Wine, Commerce and Culture:

Museums in the Port Wine Lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

by

Richard S. Bradley

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

in

Museum Studies

in the

School of Education and Liberal Arts

at

John F. Kennedy University

Approved:

___________________________ _____________________

Department Chair Date

Acknowledgements

Wine, Commerce and Culture was born out of my love for Portugal

and its people. Even more so it grew out of my love for my family, and

especially for my wife Joaquina, whose staunch support, and unfailing

patience in correcting my Portuguese, were my mainstay in this project.

I am very grateful to the many kind people in Portugal who were

so supportive of my work. Ana Margarida Morgado, public relations

manager for Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman; Ana Nápoles, visitors center

manager for Ramos Pinto; Ema Pinto, promotion manager for the

Association of Port Wine Companies; and Professor Maria do Rosario

Campos of the University of Coimbra, all gave generously of their time

and knowledge during long interviews. I particularly thank Ana Filipa

Correia, archives and Museum director at Ramos Pinto for her thoughtful

and thorough responses to my survey. Thank you too, to Linda Vaughn,

visitors center coordinator at Graham's for her helpful input, and to Isabel

Morais of Sogrape for her responses.

I particularly want to express my gratitude to Marjorie Schwarzer,

Chair of the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University.

In addition to her detailed and insightful editing, her patience and

unswerving confidence kept me going through very trying times.

ii

Table of Contents

Executive Summary................................................................ 1 Methodology........................................................................... 8 Limitations of Methodology.................................................. 12 Literature Review.................................................................. 15 Cultural Tourism....................................................... 16 Museums and Cultural Tourism................................ 19 Museums and Education............................................ 21 Enotourism - Wine Tourism...................................... 25 Wine and Museums................................................... 27 Museums in Wineries................................................ 30 Findings................................................................................. 37 Portuguese Wine Tourism......................................... 38 Port Lodge Interpretation.......................................... 43 History: Origins............................................ 44 History: the Companies................................ 48 Terroir: the Douro........................................ 54 Sub-Regions of the Douro............................ 56 Winemaking.................................................. 58 Wines............................................................ 61 Interpretation: Tours................................................. 65 Tours: Introduction & History...................... 66 Tours: Terroir & Winemaking..................... 67 Tours: Wines & Aging................................. 69 Tours: Tasting.............................................. 71 Interpretation: Museums.......................................... 71 Museums: Cellars......................................... 73 Museums - Burmester.................................. 75 Museums - Cálem........................................ 77 Museums - Croft.......................................... 80 Museums - Ferreira...................................... 84 Museums - Graham...................................... 88 Museums - Ramos Pinto.............................. 91

iii

Table of Contents, continued Museums - Sandeman.................................. 94

Museums - Taylor........................................ 99 Conclusions and Recommendations.................................. 104 Port Lodge Museum Activities.............................. 106 Final Product Description.................................................. 117 Endotes.............................................................................. 118 Bibliography...................................................................... 128 Appendix A: Port Wine Lodge Museum Summary......... 139 Appendix B: Research Surveys.........................................142 Appendix C: Maps of Douro Valley................................. 147 Appendix D: Images of Douro & Gaia............................. 148 Museum Images Appendix E: Cellars.......................................................... 149 Appendix F: Burmester..................................................... 150 Appendix G: Cálem........................................................... 151 Appendix H: Croft............................................................. 152 Appendix I: Ferreira...........................................................153 Appendix J: Graham......................................................... 154 Appendix K: Ramos Pinto................................................ 155 Appendix L: Sandeman.................................................... 156 Appendix M: Taylor......................................................... 157 Product: Presentation Proposal Letter to the Association of Port Wine Companies.....................................158

iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, blinking

out of the dazzling Portuguese summer sun. The heat of the day melted as

the cool, damp air enveloped me. Then, a strange odor wafted over me, at

the same time sweet and musty, filling my lungs and clinging to my skin.

A guide spoke, explaining about the earth in which the grapes grew, the

unique climate and the many varieties of this wine. My mind began to

focus. I was surrounded by massive vats, and stacks of hundred gallon

casks, all protecting and lending their flavor to the wine. Then, at the end

of the tour, I looked into the nearly black, ruby red of the wine, smelled

that unmistakable, sweet earthy aroma, and let the strong, intensely fruity

liquid slip down my throat, warming me all the way down. And so, I was

finally able to experience Port wine in the place where it came to be, in the

cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.

I began visiting Portugal in the late 1990's. Having enjoyed Port

wine for many years, I looked forward to learning more about it, and the

tours of the Port lodges were an ideal means of doing so. I noticed that

several of the lodges had museums, and while I did visit them, I did not

think much about them at the time. As I began to my graduate studies in

the museum field, however, one shortcoming in museums overall captured

my interest: I realized that they tended to rather two-dimensional, rather

1

like an elaborate book. The most forward thinking museums, however,

are now trying to engage all the senses of their visitors, to create a more

resonant educational experience. As I came to understand this

phenomenon, I thought back to those Port wine lodge museums. The

lodges give visitors everything that most museums did not, a total sensory

experience, supplemented by tour guides' information, and culminated by

the intense sensation of drinking the wine, about which visitors had just

been learning. And so the question arose: if the experience they offer is so

enveloping and engaging, why did the Port wine lodges feel the need to

open museums at all?

In the nine years since my first visit to Portugal, the number of Port

wine lodge museums increased from three to eight, according to the

Association of Port Wine Companies. Given the close proximity of the

lodges to each other, within about two square miles in Vila Nova de Gaia,

across the river from Oporto, this growth seems significant. I determined,

therefore to understand the reasons for this increase, and to put the

phenomenon of Port wine museums within the larger sphere of cultural

tourism.

Museums worldwide in the 21st century are constantly seeking

innovative solutions to an ever thornier dilemma: how to get visitors in the

door. More and more, museums turn to the business world for examples

2

of how to market culture. Now, in an ironic reversal of this trend, one of

the oldest continuous business ventures in Western Europe, the Port wine

industry of Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal, appears to be using museums,

or museum techniques, to help sell their fortified wine. This project seeks

to examine Port Wine company museums and displays in their role within

cultural tourism in the Porto area and the Douro Valley, where the wine is

produced, as well as through the lens of contemporary museum

interpretive techniques.

This study seeks to address the following questions:

• How does the Port wine industry fit within the cultural framework of the Porto and Douro Valley region?

• How do the Port wine companies define a "museum?"

• What do the companies hope to achieve by establishing museums

and/or mounting exhibits?

• How do museums and exhibits fit with traditional guided visits and wine tasting?

• How can museum exhibits and programs be more effectively

designed and executed, given individual companies' differing philosophies and available resources?

• How do the companies collaborate with each other to produce

effective tourism programming?

3

Cultural pride is also an unmistakable aspect of Port lodge tourism

programming. The industry has an extremely strong sense of tradition,

which even affects production decisions, such as the treading of grapes.

These companies are regional economic and cultural icons, whose affairs

are interwoven not only with the commercial world of Oporto, but even

more so with thousands of grapevine growers in the remote and intensely

rural upper Douro River valley. Therefore, in spite of increased corporate

mergers and globalization, the Port wine companies are intensely aware of

their historical position in their local region, and seek to transmit this

message with the same fervor that they promote the quality of their wines.

Museums can play a key role in the Port lodges' commercial and cultural

missions, providing extra value to the tourist experience in a unique way,

consistent with the individual character of their historic companies.

This study begins with a review of literature related to both

tourism and museums. The review examines cultural tourism as a

growing international phenomenon, in which travelers are seeking greater

value and intellectual challenge. Tour operators, like museums, have

discovered that tourists want even greater stimuli and more intense

experiences. As tourists pursue their own interests, niche tourism has

developed around such specific areas as wine, and many wineries now

4

depend on tourism for sales revenue, and museums can attract more

visitors.

Following a discussion of my methodology and its limitations, the

Findings chapter continues to probe my topic. It begins with information

on Portuguese wine tourism, gleaned from further reading, as well as

interviews with Port wine company tourism staff. Portugal has greatly

expanded its tourism infrastructure since the mid-1970's, and has

witnessed the same growth of museums experienced throughout Europe in

the same period. Numerous tourism routes have been established

throughout the country's numerous wine regions as well. The Port wine

lodges responded to this growth by opening their facilities to tourists in the

80's and later established museums to supplement these services. The

chapter continues by examining the historical and technical information

which forms the thematic basis for Port lodge tours and museums,

including company history, winemaking, aging processes, and the

different types of wine. The chapter concludes by examining first the

tours, and then the museums in each of the eight Port lodges selected for

this study.

