3.4: Port - Wine Law and Wine Business Flashcards
How many landowners are there in Douro?
21,000 landowners
Of all the landowners in the Douro, what percentage owns less than .5 ha? Less than 5 ha?
.5 - 43%
5 - 92%
What do most growers do with their grapes?
sell their grapes to one of the medium or large producers or to a cooperative
What percentage of the total wine do cooperatives produce?
20%
How many producers produce significant volumes of port?
30-35
Who is the largest producer? What brand(s) do they own?
- Porto Cruz
- owns: Grand Cruz
Who is the second largest producer? What brand(s) do they own?
- Symington Family Estates
- owns: Cockburn’s, Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s amongst others
Who is the third largest producer? What brand(s) do they own?
- Sogrape
- owns: Sandeman, Offley and Ferreira
Who is the fourth largest producer? What brand(s) do they own?
- Fladgate
- owns: Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Krohn
Who is the fifth largest producer? What brand(s) do they own?
- Sogevinus
- owns: Burmester, Barros, Cálem and Kopke.
What is the IVDP?
- Instituto dos Vinhos do Porto e do Douro
- inter-professional body
- controls and supervises the production and trade of wines in the Douro (both unfortified wines and Port)
When was the IVDP formed?
2003
What did the IVDP replace? What is its role?
- IVP
- to govern and represent the interests of wine producers in the Douro
Name some of the responsibilities of the IVDP.
- regulates the amount of Port that can be produced in any one year (the beneficio)
- holds the register of vineyards as well as companies involved in wine production and shipping
- controls the volume of Port that can be released onto the market in a year
- analyses and tastes Port wines to ensure they meet the specifications of the different legally defined Port styles
- has a role in the promotion of Port and unfortified wines from the Douro Valley
What is the max volume of Port that can be released onto the market in a year?
maximum of one third of a shipper’s total stocks
What is the beneficio?
- highly regulated system that determines the amount of Port must (i.e. grape juice designated for Port) that can be produced in a year
- also the amount of Port must that can be produced
Describe the beneficio system.
- each vineyard parcel classified in terms of capacity to produce quality grapes for Port, considering factors such as location, altitude, aspect, soil and grape varieties planted
- vineyard parcel receives a numerical value for each one of these factors
- final total is used to give the parcel a letter
What does the beneficio system mean for two vineyards in neighbouring locations but planted with different grape varieties?
would likely gain different scores and possibly different letters
Describe the beneficio rating system. What is the best rating? What does it mean? What is the worst rating?
- parcels are given the letters A to I
- the letter awarded determines the amount of Port wine that can be made from the parcel
- ‘A’ denoting the vineyards of the highest quality and therefore those that can produce the most Port wine
- vineyards with a rating below F cannot make Port wine, but can be used to make un-fortified wine or distilled into spirits
Who agrees on the amount of must that can be produced each year? What factors are taken into consideration?
- the growers, the producers and the IVDP
- market demand as well as the current stocks available in the market
What is the main aim of the beneficio system?
to keep grape and wine prices stable through its influence on the balance of supply and demand
How can land owners trade in the beneficio system?
- each landowner given a card or certificate for each parcel of land that they own
- legally permitted to trade their beneficio cards, provided that the grapes from the parcel of land are traded alongside the card (doesn’t always happen in practice)
Who sets the prices of grapes used for Port? Why is this important?
- the beneficio
- vineyard owners can be certain of a set high price for their beneficio grapes, there is much incentive to give lesser quality grapes within any trading of beneficio cards, retaining the best quality grapes for selling outside the beneficio system
How might Port producers raise the quality of their Port?
- sometimes Port producers will substitute the inferior grapes they have received from beneficio trading with high quality grapes sourced from their own vineyards (that are not part of their beneficio allocation)
- inferior grapes may be used or resold for un-fortified wines
