A glass of chilled white port in front of the Dom Luis bridge in the city of Porto, Portugal. White port is an aperitif.


A glass of chilled white port in front Dom Luis bridge over the River Douro between the cities of Porto, and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. White port is served as an aperitif. The image is taken from a tourist boat, a modified barcelo or traditional wine transport boat, on the River Douro. Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Porto or port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. It has various styles; white,tawny,vintage,ruby,late bottled vintage. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto. Port is produced from grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro wine produced is then fortified by the addition of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente in order to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content. The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a cave (pronounced "ka-ve" and meaning "cellar" in Portuguese) as is the case in Vila Nova de Gaia, before being bottled. The wine received its name, "port", in the latter half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe. The Douro valley where port wine is produced was defined and established as a protected region, or appellation in 1756, making it the oldest defined and protected wine region in the world.


Size: 3600px × 2593px
Location: Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto,Portugal
Photo credit: © Derek Gale / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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