The final chapter, Conclusions and Recommendations, finds that

the Port lodge tours and museums are very much a part of modern cultural

tourism and wine niche tourism, and notes that the companies are aware

5

of, and are addressing tourists' desires for new and unique experiences.

The lodge tours have been well developed within the industry, with the

help of the Association of Port Wine Companies as a coordinating body.

Museums, however, have developed rather more independently, each

displaying a unique style and format, varying from reception room

exhibits to elaborate dedicated spaces. Therefore, focusing finally on

museums exhibits, this chapter examines a number of desirable

characteristics for these facilities, and cites examples of good practice

from among the eight case study lodge museum.

The chapter concludes by recommending that the Port wine

companies establish a system of professional support for museum

activities, and include specific recommendations in their annual

evaluations by the Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP). The

final product is a short proposal to the AEVP to make a formal

presentation in person of the findings of this study to the Port lodge

tourism staff as a first step in establishing professional museum

collaboration within the Port wine industry.

The eight Port wine lodges which I studied in this project are

thoroughly dedicated to communicating to their visitors about the quality

of their unique wine and its position in the culture and history of Oporto,

the Douro Valley and Portugal. I hope that this study will help these

6

companies fully develop the potential of their museums as means for the

education of their visitors, both as tourists and as future consumers of Port

wine. I further hope that through this study, wine museums, and other

commercial museums whose activities are interwoven with the cultural

history of their regions, will be encouraged to develop imaginative

exhibitions and programming for the enjoyment and education of their

visitors.

7

METHODOLOGY

Eight Port wine companies which have museums form the basis of

this study: C.W. Burmester, A.A. Cálem, Croft, A.A. Ferreira, W.& J.

Graham, A. Ramos Pinto, Sandeman, and Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman. I

initially identified these companies using the website maintained by the

Associação das Impresas de Vinho do Porto, or the Association of Port

Wine Companies. This website lists the member companies, indicating

what services are available to the visiting public, such as wine tastings,

guided visits and museums.i Initiated in 2002, it indicates that six of

eighteen certified Port wine cellars have museums. I then consulted an

evidently more recent pamphlet, distributed through the Oporto and Vila

Nova de Gaia tourist offices, which shows eight of fifteen listed cellars as

having museums.

Based on lectures and readings in the John F. Kennedy University

Museum Studies program, I developed a control definition for the term

"museum" as a point of comparison: a dedicated space, open to the public

at published times, established for some educational purpose, containing

displays of objects, i.e. images, documents and other physical artifacts,

and interpreted by accompanying text. The Port wine museums featured

in this study have other services and programs in common with museums

in general, such as guided tours, printed interpretive material for

8

distribution, websites and gift shops. However, these museums have two

unique characteristics: the majority of space included in visits is dedicated

to the aging of Port wine and the most abundant product for sale in their

gift shops is, quite naturally, their own wine.

My first task was to contact each of the Port wine cellars that were

certified by the Association of Port Wine Companies by email through

their "general inquiries" addresses during the first week of August 2007

(see appendix A for a list of companies and their websites). Due to the

lack of response to these initial inquiries, I began my onsite research of the

Port Wine company museums by visiting each of the certified cellars in

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal twice over a three-week period, from the 6th

through the 24th of August 2007. I made another two-week trip in

November 2007. My purpose in making these visits was, first, to

familiarize myself with the cellars' tourist facilities in general; second, to

participate in the guided tours provided there, in order to ascertain the

nature of the themes addressed, and the style, i.e. how formal, informal or

interactive they were; third, to view the museum facilities of each cellar,

researching their size, exhibit style and organization, text presentation and

format, thematic scope, and use and interpretation of objects; and fourth,

to collect printed material available for distribution to the public, in order

to ascertain the importance of such materials to the companies and the

9

extent to which those materials serve educational and promotional

purposes.

My next step was to develop a questionnaire to distribute to each

of the companies (see appendix B). The open-ended questions were

designed to obtain the necessary information for my study, whether or not

interviews were conducted, and at the same time form the basis for

interviews as the opportunity arose. The initial questions were later

reduced in number, and divided into three sections. A further set of six

questions, covering only the most basic of information, was developed for

those contacts who did not wish to respond in depth. I conducted three in-

depth interviews, received one response to the seventeen-question survey,

and two responses to the six-question survey.

The first set of questions asks for background information on

museum programs. The second set, Visitor Services, addresses staffing and

training issues for guided tours, as well as tour thematic content, plus the

special aspect of wine tasting. The third and last set of questions, Tourism

Philosphy, is concerned with the mutual importance of the Port Wine

companies and regional cultural tourism to each other, admissions pricing

and visitor relations, and further inquires about the importance of

museum-type programming to the companies' marketing and tourism

activities, as well as the challenges of providing such services.

10

The three interviews provided key information to this study, for in

Portugal personal contact and relationships are valued as much than any

given outcome or product. Interviews were based on the full

questionnaire, but particularly on the more factual questions in the first

two sets, General and Visitor Services. Even though my correspondents

spoke English, the interviews were conducted in Portuguese to increase

their comfort level.

In addition to staff at Taylor's and Ramos Pinto, I interviewed the

promotional officer of one of the key organizations tying the Port Wine

trade and cultural tourism together in the Oporto area, the A.E.V.P.,

Associação das Impresas do Vinho do Porto, mentioned above. The

questions used mainly address the importance of the Port Wine industry to

the region, and the mutual importance of that trade and tourism, expanding

on any information regarding the origins and background of tourism, as

well as the importance and future of Port Wine company museums to

regional cultural tourism. Finally I conducted a literature review, focusing

mainly on the larger theme of cultural tourism and museums, as well as

the growth of wine tourism.

11

Limitations

Timing was a limiting factor to this study. My first research trip to

Portugal occurred during August of 2007. August is in Portugal, and in

Europe in general, the month when many people take their annual

vacations. Thus, when I initially contacted the Port wine companies by

email, I received only one response to my inquiries. I found that calling

the companies directly yielded far more accurate information as to which

personnel were responsible for museum activities, and would be available

for interviews. Even email contacts made subsequent to interviews were

frequently not responded to, and numerous follow-up telephone calls were

necessary to complete my research. Difficulty in establishing contacts

required me to make an additional trip to the area in November 2007 to

conclude my research.

A key limitation to this study is the fact that the subjects of my

research are commercial entities, companies doing business in a

competitive environment. There was some reluctance to answer policy

questions and divulge future plans in any detail. Perhaps due to the fact

that these companies are no longer independent entities, some parent

company staff were not informed about museum activities, while working

tourism staff were also reluctant to give details.

12

This project is not intended as an in depth analysis of Port wine

tourism, and is limited entirely to the eight Port wine lodges in Vila Nova

de Gaia whose tourism programming is certified by the AEVP, and which

indicated that they have museums. Furthermore, the issue of project

length did not allow me to analyze the company websites, many of which

contain educational information, or to interview visitors or conduct any

type of visitor survey. However, I was able to find information on overall

visitor satisfaction with tourism services of the case study Port lodges on

the AEVP's website. Overall, the narrow scope of this study, did not

allow me to explore in depth an industry that is at least 400 years old, and

is inextricably tied to the economic, political and social history of its

region.

The historical complexity of the topic is coupled with the fact that I

have conducted this study mainly in Portugal, frequently corresponding

and conducting interviews in Portuguese, which is not my first language.

The language issue aside, Portuguese culture is extremely subtle and

complex, and relationships are difficult to establish. Many of my

Portuguese friends and contacts have confirmed my impression that

Portugal's historical isolation and relative poverty, exacerbated by over

forty years of a fascist dictatorship, have resulted in a cultural self-

consciousness, about which I had to be extremely sensitive. In spite of

13

having attempted numerous contacts over a four-month period, problems

of geography, time, language and culture prevented my corresponding

with a greater breadth of tourism and Port wine company staff. Had more

input been available, my study would have been better able to ascertain

the reasons for the current museum formats in the industry, how senior

management view museums in their tourism programming, as well as

what future plans may exist for museum revision and expansion.

In addition, a comparative study of wine museums in other regions

of the world, for example the Napa Valley in California, would have

deepened this study. Unfortunately, such research was beyond the scope

of this study.

