THE PLEASURE OF PORT - The inside story of a unique fortified wine

The mysteries of Port Wine are revealed herein, from their origin in the Douro vineyards through to their long slumber in the Vila Nova de Gaia lodges. Throughout our journey, we will get to know a little of this 300-year- old history, the winemaking methods, the varieties of vines and the Denomination of Origin regulations. More important, still, we will become acquainted with the several types of Port Wine, when best to drink each one of these, which ones are best stored for some time in your cellar and which are not and, in the case of Vintage Port - the crown jewel - some purchasing suggestions: which Ports have now reached their peak and should be bought for drinking now and which ones deserve to be kept for a little while longer. There always is a perfect occasion for drinking this fortified wine - whenever you feel like it! We just offer a few suggestions to ensure that you get the utmost pleasure from that special moment. This book also provides additional useful information, from a description of the various groups in the sector to the opening times of the Visitor Centres in the lodges and, to make it easier to read, a glossary of the most frequently used technical terms. Cheers! May you enjoy many happy moments reading this book, always with a glass of Port.


João Paulo Martins é jornalista especializado na área dos vinhos e, nessa qualidade, tem colaborado em várias publicações nacionais e estrangeiras. É redactor da Revista de Vinhos, colaborador da revista Metrópoles (editada pela Área Metropolitana de Lisboa) e colunista do Expresso. Desde 1998 que é membro do júri do Concurso Mundial de Bruxelas e tem sido convidado para outros concursos, em Londres – International Wine Challenge –, na África do Sul, Brasil, Madrid e Chile. Publicou o livro Tudo sobre Vinho do Porto, em quatro línguas diferentes, o Guia de Vinhos Generosos (ambos editados pelas Publicações Dom Quixote) e a obra de gastronomia e vinicultura Portugal de Hoje à Mesa, em coordenação conjunta com Vítor Sobral (Livros d'Hoje). Publica, há 20 anos consecutivos, o guia Vinhos de Portugal.