The Republican journal., 1899-12-07
A Railway Jaunt in Portugal

Trough the Heart OF the Paix do Ninho .
U. Country of the Vine" Bacchus'
u.,lm of the Douro River. How the
ANGUS II ort' Wine is Made. Interesting /
tlct, Concerning one of the Greatest In
li>tries in the World.
ecial Correspondence of The Journal 1
VoRTo, PORTUGAL, Oct. 30. 1899. /
iNbody knows that this old Portuguese
is the home OF the famous port /
porto) vine, but few people have any |
eeption of the magnitude of the in
-try. Though the wine expectation
tallen of greatly in the last decade. |
og to the wine disease, phylloxera,
has diminished the production. it
averages over sol, 600 hectoletries a
One firm alone-the Ninicola Com
Y} whose enormous warehouses line
,veI side of Nova da Gaia, the suburb
oste Oporto-cawes stock valued at
million dollars, while its annual sales
ID the million dollal mark. An even
rer business is conducted by the
lla brothers, the largest port wine
loers in the world, in their Com
to Agvicola, and "Compauia dos
's do Porto An Englishman named
tson deals only in the choicest
ages OF the earlypa of the century
million listers year of brilliant
f, golden white. and dark fruity
the poorest OF which WHOLESALERS at
.olals the gallon. There are scores of
wine Portuguese, Eng
German, French and Russian, whose
eSs vaults and tunnelled cellars line
southern bank OF the Douro for miles
.e have spent busy week Investigate
lie to uS) novel industry, including d
way jauut to Regoa, the velS centre of
EoTld-tamed Paiz do Vinho. or 'coun-
nl the Vine, ou the upper Douro,
the spanish frontier. Here Senior
MIC Bernardo FerreirA, Portuguese
millionaire of Oporto, owns a dozen
farms, OF ''quintas," as they are
I'D in the vernacular, and spends
ION Of each year, with his family,
NE Of them. Being so fortunate as to
i've a cordial invitation from Mr.. and
Ferreira to visit them in their coun-
ONE. We drove To the railway station
Early morning, making a wide de
around the La Sc quarter, the
-se-infeoted heart of the city. where
st twin reapers, disease and starvation,
ousiy penned in by a Gordon of police
gathering uncOunted harvests 1t is
4 four hours ride from Oporto to
a "a miles from Lisbon. The road
If most picturesque scenic line iii the
H>ula, running through mountains
anons, along deep gorges Of the
.o, past quaint villages and pleasant
-es. pines and palm trees and some
Ne richest vineyards in the world.
here on these steep and stony. but J
mountain slopes. with Their yellow.
d., mica, schist soil, the "Bastardo'
thIiYes to perfection and the very
aine that ever delighted mortal lips
ude.
r country house Of the Fereiras,
the ,9uinta do Yesuvio. ("Garden
-uvius Affords A graceful proto-
life in the land Of vineyards.
elegant villa, in the Roman style,
lands a wide view of the mountains
viue-tilIed valleys, olive groves and
ga-lands dotted with sleek cattle.
# the Douro, dwindled to a narrow
So near its head waters. From
house-top the happy planter may
he progress of his wines to market,
quaint native ba1cas rapelles. or
,ttomed barges, each with an euoI-
udder, piloted with greatest skill
..ie past nnumerabie reefs, shadows
apids. down to the Oporto store
-.s
nor Farreira and his charming wifi
aughtels were tireless in their gra-
eourtesies, showing us every detail
making, to its final ''curing' in
GLARS tunnelled into the solid rock.
ther exemplify rural life in Portu-
-4ey gave ball IN our honor, in the
press house, its wooden pillars hid
IS living vines covered with lunches
stious grapes, cut from the vine
.or the occasion. The peasants in
Lypsy-like costume in all the colors
seph's coat the men with short
trousers and jackets, white blouses,
sashes and golden hoops in their
The women wonderfully bedizened
lttering ribbons and bits of tinsel,
re necklaces, bracelets, crowns,
les, the work of the world famed
smiths of Oporto; the strange dane
Aalt danza, half fandango, and the
Of the local orchestra-guitar and
a"9iin, mingled with the sharp click of
nets, the rasping of gourd tiddles
he rattle of table forks shaken in
s- bottles, are things to be long re-
4oered. And then the wine-old
and amber hued ports, distilled
han half century ago not to be
lmbibed, but every drop more
ous than gold to sight and smell.
Tie manufacture of port there are