14

LITERATURE REVIEW

Museums in the Port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia are a

relatively recent phenomenon, the first being established in the mid-

1990's. Therefore, as of this writing, no literature specifically addressing

these museums has been produced. It is the purpose of this review, then,

to establish the context for these museums within the wider realm of

cultural tourism.

Vila Nova de Gaia is inextricably linked to Oporto, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site, and the second largest city in Portugal. Not only

does Gaia lie a mere two hundred meters across the Douro River from

Oporto, it is home to nearly all the warehouses of the world's recognized

producers of Port wine. Visits to these caves, as they are known in

Portuguese, have been a major component to Oporto's regional tourism for

nearly twenty years - it is in fact the one specific group of tourist sites

mentioned by the tourist offices of both cities in their literature and

websites.

Museums of all types figure ever more prominently in cultural

tourism, just as tourists are increasingly recognized by museums as a

major market segment. Once cultural tourism has been defined and

examined, this chapter will cite selected literature to examine the place of

museums in tourism, both as cultural icons and visitor experiences. Wine

15

museums are a growing breed in general, and vineyards and other wine-

related facilities have begun to create their own museum exhibits.

Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism is an ancient phenomenon, dating to at least

Roman times. Modern tourism has a beach-sitting, leisure-bound image,

yet it nearly always involves visiting historic and cultural sites, including

museums, and experiencing events such as festivals. Tourists must leave

their own home in order to travel, and by so doing remove themselves

from their own cultural environment and enter another. However, cultural

tourism has been seen as something unique, offering travelers a more

profound experience of other cultures and heritage.ii Some date the change

from travel into tourism to the mid-19th century, as travel "changed from

being an active experience to a passive one, from being dangerous to

being comparatively comfortable."iii Once the perquisite of the

aristocratic and wealthy, tourism is now a part of Western culture, and the

subject of mass marketing.

Culture is, in fact, the evidence of a people's assumptions, thoughts

and beliefs. This evidence appears in how they act, and further in what

they make. "Culture," notes one study, "is what we are committed to; each

of us can only have one culture, but we can be tourists in others."iv

16

Tourists seek to experience a culture through the senses, by participating

in tours and festivals, seeing monuments, and tasting the food in order to

draw nearer to a culture, without leaving their own. The Canadian

province of Ontario defines cultural tourism as "...visits by persons from

outside the host community motivated wholly or in part by interest in the

historical, artistic, scientific, or lifestyle/heritage offerings of the

community, region or institution."v This definition might in fact apply to

any travel that is not restricted to the confines of a resort or beach

community. Yet even Disneyland sells culture at the Epcot Center in

Florida, featuring numerous exhibitions of food, crafts and architecture

from around the world. Mexico as well, with its emphasis on beach

resorts, twinned the tourist hotel beach complex of Ixtapa, with the old

fishing village of Zihuatenejo, and markets visits to Mayan ruins in

conjunction with vacations to Yucatan resorts such as Cancun.

It is often the everyday world, as long as it contrasts with that of

the tourist, which serves as an attraction. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett

refers to the "lifespace," an area where people actually live and work, the

authenticity of which is the main attraction. "The appeal of the lifespace

is its high resolution, its vividness and immediacy."vi This appeal explains

the continuing, even growing popularity of industrial tourism, in which

places of work, that were never intended to be viewed, become attractions.

17

"Whenever industrial society is transformed into modern society, work is

simultaneously transformed into an object of touristic curiosity. In every

corner of the modern world, labor and production are being presented to

sightseers in guided tours..."vii This process opens up places to tourists like

the Corning Glass factory and the New York Stock Exchange, that were

never available before. Tourists, who are alienated from their own work

and focused on leisure, seek a connection with this foreign reality.

"Many tourists want authenticity but not necessarily reality." They

travel with preconceptions based on limited knowledge of a cultural

reality, and while some look forward to being challenged, for most "travel

is about affirmation, not change."viii As a result there exists a tendency to

create sanitized versions of the past, or of work places for tourist

consumption. This process of "touristification" can blur the distinction

between the regular working world, and spaces set aside for tourists."ix

Nevertheless, tourism can add life or economic viability to institutions or

facilities whose function may be threatened, in effect subsidizing the

continuation of traditional activities.x

The attractions of the "life space" or live world, while fascinating,

tend to be scattered and difficult to access. Yet the main products of

cultural tourism are "enjoyable experiences" which can be easily

"consumed," so they must therefore be easily accessible.xi Urban areas are

18

typically more popular and heavily visited cultural tourism destinations

than rural areas, as they solve the problem of the diffusion of attractions.

Furthermore, within cities, tourist "districts" have formed, either by

design, skilled marketing, or the evolution of visitor interest. Examples

include San Francisco's Chinatown, Paris's Latin Quarter and Oporto's

Cais de Ribeira. Tourism is encouraged in industry literature, as areas and

sites are "recommended" or "suggested." This "filing system," in the

words of noted tourism scholar Dean McCannell, serves a world that is

"filled with people who are just passing through and they know it." xii

Museums and Cultural Tourism

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett writes that "Tourism needs

destinations, and museums are premier attractions. Museums are not only

destinations on an itinerary: they are also nodes in a network of attractions

that form the recreational geography of a region..."xiii Museums are

integral to historical and cultural areas, and they frequently orient the

visitor to a city or region. Furthermore, she goes on to say:

Museums have long served as surrogates for travel ... particularly ... before mass-tourism." "They have from their inception preserved souvenirs of travel, as evidenced in their collections of... examples of the arts and industries of the world's cultures. While the museum itself is an undrawn map ... the floor plan, which determines where people walk, also delineates conceptual paths through what becomes a virtual space of travel.xiv

19

Thus a visit to a museum continues the traveler's journey, and by

extension, elaborates it. Cultural tourism is a "value added industry."xv

Museums serve, by their unique collections, to augment the tourists'

experience, and offer opportunities, not available elsewhere, for them to

enter worlds different from their own.

Museums surely add to the attractiveness of a region or city. Greg

Richards notes that there was "a veritable museum explosion" all over

Europe during the 1990's. "Many...European regions have constructed

museums and heritage centers as means of attracting visitors to less

favored locations." He cites examples in Maastricht's Bonnefanten in the

Netherlands, and particularly the Guggenheim in Bilbao in northern Spain.

Richards further cites the examples of Tate Museum satellites in

Liverpool, and in St. Ives in Cornwall.xvi I would further add the example

of the Fundação Serralves in Oporto. Founded in 1996, this institution

houses a museum of contemporary art.

Article two of the 2001 International Council of Museums Statutes

defines a museum as follows:

...a non-profit making, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of people and their environment.

20

Subsequent articles in this document include institutions "of a museum

nature that acquire, conserve and communicate material evidence of

people and their environment."xvii However, how that communication is

received by the public is changing rapidly. Visitors want to be involved,

hence the growth of "adventure tourism, which the industry classifies as

active (doing). In this taxonomy, cultural attractions, including museums,

are passive (seeing)." It is now recognized that all classes of museum

visitors, including tourists, expect a complete experience. As

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett explains, "the term indexes an engagement of the

senses, emotions and imagination." xviii Museums mean many things to

different people: they can be "cathedrals" for the worshipping of culture;

or "a party, where great achievements and historic moments can be

celebrated." In fact museums are also attractions in the tourist economy,

"complete with cafés, shops, films, performances" in addition to their

exhibitions. Museums want to be viewed "as a place alive, exciting and

unique (my italics) - exactly what tourism markets."xix

Museums and Education

The International Council of Museums, as noted above, cites

collection, preservation and research as key museum functions, in addition

to education. It is however this last responsibility that is increasingly

21

paramount. Theodore Low, an educator at New York's Metropolitan

Museum of Art, wrote in 1942:

Briefly, the purpose and the only purpose of museums is education in all its varied aspects from the most scholarly research to the simple arousing of curiosity. That education, however, must be active, not passive, and it must always be intimately connected with the life of the people.xx

Low goes on to note that popular, rather than scholarly education, needs to

be the new focus of museums efforts in this field. He further decries the

"disproportionate amount of time and energy" devoted by museums to the

cultivation of the upper echelons of society, be they the wealthy or the

intelligentsia. His admonition reads: "What becomes of the vast majority

of the people? Are they not members of the public? Hasn't the museum a

definite duty toward them?"xxi Written in 1942, this passionate critique

has only been seriously heeded by museums since the mid-1990's. The

fiscal necessity of building attendance has compelled museums to reach

out, and the phenomenon of mass tourism has provided one way to attract

paying audiences.

