Port Shipped by Sail

[JacobH]

I've seen a few news stories about a company called either Port O’Bristol or Xisto which is shipping Portugese wines to England by sail. They have three Ports from Quinta de Val da Figueira for sale: a 10YO Tawny, a dry white, and the 2011 VP. Not exactly bargain prices but I imagine the overheads are a bit pricier than putting the bottles in a container on the back of an HGV. I presume they have done something to check that the wines aren't going to bake during the journey, although there is no discussion of that on the site as far as I can see.

I wonder how they got the wines down the Douro to Porto? It's a bit of a pity that Val da Figueira does their own bottling so they won't have been shipping it down by pipe on a baraco rabelo. And even a more of a pity that they didn't manage to get a barrel of plant based purple fabric dye on the boat too for maximum authenticity. But then I guess they are aiming more at the eco market than the historic one!

[jdaw1]

even a more of a pity that they didn't manage to get a barrel of plant based purple fabric dye on the boat too for maximum authenticity.

Portuguese law still restricts export in bulk. Very un-eco of the Portuguese, but that’s how it is.

[JacobH]

Yes- hence the tongue-in-cheek reference to exporting it as a dye! It's a pity that the regulations for Port don't really produce a market for declassified Port as in other regions which might allow experiments like this to happen again.

[Axel P]

Vale da Figueira Ports are ok, but not extraordinary. I dont see them benefiting from sailing to the UK, other than being exposed to heat and/or sun for some time.

They are a little higher than La Rosa on the same road. Owned by one of the Calem family members.

[Andy Velebil]

The wine import company is called PORT O' BRISTOL by Xisto Wines Ltd. Except for the white, the prices aren't too bad. I've not had the VP, but the 10 year is quite good.

[JacobH]

Having looked a bit deeper, it seems that they did attempt to ship some table wine by barrel for bottling in the UK, although I can’t see that it is on sale at the moment. I presume barrels of table wine are a bit easier to deal with from the regulatory side than barrels of Port (especially if they are not Douro DOC wines but either something that has been declassified or from one of the surrounding regions).

One of the table wines they sell is a three-pack by Mateus Nicolau de Almeida containing a bottle from each of the Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. It’s a rather nice idea, I think, although strangely they don’t specify from where they get the grapes. Would be even better with Port: something light and drinkable from the Baixo Corga, an elegant Port from the Cima Corgo, and a dark tannic monster from the Douro Superior!