50 THE VINE AND CIVILISATION. 
‘‘Port Wine. The wine country of the Douro extends 
along the banks of that River in Portugal, about fourteen 
leagues from the city of Oporto, from which the wine receives 
its name. The vine is very generally cultivated in the king- 
dom of Portugal, but it is the vineyards of the banks of the 
Douro alone that produces the celebrated port wine. The 
vine-training is of the low kind, like the French, and the vine- 
yards are on the slopes of schistous hills of most favourable 
aspect; a small black grape, producing a light-coloured, dur- 
able wine, much esteemed; also the bastardo, black and small, 
grown on a deep slaty soil, is one of the best species ; there 
are also several others, as Tinta Lameira, Tinta Caa, ete. 
‘« The grapes are trodden in vats, with the stalks, and while 
fermentation proceeds the operation is repeated, while the time 
of fermentation rarely exceeds seventy-five hours; the wine is 
then put into tuns, containing a dozen pipes each. After Feb- 
ruary it is racked, brandy being added in the proportion of 43 
gallons per tun, to larger quantity, to suit the intended market. 
England, where port wine is a favourite, is the largest market ; 
twenty thousand tuns a year was formerly required to supply 
the English market. The best sent to market is from the centre 
of the Upper Douro. Port is said to be less esteemed in 
England than formerly; still a recent sale in London is 
reported of port, bottled 1840 and 1842, at £6 per dozen bot- 
tles, by the bin. 
‘‘ The United States, Brazil, and Germany take about 5,000 
ipes. 
** Lisbon Wines are of two kinds, dry and sweet. Char- 
neco, a wine mentioned by Shakespear, in Henry VI., came 
from a village of that name not far from Lisbon. Formerly 
dry Lisbon was a noted table wine, but was thought (probably 
unmeritedly) not good for nervous persons. 