As part of their marketing strategy, museums have been compelled

to learn about the audiences they intend to serve, and have begun to rely

on visitor surveys, as well as academic studies based on such surveys.

Understanding how people learn in museum environments, and under

22

what circumstances, has become a field of study. John Falk and Lynn

Dierking have developed the "contextual model of learning," consisting of

three overlapping contexts: "the personal, the sociocultural and the

physical," to which, subsequently, they have added "time."xxii Falk and

Dierking contend that the meaning which museum visitors take away with

them, is built up over time, and continually influenced by these factors.

Personal learning is based on motivation - how much they want to learn is

based on their interest and need to learn, and, may be based on "intrinsic

or extrinsic" factors. Intrinsic suggests that an activity is undertaken for

its own sake, while extrinsic is linked to rewards, such as good school

grades, or punishment, such as losing a promotion. Further factors include

freedom from anxiety and having some measure of control over their

learning.xxiii

The sociocultural model has many facets, but overall suggests that

learning develops through interaction with others, as a child with family,

through conversation and questioning, and later with both 'teachers' and

with fellow learners.xxiv One key ingredient of sociocultural learning is

the use of narrative. The telling of stories is essential in the transmission

of culture, whatever the format, be it myths, performance or poetry, as

well as prose.xxv Where learning takes place can have a profound effect on

its depth. The physical space, its "feel" and its accessibility, has a

23

psychological effect. More significant, appears to be a phenomenon called

"situated cognition," in which learning, and the ability to demonstrate the

result, may only be very successful in a formal teaching environment such

as school. For example, Falk and Dierking note that when competent

university science students are called upon to apply concepts in non-

academic settings, they cannot "transfer the principles they learn in these

courses to novel contexts."xxvi

It is therefore essential that museums continually refer to the needs

of their visitors when developing exhibits and programming. Visitors

want activities to be relevant, they want to be able to apply what they

learn, they want to be involved, not passive, and they want to be creative.

Greg Richards argues "that the growth of creative leisure and the rise of

skilled consumption means that heritage tourism and cultural tourism are

being increasingly supplanted by the advent of 'creative tourism.'"xxvii In

this new version of tourism, visitors are focused as much on the future as

on the past, and expect intense experiences. Thus, creative tourism "offers

visitors the opportunity to develop their creative potential through active

participation in active learning experiences."xxviii This shift to creative

tourism has prompted museums to change their roles from being

"'authoritarian factories of meaning' to being interactive workshops where

meaning is generated through co-makership between the museum and its

24

visitor."xxix

Enotourism - Wine Tourism

A growing facet of experience-based cultural tourism is in the

realm of visitation to wine industry facilities, be they vineyards,

winemaking installations or cellars used for aging wine. Catering to a

tourist market has proved beneficial to wine producers in a number of

respects. One study notes that "The move to wine tourism is driven by

desires to use wine tourism... building brand loyalty; increasing profit

margins; developing consumer marketing intelligence; providing

additional sales outlets; and heightening consumer awareness and

understanding of wine products."xxx By the late 1980's most American

wineries were relying on "tourist generated income" just to stay in

business, and even in France, wine sales "at the cellar door" had reached

twenty percent of total sales. One reason for this increased reliance on

tourism, is that direct sales to customers are considerably more cost

effective than the normal commercial channels involving wholesalers and

shippers.xxxi

The increasing benefits from wine tourism caused the French

governmental promotional organization, Maison de la France, to publish a

series of goals in 2000:

25

-To increase the number of tourists to wine tourism areas. -To increase tourism turnover. -To increase direct sales in the wineries. -To increase sales in wineries and their environment. (my italics) -To increase the reputation of the wine area.xxxii

By the mid-1990's, French promotional efforts had already led some wine

regions to invest heavily in infrastructure, "including museums, research

centers, restaurants, accommodations and workshops to create a distinct

market brand."xxxiii (My italics). However, Dean McCannell asserts that

overall, tourism has grown significantly faster than have the institutions

which support it. xxxiv French actions exemplify how one sector of the

industry can respond to both visitor and provider needs.

Wine tourism contributes in numerous significant ways to the

economy of a region. A Canadian study of British Columbia showed that

"non-resident wine tourists" placed high importance on social activity,

such as enjoying nightlife, restaurants and shopping, as well as visiting art

galleries and museums.xxxv Museums and other educational efforts on the

part of wineries can have long-term effects on visitation. For instance,

seasonality is certainly an issue in wine tourism, as in the tourism industry

in general. A 1999 New Zealand study noted that, while many tourists

preferred to visit wineries during the summer months, those tourists with a

greater knowledge of wine were more likely to visit throughout the year,

that percentage increasing with their level of knowledge.xxxvi The wine

26

industry, therefore, is likely to directly benefit from educating the

consumer through museum-like facilities.

Wine and Museums

Wine is an intriguing source for museum exhibits, serving as the

inspiration for countless works of art, as well as providing numerous

specialized artifacts. Howard Goldberg, museum critic for the New York

Times, writes in a 1993 survey of wine related material in the Metropolitan

Museum of Art, that there should be no surprise in this phenomenon:

"From the birth of civilization, wine has stimulated personal and cultural

highs, as the fevered revels (chaperoned by Eros) on the Met's ancient

Greek pottery illustrate."xxxvii Goldberg notes that wine as a subject for

art, as well as artifacts, are so plentiful with the Met's permanent

collections, that no tour is necessary, and attentive visitors can easily sate

their interest in the subject. The "wine and food crowd" is the targeted

audience of this article, yet it is clear that the Met fully understands the

benefits of catering to that well-educated and discerning group.

The Metropolitan's restaurant is well regarded, and important to

the museum's brand and marketing. Goldberg even speculates that the

restaurant's key personnel have some influence over exhibit placement:

27

Did Frank O'Shea, who prepare the Met's wine lists, sweet-talk the department of Greek and Roman art? Is it coincidental that not long ago a second-century Roman statue of Dionysos, described as the 'god of wine and divine intoxication,' was positioned near the entrance to the first-floor restaurants?xxxviii

(Mr. Goldberg may be forgiven for forgetting the Roman name for the

wine god was Bacchus.) He further notes the availability of wine by the

glass and bottle in the Met's restaurants, as well as the gift shop offerings

of wine-related historic artifact reproductions. It is clear that wine sells in

the museum, both in the exhibition halls and the retail outlets.

Numerous exhibitions about wine have been staged in general

museums. One example is Gift of the Gods: The Art of Wine from the

Ancient World to Canadian Vineyards, put on by the Canadian Museum of

Civilization (CMC) in Gatineau, Quebec. It opened in November 2004

and ran for five months.xxxix The exhibition was adapted from the Royal

Ontario Museum's survey of European wine history and artifacts, and

funded by the Societé des Alcohols du Quebec, which further provided

publicity through retail efforts and promotional activities in government

liquor outlets. CMC's exhibition added a "New World" component,

starting with the French introduction of winemaking to Canada, and

bringing the story up to the present day, including the controversial

subjects of the temperance movement and prohibition. Designed for

enophiles and history enthusiasts alike, "...the exhibit offers a good study

28

in how to effectively recycle and extend the life of an older exhibit by

adding a new regional twist."xl

Entire museums dedicated to wine have been established,

independent of any particular winery operation. Arguably the most

spectacular, and commercial, effort undertaken in this regard is Vinopolis,

which opened in London in 1999.xli Occupying a massive 19th century

former wine warehouse in Southwark, Vinopolis (Greek for "city of

wine") features over 100,000 square feet of interactive exhibits, four

restaurants, wine tasting, not to mention the rotating art collection of

Napa Valley vintner Donald Hess, and a large retail complex offering

wine, books, and other wine-related merchandise. Wine regions from

throughout the world are featured, with some exhibits using almost theme-

park methodology: the Australian exhibit begins in a full-scale mockup of

an airliner, in which visitors watch an educational film before entering the

main display area. Expecting (at the time of opening) to pour over two

million wine samples a year to up to half a million visitors, Vinopolis is

considering opening branches in other cities, such as Tokyo (as of late

2007 this does not appear to have occurred). Tony Hodges, deputy vice

chairman of the Vinopolis board, asserts that: "The Vinopolis concept

works best in places that are crossroads of the wine trade."xlii Historically

and actually, London is certainly in that category, making Vinopolis a

29

prime example of a museum revitalizing, or certainly emphasizing a

region's traditional cultural or commercial role.

Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, opened

in Napa, California in 2002. Technically not a museum, Copia is more of

an enophile cultural center. The center struggled initially, both financially

and in regard to its educational mission, but in recent years may be finding

its way. Currently, Copia offers wine and food related lectures and

workshops nearly very day of the week. Copia is another example of a

cultural facility augmenting the tourist value of an area, and furthermore

acting as a nucleus to further tourism development.

Museums in Wineries

The existence of museums incorporated into active winemaking

facilities is not a new phenomenon. While it might be expected for such

exhibitions to have been established in France, Italy and Germany,

countries long associated with winemaking, immigrants from those

countries have made their mark in the New World. One example is the

Mendoza region of Argentina, settled in the 19th century by Italian

immigrants. Situated near the foot of the Andes mountains, across the

country and due west of Buenos Aires, this area has become one of the

major wine regions in the country, featuring dozens of vineyards. One of

30

these is Bodega La Rural. While the winery was founded in the 1880's, the

owner established El Museo del Vino San Felipe in 1945, "where the most

important elements of Mendoza winemaking history would be housed

under one roof." xliii

The wine museum of Bodega Rural is described as addressing both

the past, as well as "...the latest technical advances (which), in reality, are

based on mechanical principles older than we can imagine."xliv It is clear

that this museum, while honoring the past, is just as interested in

interpreting the La Bodega winery as a viable and functioning modern

commercial enterprise. The museum while detailing the process of

industrialization, strives as well to emphasize the regional quality of its

wineries and wine. In addition to La Bodega's own collection, a large

array of winemaking equipment was collected from other wineries in the

region, and is displayed according to function, in order to demonstrate

evolution in design.xlv

According to a report in the wine column of the Buenos Aires

Herald in 1983, the museum has "...done a wonderful job of piecing

together what our wine industry was and has gone through. Gathered

together under the roof of the winery itself, much of it mixed together with

the present and active elements of the wine making process, the museum

is a wonderful reflection of how far we have come from the days of the

31

pioneers of our industry."xlvi The museum at Bodega la Rural serves to

preserve the memory of a wine industry and culture in the face of rapid

modernization, yet further emphasizes the validity and viability of the

contemporary commercial enterprise. Furthermore, this establishment is

not engaged in self-aggrandizement, but seeks to interpret and promote

the entire region.

Worlds away in distance, time and concept is one of the newest

winery museums, El Museo de la Cultura del Vino (The Museum of Wine

Culture), in the Rioja wine producing region of northern Spain. Opened

by the Vivanco family, fourth generation vintners and owners of the

Dinastia Vivanco, in 2004, the museum is home to over 6,000 objects, as

well as an art collection, a restaurant, and Bacchus' Garden, containing

over 200 grape varieties from around the world.xlvii The idea for the

museum was formed during the owner's travels, inspired particularly by

visits to other wine museums: "de crear un museo propio, pionero en La

Rioja, en el que los visitantes pudieran comprender mejor el proceso de

elaboración del vino y la trascendencia cultural de este producto a lo

largo de los siglos" (to create his own museum, the first in Rioja, in which

visitors could better understand the winemaking process, and the cultural

preeminence of this product over the centuries).xlviii

32

The museum complex occupies about 30,000 square feet, and

includes six exhibit halls, an archive, plus a cafeteria, tasting room and gift

shop. The varied collection is labeled in both Spanish and English, and

includes Picasso's painting Homage to Bacchus, as well as wine related

objects both artistic and practical, some dating to the 13th century B.C.E.

Audiovisual displays interpret wine history and production, as well as

cooperage, and the unique combination of climate and soil that gives wine

its character. Another theater shows films with wine-related themes, such

as Zorba the Greek, while an interactive exhibit for the senses features

spices and other flavors detectable in wine, which visitors can smell.xlix El

Museo de la Cultura del Vino may be more elaborate and technologically

sophisticated than the much older Argentine San Felipe, yet both

museums seek to bring alive the culture surrounding wine in general, as

well as the wines they produce, and particularly the regions where it is

grown and made.

The wine industry in Italy has been going through challenging

times, as demand for its product has dwindled, falling about ten percent in

the first few years of the new millenium. Competition from more recently

popular, and less expensive wines, from Chile and Australia for example,

are forcing Italians to market their product as something unique, tied to the

land, and obtainable nowhere else, saying in effect "you are buying Italian

33

culture in a bottle."l Fatori dei Barbi, a winery in Montalcino, Tuscany

which specializes in the variety Brunello di Montalcino, has confronted

this issue by creating a museum, which opened in November 2004. It is a

modest effort, focusing mainly on the daily life of the people in the region.

According to the winery's owner, Stefano Colombini: "What we want to

show is the connection between the wine, the territory and this culture.

Brunello was created here by these people, who wore these dresses, who

used these tools. Brunello cannot exist without them."li

Colombini also expresses his concern over the growing number of

tourists, (some 50,000 per year), and particularly the influx of non-Italians

who have bought wineries in the area: "Now our problem is to save the

tradition and character of our community and to share our culture with the

newcomers. We want them, but we want them to be a part of our culture."

Amassing the museum's collection became a community effort, as

residents "scoured their attics" for over 10,000 vintage photographs of

Montalcino, entire contents of regional houses as well as the tools and

equipment of the region's workers, including winemakers. Colombini

hopes to make clear to outsiders, whether they be tourists or new residents,

that Brunello culture, and its wine, are unique: "You can produce a superb

cabernet anywhere...but you can't produce this wine somewhere else."lii

34

Summary

The goal of this discussion has been to place the museums of the

Port wine companies in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal within an overall

context of cultural tourism. Along with giving tourists greater value for

the limited time they may spend in a given area, cultural tourism

encourages the preservation of industries, and other cultural practices.

Museums add further value by augmenting touristic offerings, and provide

a greater educational experience by shedding light on a region's history

and culture. Museums, like the tourist industry in general, are increasingly

offering more vivid experiences to visitors.

Wine tourism is a subset of cultural tourism. Great importance is

attached by wineries and related establishments to both preserving the

history and culture of wine, and making tourists aware of the contribution

of wine to world and regional culture. The wine industry, however, has a

further commercial mission which, naturally, is to sell wine. Indeed, this

is an advantage that wineries and cellars have over many other tourist

facilities: visitors can buy and literally consume the result of thousands of

years of cultural effort. The wine industry is concerned about educating

consumers, for if consumers perceive little difference in wines, why

should they buy a particular brand? Therefore, many wineries and cellars

35

are turning increasingly to the museum as medium of both cultural

preservation and creating an educated consumer.

36

FINDINGS

This chapter is divided into four sections. The first addresses

Portuguese wine tourism, particularly the Port wine sector. Portuguese

wine tourism is considered in terms of its quite recent development, due to

the low international profile of its wine industry, and how it is now being

considered a major part of the nation's cultural scene. Recent events, such

as Portugal's hosting of the 2004 European football (soccer)

championships, have further spurred tourism development, particularly in

its wine sector. The establishment of tourism routes through wine

growing areas, as well as the continued growth of museums related to the

industry, provide evidence of the touristic importance of the wine industry,

and the commitment of Portugal to its promotion.

The second section, Port Lodge Interpretation, presents the

historical and technical background material which forms the interpretive

basis of Port wine lodge tours and museums. The thematic areas consist

of historical background of the region, industry and the companies; wine

grapevine growing and winemaking; and the characteristics of the

different basic varieties of Port wine. These last two areas form the bulk

of Port lodge interpretive efforts, contributing to a better-informed

consumer base.

37

The third and fourth sections of the Findings chapter, address

museological activities undertaken by the eight case study Port wine

lodges in question. Tours are considered first in this chapter, because they

serve as the main interpretive activity of the Port lodges. These tours are

described in this section as a thematic whole, rather than each lodge's tour

being described individually, because the themes addressed by nearly all

the tours are similar. However, where the format of a particular lodge's

tour varies significantly, those differences are highlighted.

Portuguese Wine Tourism

Since the early 20th century, guidebooks have described Port wine

and the industry that produces it, yet the narrative takes the form of a

historical sidebar, rather than a potential tourist experience. The 1929

Blue Guide to southern Spain and Portugal devotes nearly as much space

to the Port wine trade, its history and product, as it does to the history of

Oporto itself. Yet this guide makes clear that experiencing the lodges is

not on the standard tourist track: "...the visitor to Oporto should secure an

introduction to one of the British shippers, so as to have an opportunity to

visit one of the Wine Lodges..."liii The 1959 Baedeker guide to Spain and

Portugal is even more succinct, briefly mentioning the sight of the Barcos

de Rabelo tied up along the Oporto waterfront, the number of active Port

38

wine companies and the names of a few. The lodges do not appear at all

among the featured tourist sights.liv In fact, wine tourism in Portugal,

whether Port related or not, does not seem to impact the industry much

until the 1980's, when most of the Port wine lodge opened to visitors.

