awarded to the following Port Wine products:
-      Ferreira Duque de Bragança 20 Years Old Tawny.
-      Krohn Colheita 1968.
-      Rozès Vintage 2005.
The Vinalies Internationales is organized by L’Union des Oenologues de France.
The competition contained almost 3,500 entries.
More information and the silver medals can be found at: http://www.vinalies-internationales.com/en/resultats-vinalies-internationales.php?langue=en and choose Country: Portugal and Appellation: DOC porto.

Essência do Vinho 2009 - Oporto.
04/04/09. During the sixth Essência do Vinho in Oporto from March 5th to 8th a Top 10 of Portuguese wines was chosen by an international jury. In this list we find two Vintages 2006:
1.    Quinta do Vesúvio.
2.    Dow’s Quinta Senhora da Ribeira.
For more information see: http://www.essenciadovinho.com/essenciadovinho/img/eventos/38/ficheiros/ProvaTOP10EV2009.pdf

Jointly with Essência do Vinho the magazine Wine organized BW 2008 - Wine & Olive Oil Design Awards International Competition for the first time. In the category Line Product of the Wine Design Awards the first prize went to “Ode Port Wine” the Port line of Wine Cluster (Solene).
For more information see:
http://www.essenciadovinho.com/essenciadovinho/img/eventos/38/ficheiros/bwda_premiados.pdf

The same combination of Wine/Essência do Vinho chose some Best of the Year. From the Port Wine industry:
-      Personality of the Year: Jorge Roquette van Quinta do Crasto.
-      Winemaker of the Year: Jorge Serôdio Borges (Q. Do Passadouro and together with his wife Sandra Tavares da Silva the company Wine & Soul with the brand Pintas.)
See also: http://www.essenciadovinho.com/php/noticia.php?noticia=457&lingua=1

San Diego International Wine Competition 2009.
04/04/09. During the 26^th San Diego International Wine Competition on March 21^st and 22^nd a Gold Sweep Medal was awarded to the Dow’s LBV 2003.
For more information see: http://www.winereviewonline.com/san_diego_competition_2009_results.cfm

Q. do Vallado especially invests in Douro wines.
14/02/09. On January 6^th the English magazine Decanter wrote that Quinta do Vallado invests especially in the production of Douro wines. Manager João Álvares Ribeiro told the magazine: “For smaller companies, table wine will be the future. The Port wine business is dominated by the big houses and we can’t play in that league.”

QdoV is situated northeast of Peso da Régua on the east bank of the Rio Corgo and is part of the Douro Boys. See also Round trip 14.2f.

The company spent about 400,000 Euros on 40 hectares of vineyards in the Douro Superior, close to the Spanish border. QdoV expects that the new planting of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and some experimental Syrah will set them back over 1 million Euros. Ribeiro said: “We need more grapes and we can get them at good prices but have not got full control over quality, and we don’t know what the price of grapes will be in 10 or 20 years’ time.”

QdoV also invests 6 million Euros in a new winery that should be ready for the 2009 vintage. This will double the annual production to 600,000 bottles.
For the article see: http://www.decanter.com/news/276619.html

RCV in large tourism initiative.
14/02/09. Real Companhia Velha and the municipality of Alijó have signed an agreement with the Grupo Vila Sol from São Pedro do Estoril on the realization of several tourism projects. The plans, already worked on for three years, enclose a four star hotel at Quinta (do Casal) da Granja near Alijó, a five star hotel elsewhere in the Douro valley, two golf courses and units for tourism accommodations. The total plans comprise 200 new rooms. The investment costs are estimated at 186.5 million Euros. The combination expects to be able to start with the realisation in one and a half to two years.

For this public/private cooperation a company will be founded, managed by Grupo Vila Sol. Vila Sol finances the project. The municipality of Alijó and RCV will contribute the necessary building sites. RCV will manage the wine activities.

During the presentation of the plans it was also announced that RCV will relocate its cellars to Alijó.
(Source: ICEP Turismo of 12/10/09.)

