The Centre founded International Port Wine Day on January 27th in 2012, as part of its Wine Origins project.
The aim of this initiative is to preserve cultural heritage through promoting Port wine (and other Portuguese wines) around the world.
Port wine has been part of the Portuguese culture for centuries. It was first produced in the 17th century, when a British merchant named John Methuen came up with the idea of fortifying wines from the Douro Valley with brandy. This process made it possible to export port wine to other countries, which made it one of Portugal’s biggest exports.
Portugal is the 11th largest wine producer globally and its wines are exported to over 150 countries worldwide.
The Douro Valley is a region in northern Portugal that produces some of the world’s finest wines, including port. It is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, dating back to Roman times. The valley was once full of vineyards but today only around 70 remain and they are mostly used for producing port wine.
