Port wine
The origins of this system dates back to the quality control regulations installed by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal in the mid 18th century. In the early 18th century, British Port producers (known as "shippers") had tight control over the Port industry, including the leverage to dictate pricing for grapes grown in the Douro valley. A series of scandals hit the Port wine industry, including practice of wine fraud and adulterating poor quality Port with grapes grown outside the region or with foreign ingredients such as elderberry juice, which had the economic impact of driving down Port wine sales and prices across the board. Following complaints by Portuguese wine growers over the business practice of the British and dealing with the growing economic crisis in the Port wine trade, the Marquis of Pombal established the Douro Wine Company with the power to install quality control regulations in the Port industry.