the surface, and are trodden by peasants with wooden shoes, The juice that flows from them is collected in casks; and these, as they are filled, are lodged in the stores, where the fermentation is allowed to take its course, continuing generally from the month of October till the beginning or middle of December. When it has ceased, the wines are racked from the lees, and those intended for exportation receive whatever addition of brandy they may be thought to require, which seldom exceeds three or four gallons to the butt. The wine thus prepared has, when new, a harsh and fiery taste, but is mellowed by being allowed to remain four or five years, or longer, in the wood; though it only attains its full flavour and perfection after having been kept fifteen or twenty years. Sometimes bitter almonds are infused in it, to give that nutty flavour which is so highly prized in this wine. The driest species of Sherry is the Amontillado, made in imitation of the wine of Montilla, near Cordova. As the quantity manufactured is very limited, it sells much higher than the other kinds."

OF THE WINES OF PORTUGAL.”

"SINCE the commencement of the last century, the political relations of England and Portugal have rendered us extremely familiar with the wines of the latter country, and obtained for them a degree of favour and importance, which, under other circumstances, they could hardly have acquired; for their intrinsic merits would entitle them, at most, to be placed on a level with the better sorts of Spanish wines, and the secondary growths of France. In many of the provinces the vine is planted indiscriminately on hill and plain, on indifferent soils, and allowed to shoot up to a great height; a great mixture of species, also, is observable in the vineyards; but in the vicinity of Lisbon, and along the course of the Douro, the culture of the plant is better understood; and it is accordingly from these territories that the supply which comes to this country, under the denomination of Lisbon and Oporto wines, is derived.

"The wine country or district of the Cima do Douro, or Upper Douro, commences about fifty miles from the harbour of Oporto, and presents a succession of hills on both sides of the river, which afford the choicest exposures, and such loose and crumbling soils, as have been shown to be most propitious to the culture of the vine: but the best wines are procured from those that overlie beds of schist (lousa), and consist chiefly of the decomposed rock, as in the territory of the

Axarquia, mixed in some places with mica. The whole of this district is placed under the superintendence of a chartered company, called the General Company for the Cultivation of the Vineyards of the Alto Douro, which had formerly the power of fixing not only the prices of the different qualities of the wines, but even the limits within which they were to be produced. Accordingly the vintages have been usually divided into two principal classes; namely, Factory wines (vinhos da Feitoria), and secondary wines (vinhos de ramo), the purchase and sale of which was for a long time confined to the company. The Factory wines are again subdivided into vinhos de embarque, or export-wines, destined for the English market; and vinhos separados, or assorted wines, for exportation to the Portuguese colonies and other foreign countries, or for home consumption. The vinhos de ramo are used partly for distillation, and partly for the supply of the taverns in Oporto, &c. The company has also the monopoly of all the brandy used in Oporto and the surrounding country; and, until very lately, had the sole right of supplying the taverns."

"As soon as the grapes begin to shrivel, they are gathered and introduced into broad and shallow vats, where they are trodden along with the stalks; and this operation is repeated several times during the fermentation, which, in the case of the superior wines, continues about seventy-two hours. When the liquor has ceased to ferment, it is removed into large tuns, containing from eight to twenty pipes each. After the fair of the Douro, which commonly takes place in the beginning of February, the wine is racked into pipes, for the purpose of being conveyed down the river into the cellars of the Factory, or of the wine merchants of Oporto, who make their purchases at this period. To that which is reserved for exportation a quantity of brandy is added, when it is deposited in the armazens, or stores; and a second portion is thrown in before it is shipped, which is generally about twelve months after the vintage. When it arrives in this country, it is of a dark purple or inky colour, a full rough body, with an astringent bitter-sweet taste, and a strong flavour and odour of brandy. After it has remained some years longer in the wood, the sweetness, roughness, and astringency of the flavour abate; but it is only after it has been kept ten or fifteen years in bottle, that the odour of the brandy is com pletely subdued, and the genuine aroma of the wine is developed. During the process of melioration, a considerable portion of the extractive and colouring matter is precipitated

on the sides of the vessels in the form of crust; and when this takes place in a great degree, the wine becomes_tawny, and is found to have lost its flavour and aroma. In some wines this change occurs much earlier than in others, especially in those which have been manufactured from white grapes, and coloured with elderberries, or other heteroge neous materials, as is frequently the practice of the winemakers when there is a deficiency of black grapes; and it is always hastened by a large admixture of brandy.

"Whether this last-mentioned ingredient in the composition of Oporto wines was originally introduced with the view of enabling them to bear sea carriage, or merely in order to please the English palate, it is of little importance to determine. In this country, however, it has become an article of belief, not only that the quality of these wines is much improved by the admixture, but that they will not even keep any length of time without a certain portion of brandy."

