Warre Porto Otima 10 Year Old Tawny 500ml

Winery: Warre

Region: Porto

The ancient city of Porto, capital of Portugal, has a wine history which stretches back over the millennia, and helped shape the world of wines as we know it today. Sailors and explorers leaving Porto helped introduce grapevines to the New World in the 16th century, and thanks to the vast variety of vines which grow around Porto, they had plenty of varietals to choose from. Indeed, over a hundred grape varietals are permitted by law for use in Porto's famous Port wines, although only five are commonly grown and processed in the impressive and historic Port wineries. The Douro river valley which Porto's finest vineyards are situated in is in fact one of the oldest protected wine regions in the world, and thanks to its mineral rich soils and wonderful climate, is widely regarded as one of the world's most ideal locations for viticulture.

Country: Portugal

Portugal has been an important center for wine production ever since the Phoenicians and Carthaginians discovered that the many native grape varietals that grow in the country could be cultivated for making excellent wines. After all, Portugal has something of an ideal wine producing climate and terrain; lush green valleys, dry, rocky mountainsides and extremely fertile soil helped by long, hot summers and Atlantic winds. Today, such a climate and range of terroir produces an impressive variety of wines, with the best wines said to be coming out of the Douro region, the Alentejo and the Colares region near Lisbon. Portugal has an appellation system two hundred years older than France's, and much effort is made by regulating bodies to ensure that the quality of the country's produce remains high, and the wines remain representative of the regions they are grown in.