By 2000, tourism was well established in the lodges, featuring

tours and wine tasting, as well as the first museums. While the lodges are

located in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro River, the Port wine

industry and its tourism facilities feature prominently in Oporto's official

tourist literature: in fact, Port has its own web page in Oporto's site.lv

Several 2007 commercial tour guides to Portugal list the Port lodges as

one of the major sights in Oporto. The Michelin Green Guide simply lists

the lodges as a single site among many others, and Fodor's gives them a

highlighted, half-page section under Oporto. Fodor's further suggests that

tourists consider a wine tasting tour in the Douro Valley.lvi While not

mentioning other wine tourism options, the Rough Guide, which is

designed for younger tourists, devotes two full pages to Vila Nova de Gaia

and the Port wine lodges, including a half-page map of the lodges'

locations. This guide also feature a four page, full-color section devoted

to Port wine, giving a brief history, a description of the Douro Valley, as

well as a description of the wines and the best lodges to tour.lvii

39

In 1996, the IVDP, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (Douro

and Porto Wine Institute, the government Port wine quality control entity),

established the Rota do Vinho do Porto (Port Wine Route). Focused on

the Douro Valley, rather than Oporto, tourists have opportunities at 54

sites to meet winemakers, as a well as taste and purchase wines, and

furthermore participate in harvesting and even treading the grapes. In

addition, the IVDP maintains the Solares do Vinho do Porto, in effect

elegant, pan-company tasting rooms, in Lisbon, Oporto and Regua, and in

the Douro Valley. The IVDP also supports the Museu do Douro, a

Ministry of Culture concern, which acts as an umbrella for cultural and

archeological sites throughout the region, as well as the Côa Archeological

Park in the Douro Superior region.lviii

The national version of the IVDP is the Instituto da Vinha e do

Vinho (Institute of Vines and Wine), which promotes a network of eleven

wine tourism routes throughout Portugal, including that of Port wine.

Sixteen wine museums, including that of Sandeman (1992) and Oporto's

Museu do Vinho do Porto (2004), are listed with their contacts and

hours.lix Wine routes were particularly promoted in the lead up to the

European football championships held in Portugal in 2004, as many

tourism infrastructure projects were undertaken during that period. It is

difficult to overestimate the effect of the Euro 2004 on the European

40

image of Portugal, stemming from both the well-run events and improved

tourist facilities.

The Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto (AEVP), the

non-profit Association of Port Wine Companies, was founded in 1975 for

"a promoção e defesa da Indústria e Comércio do Vinho do Porto" (the

promotion and protection of the industry and commerce of Port wine).lx

The Association publishes and places promotional literature in tourist sites

such as hotels throughout the region, and produces way-finding signs in

sites like Gaia. The AEVP also encourages cooperation among the

member companies in the realms of promotion and visitor services.

According to Ema Pinto, the Promotional Officer for the AEVP, the Port

wine lodges now (2007) receive about 600,000 visitors a year. Those

along the more frequented Douro riverfront district receive the bulk of

visitation: Cálem welcomes about 100,000 tourists a year, while

Sandeman and Ferreira expect about 80,000 each. Graham's, probably the

furthest lodge up the hill from the river, does not rely on foot traffic, but

actively works with tourist agencies to increase visitation to about 70,000

annually.lxi

Two factors greatly affected the development of Port wine lodge

tourism facilities. Portugal, after languishing under the Salazar

dictatorship for over forty years, only re-established itself as a democratic

41

nation in 1974. Prior to that year, tourism was not a government priority,

and business innovation was actively discouraged. Furthermore,

according to a source in the industry who wished to remain anonymous,

the Port wine trade has always been a close-knit society, and management

was reluctant to open the lodges to the public. Warre's, the oldest English

company (1670), was evidently an exception, as they opened their doors in

the 1960's.lxii Even to this day, some company managers often do not

recognize the importance of tourism to the industry. Nevertheless, the

lodges began welcoming visitors in the 1980's, and nearly all were

available for tours by the mid-1990's.lxiii

Despite the pockets of reluctance, within many companies tourism

is considered by Port wine lodge public relations and visitors center

personnel to be extremely important to the industry, particularly in

marketing sense. Ana Filpa Correia, director of Ramos Pinto's archives

and museums, asserts that: "The reception of tourists, whether in the

lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia or in the quintas of the Douro, is fundamental

to Ramos Pinto, because it the only form by which the company can

directly contact the public who form its clientele."lxiv The Port wine

industry itself is also "fundamental" to the cultural tourism of Oporto and

the Douro Valley regions, particularly to Oporto, where its importance is

"dramatic," according to Ana Margarida Morgado of Taylor's public

42

relations department.lxv Tourism and the Port wine industry are now

inextricably linked in both the commercial and cultural sense: the wine is a

well-known product throughout the world, while its production and

facilities are considered emblematic of Portugal and the Douro region.

Museums began to be a part of lodge tourism facilities in the

1990's, beginning with Sandeman in 1992. Burmester evidently had a

museum by this time as well, though its contents were removed to the

Douro Valley by its owners, the Amorim group, prior to its sale to

Sogevinus after 2000. Ferreira also had established a museum by the end

of the millenium, and Ramos Pinto opened theirs in 2002. This tallies

with the Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP) tourist map of that

year, which shows three lodges having museums. By 2004, however,

fully eight Port wine lodges are indicated by the AEVP as having

museums.lxvi

Port Lodge Interpretation

The historical and technical material covered in this section is

addressed in the tours, museums, and literature of the Port wine lodges,

and forms the interpretive backbone of the lodges' visitor services. While

different lodges will place greater or lesser emphasis on the history of the

industry and their companies, nearly all present the same information on

43

the technical aspects of grape growing, winemaking and aging in a similar

fashion and in the same order. This section thus covers information

common to all companies under general thematic headings, such as

History or Winemaking. However, at the end of the History section, a

brief history of each company will be given to highlight the recent

phenomenon of corporate consolidation.

History: Origins

Debate still continues over the origins of Oporto and Vila Nova de

Gaia, its sister city on the south banks of the Douro River. Archeological

evidence points to a Roman fort, called Castrum Cale (fort of Cale), on

the bluffs to the east of present day Gaia, while there is some consensus

that Portus Cale (port of Cale), lay across the river. Cale may well be a

variation of Gale, the Latin name for the Celtic population of the area. By

the end of the first millennium, the Douro River was the southern border

with the Moorish dominated portion of the Iberian penninsula, thus the

settlement south of the Douro was abandoned, while that on the north

became know as Portucale. As the Moors were driven south, Dom

Alfonso Henrique declared independence in the 12th century from León,

the dominant Christian power on the peninsula. As the name of the major

city in the region, Portucale was chosen as the name of the new nation,

44

and Portugal was born. A new town was built by the old Castrum Cale,

and was named Vila Nova de Gaia, the "new town" of Gaia.lxvii

The north of Portugal has been a wine growing region at least since

Roman times, and there is archeological evidence of a winery dating from

those times in the area of Régua, in the heart of the Douro River Valley

Port wine growing region. However, while wine exports from the region

date to the middle ages, Port wine, as it is known today, did not develop

until the 17th century, due largely to demand from England. English

involvement in Portugal dates to the crusades during the Middle Ages, as

both mercenaries and other troops were convinced to help combat the

Moors. By the middle of the 13th century, the southern end of the

country, the Algarve, was taken, and since then "Portugal's borders have

since survived virtually intact, making them among the oldest on the

continent of Europe."lxviii

England, while fighting the French during the Hundred Years War,

joined Portugal fighting Castille, who were allied with France. Further

conflicts led to the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, considered the oldest

alliance between two nations, and the later marriage of Philippa of

Lancaster, niece of the English king, to King João I of Portugal. The next

economic step in this relationship was the trade for English codfish in

exchange for Portuguese wine, which continued unabated through the 17th

45

century. English merchants were made even more powerful by treaties

with Portugal, in exchange for help against the Spanish and Dutch, and in

1662, Charles II married Catherine of Bragança, sister of the Portuguese

king, thus cementing their "special status."lxix

The origins of Port wine date to a trade conflict between England

and France beginning in the 1660's. France had stopped importing

English wool cloth, and England responded by banning French imports,

including wine. Though the English has always displayed a marked

preference for Bordeaux wines, after war began with France merchants

turned to Portugal for the bulk of their wine. However, as opposed to the

one to two day journey from Bordeaux, the voyage from Portugal took

much longer and the wines did not survive the journey well. It was the

addition of brandy to the wine, thus "fortifying" it, that made the wine

more robust, creating what is now known as Port. While fortifying wine

may have been practiced for years in the Benedictine abbeys of the Douro

Valley, it was commonplace by 1700.lxx

Two dates are key to the history of Port wine. The first is 1703,

the year in which the Meuthen Treaty was signed, lowering duties on

Portuguese wine in exchange for preferred importation of English cloth.