Single Quinta Vintages tasting of Decanter.
14/02/09. The English magazine Decanter has published the results of a tasting in January with 27 Single Quinta Vintages. At the top of the list we find Quinta de Vale Meão and Quinta da Prelada, both with 5 stars.
For the full results see: http://www.decanter.com/recommendations/subrecommendation.php?rid=526&sid=1606

IVDP events calendar as of February 2009.
14/02/09. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium, Germany and Spain:

Belgium:
. February 16th - Port Wine, Chocolate, cigars - Cigars club, Kortrijk.
. February 19th - Port Wine, Chocolate, cigars - Cigars club, La Louviere.

Germany:
. March 29th-31st - Prowein - Dusseldorf - Hall 6, Stand H30.

Spain:
. February 24th - Forum Gastronómico Girona 2009 - Port Wine tasting with José Avillez and Bento Amaral.

See also: http://www.ivdp.pt/eventos.asp

Revista de Vinhos no. 230, January 2009.
14/02/09. The January issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following information on Port Wine:

New products:
- The Quinta do Portal LBV 2004 got 16.5 points from the editorial staff on a score chart from 0 to 20 and was chosen as one of the six Selections of the Month.
- The Q. Nova (de Nossa Senhora do Carmo) LBV 2004 scored 16 points.

Tasting 10 Years Old Tawnies.:
João Afonso reports on a tasting with 41 Ten Years Old Tawnies. He writes that no excellent wines were found, but several came close.
The winners with 17 points are: Andresen Century, Cockburn’s 50 cl, Niepoort, Sandeman and Warré Ótima.
At the bottom of the list we find the Romariz.

Quinta dos Murças:
João Paulo Martins and João Geirinhas interviewed João Roquette and David Baverstock about this last purchase of Finagra/Esperão (see our News item of 06/12/08). They will focus especially on table wines but will maintain the 10 Years Old Tawny and will maybe be able to produce a 2007 Vintage.

IVV Awards 2008 for Monteiro and DUORUM.
14/02/09. On December 7^th the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho (http://www.ivv.min-agricultura.pt/actualidades/index.html) presented one of its Career Awards to Jorge Monteiro the ex-president of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP).
See also our News item of 01/11/08.

One of the Awards for Entrepreneurship and Innovation went to DUORUM Vinhos, the Douroproject of João Portugal Ramos and José Maria Soares Franco.
See also our News item of 04/10/08.

Hideaway award 2009 for Hotel Q. da Romaneira.
14/02/09. Andrew Harper, the specialist in small luxury hotels, has chosen Hotel Quinta da Romaneira or Romaneira dos Sonhos as his Hideaway 2009.

“Andrew Harper is the pseudonym of a gentleman traveller who, frustrated by commercial driven travel coverage, began writing his own candid reviews of smaller, unique hotels. The Hideaway Report, which began as a small newsletter for friends and family, is now one of the most distinct voices in luxury travel.”
See: http://www.andrewharper.com/Consideration/Luxury-Travel/
See also our News item of 02/06/07.

Portuguese Tourism Awards 2008.
14/02/09. On January 21^st the awards of the fourth edition of de Prémios Turismo de Portugal were presented during the Bolsa de Turismo in Lisbon. This competition is organized by Turismo de Portugal, a government organization and knows eight categories.

In the Category New Private Project the award went ex aequo to three objects in the Douro:
-        The Aquapura Douro Hotel in Lamego.
-        The D.O.C. Restaurant in Armamar.
-        The visitors centre of Quinta do Seixo of Sogrape in Tabuaço.

For more information see: http://www.turismodeportugal.pt/premios2008/default.aspx?content=232

Berliner Wein Trophy 2009.
14/02/09. During the thirteenth Berliner Wein Trophy from January 22^nd to 26^th Grosser Berliner Gold awards were granted to the following Port Wine products:
-        The Cálem LBV 2000.
-        The Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage 1998.
-        The Graham’s The Tawny.
The competition contained 3,152 entries.
For more information and the other awards see: http://www.berliner-wein-trophy.de/ergebnisse.aspx?lang=en and choose: Category: Port wine, Country: Portugal, Area: Douro and Apellation: Porto e Douro.