Towards the middle of the last century, it appears, that the adulterations which were practised in the manufacture of Port wines had become so glaring and universal, as to cause a very great diminution in the demand for those wines, and consequently in the prices and the quantity exported: and the distress resulting from this stagnation of trade was still further increased by several failures that happened about the same time, among the farmers and wine merchants. Certain individuals of Oporto, in conjunction with the proprietors of the vineyards, availing themselves of the discontent and clamour which had been excited by these occurrences, suc ceeded in persuading the Portuguese government to sanction the formation of a joint-stock company for the protection of the commerce of the wines of the district. The professed objects of these gentlemen, as stated in their petition to the king, were, "to encourage the culture of the vineyards; to secure the reputation of the wines, and the support of both the one and the other by fixed prices; to promote, in consequence, inland and foreign commerce; and, finally, to insure the preservation of the health of his, majesty's subjects*." By the alvara, or royal patent, which was issued to them on the 10th of September, 1756, they were accordingly authorized to form a company, with a capital of one million eight hundred thousand crowns, in shares of four hundred each; and the powers conferred upon them were, as has been al

1

Review of the Discussions relating to the Oporto Wine Company, Lond. 1814, P. 7.

1

ready stated, very ample. Among other articles, it was enacted,

"1. That the district calculated for the growth of the export-wines should be marked out, and the mixture of these wines with others from without the boundary prohibited.

“2. That no one should be permitted to cover the vines with litter; as this operation, though it considerably aug→ mented the produce, tended to deteriorate the quality of the wine.

"3. That, in the manufacture of the wine, no one should. use elder-berries, which not only gave it a false and evanes cent colour, but also changed its natural flavour (the planting of the elder being at the same time forbidden within the line of demarcation, and orders given to extirpate the plants that already existed).

"4. That, after each vintage, a list should be made out of the number of pipes in every cellar within the district; and that the wine-tasters of the company, and others to be nominated by the farmers, should prove them, and arrange them in classes, distinguishing such as were fit for exportation, and delivering to the proprietors a corresponding ticket.

"5. That the market should be opened on a certain day, and should be free to all English merchants, to such Portuguese as were qualified as legitimate exporters, and to the company itself."

"Into the history of this monopoly it is not my intention to enter minutely, as the principles on which it was founded are now universally abandoned."

"When the late revolution in the government of Portugal took place, hopes were entertained, that the privileges which had been so rashly conferred, and so greatly abused, would be entirely done away; or, at least, that such a change might be effected in the constitution of the company, as would deprive it of its objectionable character. Soon after the installation of the Cortes, the policy of the original patent and subsequent enactments was brought under review, in various memorials presented to that body by the corporations of certain towns, and by some of the landed proprietors in the Alto Douro. These papers were printed by order of the Cortes; and a spirited analysis of their contents, drawn up by one of the deputies, in which the mischiefs of all restrictions on commerce and agriculture were forcibly exposed, seemed to warrant the expectation, that the evils complained of were about to be effectually redressed. In the mean time the company was not inactive. The merchants of Oporto

had proposed a plan of reform, which tended to abrogate all its privileges, and to reduce it to a simple mercantile association. The farmers of the Douro, on the other hand, little understanding their own interests, were easily persuaded to give in a counter-petition, praying not only for the continuauce of the company, but even for the concession of greater powers than it already possessed; while the directors submitted a project of their own, in which, although they abandoned several of their former claims, such as the right of pre-emption with respect to the wines of the Douro, &c., they took care to reserve one of the most lucrative branches of the company's trade,-namely, the monopoly of all the brandy used in Oporto and the vicinity. In the beginning of last year, these different proposals were referred to a committee, which reported in favour of the company's plan, with some slight alterations: and, accordingly, the said plan of reform was embodied in the shape of a decree, which passed the Cortes on the 11th of May, and received the royal sanction on the 17th of the same month. Of the articles which it comprises, the following are among the most important :

"1. The General Company for the Superintendence and Encouragement of the Vineyards of the Alto Douro shall continue in existence, in as far as the production of wines in that district shall exceed the quantity exported and used for home consumption."

"5. The existing divisions of Feitoria and Ramo shall cease: but the exterior line of demarcation shall be retained, comprehending all those lands which are now planted, or may afterwards be planted with low vines, within the said boundary.

"6. The directors of the company shall continue, as heretofore, to take an account of the quantity and qualities of wine produced, and regulate the tonnage upon it.

"9. The government, on receiving the report of the di rectors, shall determine, according to circumstances, both the day for the opening of the fair of the Douro, and the time of its duration; provided always, that the opening be not deferred beyond the second day of February.

"10. The preferences which the law had accorded to the company, and the legitimate export-merchants (negociantes legitimos exportadores), are declared to be abolished.

11. Every citizen shall be at liberty to purchase wines in the Alto Douro, and to sell them in the town of Oporto, or wherever else he may find expedient, as well as to distil any wines, whether of his own manufacture, or bought by him.