The Wines of Portugal

In the more than four decades since it first piqued Richard Mayson’s interest, Portuguese wine has changed almost immeasurably. In the late 1970s the country was recovering from revolution and the authoritarian regime that preceded it. Wine production was limited to a small number of large cooperatives and merchant firms, who mostly created uninspiring blends. Today Portugal produces lower volumes, but thousands of producers have recovered native grapes to make exciting, individual wines th...