This treaty survived for over 150 years, allowing the Port wine trade to

fully develop. The other key date is 1756. Increased demand, and a lack

46

of controls, led the quality of wine to decline for a number of years in the

early 18th century, with shippers and customers complaining of a bad,

adulterated product, mixed with other fruits, juices and spices. Due to this

decline, among other factors, the Portuguese prime minister, the Marquês

de Pombal, created the Real Companhia das Vinhas do Alto Douro (the

Royal Company of Vineyards of the Upper Douro), to regulate the quality,

production and prices of the wine. Over the next several years, the region

of the upper Douro River valley was delineated, and only vineyards within

the designated boundary were permitted to produce Port wine. While

expanded over the years, the Douro valley is considered practically the

oldest demarcated wine-growing region in the world.lxxi

The 19th century saw an overall growth in the Port wine trade, in

spite of two catastrophic events. The first was invasion by the French

during the Napoleonic Wars (1807-1811). As a long time ally of England,

Portugal was particularly subject to Napoleon's expansionist ambitions,

and while the entire economy suffered, English interests were particularly

targeted. Oporto was only occupied for a few months, but the long-term

effects of the war were exacerbated by the power vacuum left by the royal

family, who had fled to Brazil. A long period of unrest and outbreaks of

civil war followed, based on conflict between traditional absolutists and

47

those supporting a constitutional monarchy, the latter prevailing in

1834.lxxii

Nature struck a double blow in the mid-19th century. A powdery

mildew, called oidium, attacked the grapes in the Douro Valley in the

1850's. Apparently arriving from North America, this mildew imparted a

bitter taste to the grapes, and while the Port shippers continued to do well,

due to large harvests, thousands of small wine growers in the region were

devastated. While oidium was finally controlled through the application

of sulphur, increased steamship traffic from America in the mid-1860's

would import an even worse plague: phylloxera. This practically

microscopic aphid spread throughout Europe, feeding on the vines' roots

and killing the plants. No remedy has ever been found, and it wasn't until

the last decades of the 19th century, that native vines were grafted onto

American rootstock, which had already been exposed to the plague and

was now more resistant. While extensive replanting has taken place over

the years, thousands of abandoned terraces, known as mortórios, still give

mute testimony to the devastation (See appendix D).lxxiii

History: the Companies

The eight companies studied for this project began as wine

shippers and marketers. Even today, though these companies all own

vineyards in the Douro Valley, they continue to buy grapes from local

48

producers in the area of their own holdings.lxxiv Until the mid-19th

century, almost all wines were shipped overseas in pipas, or ca. 100-gallon

casks, and bottled at the destination, particularly in England. Since the

late 18th century, aging has taken place in the company cellars near the

mouth of the Douro River. Originally in Oporto, most companies had

moved to Vila Nova de Gaia by 1800, partially to avoid taxes levied by

the Bishop of Porto, and also to take advantage of the north facing slopes

of Gaia, which made for cooler aging conditions. Many companies began

bottling operations in Gaia in the 19th century, though the last bulk

shipment was made as late as 1996.

The original, family owned companies considered in this study

have all merged or been absorbed by larger, sometimes multinational

concerns, though each original company still maintains its own lodge and

aging facilities. To avoid repetition, a brief history of each will appear

after that of their parent company. The eight case study companies are

arranged in same alphabetical order as they appear elsewhere in this study,

beginning with Burmester and concluding with Taylor's.

Sogevinus, one of the largest Port wine concerns in Portugual, is

owned by the Spanish Galician bank Caixa Nova. This group, which

markets itself as representing "Five Centuries of Wine," owns a number of

49

Port wine companies, including Burmester, Cálem, Kopke and Barros, all

of which have distinguished histories.

Founded as a grain trading company in London in 1730,

Burmester joined the wine trade in Oporto in 1750, where the family

became active in British community and financial circles. In spite of

setbacks during the Napoleonic Wars and World War I, the company

maintained a reputation for quality that persists in the 21st century.

Burmester shares production with Cálem from the same vineyard , the

grade "A" Quinta do Arnozelo.lxxv

Cálem was founded in 1859 and focused initially on the Brazilian

market, thereby avoiding direct competition with more established

companies. The demand for exotic hardwoods was high in Europe, and

the company's founder, Antónia Álves Cálem used Port wine as medium

of exchange. The company was one of the few to own its own fleet of

merchant vessels to transport wine overseas, and since the 1950's, the

caravela, a 17th century sailing ship, has been its brand logo.lxxvi

Croft, founded in 1678, is the third oldest Port wine company still

operating, and the second oldest British company, after Warre's. John

Croft took over the company in 1736, and quickly became a leading figure

in the Port wine trade, writing a treatise in 1788 that has become a

standard work on the subject: The Wines of Portugal. While the firm has

50

not been in the Croft family since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, it

established a serendipitous relationship with its future owners the

Fladgates in the mid-19th century. The Croft company acquired John

Fladgate's Quinta da Roeda in 1875, when the owner married Fladgate's

daughter. Nearly 130 years later, the Fladgate Partnership bought both

Croft and it's "A" rated vineyard.

Another large wine concern is the Portuguese conglomerate

Sogrape, founded in 1942 by Fernando van Zeller Guedes. The family-

owned concern currently maintains over 2000 acres of vineyards in the

main winegrowing regions of Portugal and Argentina. Sogrape entered

the Port wine trade in 1987, acquiring the venerable Portuguese house of

A.A. Ferreira (1751), while the famous English firm of Sandeman (1790)

joined the group in 2002. Two other old English Port wine firms, Offley

and Robertson, are also members of the group.

A.A. Ferreira is the oldest Portuguese Port wine company,

predating even the demarcation of the Douro Valley. The history of this

company is indelibly marked by Dona Antónia Ferreira, who, widowed in

the mid-19th century at age 33, took over the business with vigor. She

was responsible for founding a number of vineyards, which are not only

still active in the 21st century, but well-known for their quality, such as

the Quinta do Porto, which she bought in 1863.lxxvii

51

The Symington Family Estates is one of two major English family

owned concerns. While the first Symington did not come to Porto until

1888, through marriage the family has roots in the region, stretching to the

17th century. Andrew Symington arrived in 1888, and it was to his

descendents that Warre's, a company in which he had been a partner, was

sold in the late 1950's. The Symingtons were also partners in the Dow

(1798) Port wine company for years, before acquiring it in 1961.

In 1970, the family acquired Graham's (1820), which was then

family owned. Graham's was a relative latecomer to the English Port wine

trade, founded in 1820 by two brothers with already extensive trade

interests in both their native Scotland and in India. The company did well

throughout the 19th century, culminating with the purchase in 1890 of the

well-regarded (currently "A" rated) Quinta dos Malvedos in the Upper

Douro Valley, and at the same time, the construction of a large new lodge

in Gaia, still in use today. In addition to a tradition of quality Vintage

Ports, still tread in stone lagares, Graham's is one of two companies which

have pioneered mechanical means for duplicating the human treading of

the grapes after harvest.lxxviii

One of the most successful Portuguese companies, Ramos Pinto

maintains its independent operations, in spite of its 1990 merger with the

French champagne producer Roederer. The company was founded in

52

1880 by the young art connoisseur Adriano Ramos Pinto, and like Cálem,

focused its early marketing efforts on Brazil. Adriano used his artistic eye

to focus on marketing, employing well-known artists to create advertising

posters of exceptional quality. He furthermore countered the staid image

of the Port industry by introducing a distinctly sexual overtone to his

advertising, featuring images of nude female figures and slogans such as

Os Vinhos do Porto de A. Ramos Pinto são uma tentação ("The Port wines

of A. Ramos Pinto are a temptation").lxxix Ramos Pinto was also one of

the first companies to bottle its own wines for shipment.lxxx Also, between

1919 and 1985 the company acquired four quintas, or vineyards in the

Douro Valley, including the archeologically rich Quinta da Evramoira,

prompting their founding one of the few vineyard-related museums in

region.

