PORT WINES. The name of port wines, or Oporto wines, is given, in commerce, to the produce of the vineyards of Portugal, the dis trict in which they are produced being a rugged and mountainous tract that begins about 60 miles above Oporto, and extends for 30 or 40 miles with an extreme breadth of about 12 miles. Port is naturally a very rich and delicate wine, vary ing in color from a pale rose to a deep red. It owes its special character partly to the soil of the district where it is grown, partly to the climate, which is cold in winter and very hot in summer. The harvest lasts from the beginning of September to the middle of October. The wines for export are very much mixed and are strongly fortified with brandy, partly to make them sooner ready for export and partly to suit the taste of the foreign markets. The mixing of the various wines considerably reduces the variety of qualities of port exported, compared with those which are naturally produced.. The
English market has always been the principal market for port wine. English connoisseurs have tended more than anything else to spread its fame in other countries. The taste for this wine was introduced into England in the 17th century and English establishments were formed in Oporto to direct the purchase and shipping of the wines. These companies eventually united into a sort of corporation called the English Factory, which became completely master of the market. In the following century (1756) the Marquis of Pombal organized an association of producers to oppose this monopoly of buyers and the company then established imposed re strictions on the trade which were not finally abolished till 1853, a new company having lat terly taken the place of the old. In recent times the vines have suffered rather severely both from the oidium and from the more serious plague of the phylloxera. See WINE and WINE