Few months ago we talked here about closures, advantages and disadvantages of using cork, screw-cap or a plastic plug to close a bottle of wine. The major disadvantage of the cork is the possibility of TCA contamination, which develops an off flavour in READ MORE

Cork plays a critical role in the wine business. It has historically been the most used closure and nowadays it closes around 70% of all the wine bottles in the world. However, in the last decades both screw caps (made out of aluminum, READ MORE

Over the last centuries the Douro has built up its reputation as a top quality wine region due to the huge success of Port, more specifically Red Port. Since 1756, when Marquês de Pombal started delimiting and regulating the Douro, people are aware READ MORE

Have you noticed, during the last time you visited the Douro valley, a fast growing evergreen tree with yellow flowers that may remind you of big bunches of white grapes? This non-native tree, Acacia dealbata (Portuguese nickname is Mimosa), loves to grow on READ MORE

Some years ago my sister came home and said do my father: “Hey dad, why don’t we convert the olive grove into organic production?”. My dad looked at her and replied with another question: why should we do that?”. And Claudia said something READ MORE

We have spoken few times about how dry the weather has been this Winter. The lack of rain has been harmful not only for the vineyards but also for the rest of the crops, mostly olives and almonds trees, which are the most READ MORE

Those who have been visiting the south of Europe for the last weeks know what the title of this post means. The weather in the Douro valley, in Portugal, and also in many areas of the Mediterranean has been wonderful. Clear sky with READ MORE

Editor’s note: One of these days, I was going with Luiz Alberto from Porto to the Douro when we started talking about the eruption of the Icelandic vulcano Eyjafjallajökull in April last year and its effects on grapes ripening in the Douro. Other READ MORE

A few days ago I was in England for a Port and Douro wine tasting in The Square & Compasses, an old pub located in Fuller Street, in Fairstead, Essex. Fuller Street is a very small village, with under 50 people, where everybody READ MORE

Since the beginning of the season over 68,000 hectares of forest have burnt in Portugal, around 10,000 of which were in the Douro. A part from the severe consequences of these disasters, the inevitable question now is, will the smoke of these fires READ MORE