Founded by George Sandeman in 1790, Sandeman's is arguably

the most recognizable English Port wine company, due to innovative

marketing dating to the 1920's. The Sandeman Don, a sombrero-wearing,

black-caped figure, has been the company symbol since 1928. While

Sandeman purchased the "A" rated Quinta do Vau in 1988, grapes from

that vineyard had been used in their wines for years. The company was

bought by Canada's Seagram company in 1980, in the first wave of

53

multinational takeovers, before joining Sogrape in 2002, though it is still

managed by George Sandeman, namesake of the company's founder.lxxxi

Finally, Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman is one of the few modern

examples of a Port wine company becoming parent to other companies,

led by family members who began in the trade in the 19th century. The

Fladgate Partnership was formed by the merging of Taylor's with Fonseca

Guimarãens, and subsequently Croft and Delaforce, acquired from the

Guiness company in 2001. However, all four companies operate

independent vineyards and aging facilities in order to maintain their

distinctive "house styles."

Taylor's was founded in 1692, and has owned vineyard property

in the Douro Valley since 1744. In more recent times, Taylor's pioneered

the offering of a dry white Port in the 1930's, unusual, given the sweeter

character of most white Ports. Furthermore, in an effort to market to the

restaurant trade during the 1970's, the company successfully marketed a

Late Bottled Vintage wine.lxxxii Like a few of the better regarded

companies, Taylor's grapes used for their higher quality wines are still

tread by human feet, yet the company has also pioneered mechanical

replication of this process.

Terroir: the Douro

54

Terroir, a French term with no English equivalent, encompasses all

of the environmental conditions necessary to grow wine: geology and soil,

geography and topography, as well as climate. The terroir of the Douro

River valley is unique (See appendix C for images of the Douro Valley).

First, its location over 100 kilometers upriver from the Atlantic Ocean,

places it in the shelter of the mountain range, Serra do Marão, "protecting"

the wine growing region from the moderating influence of Atlantic winds.

Thus the climate is harsh, with freezing winters, and summer temperatures

reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. These extreme conditions make for

extremely rugged vines.

The topography varies from hilly to mountainous, creating two

conditions: optimum exposure to the sun on south facing slopes, and

historically, the necessity of building steep, terraced vineyards. Schist, the

slate-like rock which comprises the soil, had to be broken up by hand, and

dumped into socalcos, schist walls following the contour of the hills. The

roots of the vines have to stretch down sometimes to 25 meters to reach

water, thereby increasing their strength. Furthermore, the rocky soil

protects the roots from climatic extremes, absorbing heat slowly during

the day, then allowing it to dissipate slowly among the roots at night, vital

during the bitter winter cold. The rocky soil also allows for efficient

drainage. The result is not just a technical success, but a cultural icon.

55

Hundreds of years human activity has physically altered the region, due to

the construction of this extensive terracing to grow the vines, which led

the United Nations to declare the "Alto Douro Wine Region" a UNESCO

World Heritage Site in 2001.lxxxiii

Sub-Regions of the Douro

The Demarcated Region of the Douro is divided into three

subregions, starting about 100 kilometers east of Oporto (See appendix C

for maps of the Douro region). The Baixa Corgo, or that area down river

from where the Rio Corgo enters the Douro, is the smallest and

westernmost region, as well as the most productive, having nearly 30

percent of its 45,000 hectares (over 110,000 acres) under cultivation. The

Cima Corgo, above the Rio Corgo, has over twice as much area, but only

about 18 percent under cultivation. The easternmost sub-region is the

Douro Superior, stretching the rest of the way to the Spanish Border.

While nearly 20 percent larger than the Cima Corgo, just over seven

percent is planted.lxxxiv The Baixo Corgo, because it has the moistest and

mildest climate of the region, and the most fertile soil, accounts for its

productivity. The grapes there mature more slowly, so wines expected to

be sold young, such as Rubies, Tawnies and Whites are mainly produced

in this region. The Cima Corgo, where most important quintas are

located, is considered to have the best balance of rain and hot weather, and

56

the highest quality wines are produced there. The Douro Superior is

hotter and drier still, producing intensely flavored grapes. This quality,

when coupled with the flatter terrain, more conducive to mechanization,

has led to considerable experimentation, which is influencing production

in the other sub-regions.lxxxv

The quinta, many of which are not much larger than an acre, is the

agricultural unit upon which Port wine production is based, with each

company relying on dozens of suppliers. In modern times, each well-

known company also maintains larger, flagship properties, many so well-

regarded that wines from a single quinta can be much sought after. The

characteristics of a quinta's terroir vary so widely, that to create a

particular style of wine requires careful blending of their produce.

Therefore, the Port Wine Institute has created a system of classification,

ranging from "A" to "F," based on a number of factors: altitude, higher

being better; production, lower being better; soil composition; and the

location, in which exposure to the sun plays a particularly important part.

Further points are based on the age of the vines, older is better; and

inclination, the steeper the terrain, the better.lxxxvi

Unique to Port wine are the varieties of grapes, or castas, from

which it is made. Without exception, the over thirty varieties of grapes

used to make Port are either native to Portugal, or have been a part of its

57

agricultural landscape for so long, that they are currently only in use there.

Of the over twenty varieties permitted by the Port Wine Institute for

making red Port wines, only five are highly recommended: Touriga

Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Barroca. Its

particularly intense flavor makes the Touriga Nacional, arguably, the most

highly regarded of all, in spite of its small grapes and low yield. Port

wine, however, cannot be made from one grape variety. It is the careful

blending of several varieties which give the wine its complexity. Each

type of Port will have a different blend, depending on how long it is

expected to age, as well as the location of the vines. One grape variety

can vary considerably in flavor, depending on the conditions of the terroir.

White Port is a relatively recent development, and while there is less

concern within the industry over its blending, again only about five of the

available white grape varieties are recommended as optimum by the IVP,

including the well-regarded and aromatic Malvasia Fina, and the ancient

Códega.lxxxvii

Winemaking

Like most wines, Port wine grapes are harvested in September, a

period called the vindima in Portuguese. This work is still done by hand,

as it is throughout the world, to preserve the grape intact, and thus its

juice, until pressing. Transported to the winery originally by ox-carts,

58

now by tractors, and dumped into large tanks for crushing, sometimes with

or without stems attached. Traditionally, these tanks, or lagares, were

constructed of granite, and the crushing was undertaken by the men who

picked the grapes. This process, the pisa, still persists in the industry,

partly for tradition's sake, and partly because in the opinion of many

experts, no machine can duplicate the pressure of the human foot, which

will not crush the grape seeds, which would add a bitter flavor. While

machinery has now been developed that is comparable, many companies

still use the pisa nos lagares, for their highest quality wines. Arms

interlocked, men (and now women) march rhythmically through the

grapes in four-hour shifts, often to a drumbeat or other traditional music.

The juice is then run off, while the remaining skins are pressed by

machine, and that juice added. The brief fermentation process takes place

in vats made of stone, concrete or stainless steel, which will not affect the

juice's flavor. After about two to three days, during which fermentation

and sugar content is measured, occurs the pivotal act in the Port

winemaking process, fortification, in which one part clear, strong wine

brandy is added to four parts most or new wine. This 77 percent alcohol

brandy stops the fermentation process, the transformation of sugar into

alcohol, completely, leaving a strong, sweet and fruity base wine. The

wine is then transferred into "neutral" holding tanks to rest and consolidate

59

its flavor until the following March, when it is trucked to the cellars in

Vila Nova de Gaia to begin blending and aging.lxxxviii

Originally, the wine was transported in oak casks, stacked

precariously on large wooden boats known as Barcos de Rabelo (See

appendix D for images). Sailed upriver from the sea in a journey that

could take more than a week, the barcos would make a fast, and

dangerous two day journey downstream, fully loaded, and running rapids

that would claim many lives every year. These vessels are so emblematic

of the trade that, even though they last carried wine in the 1960's and have

been replaced by efficient, stainless steel tanker trucks, nearly every major

Port wine company moors one barco de rabelo along the river in Gaia and

Oporto. Once a year, on the feast of St. John, patron of Oporto, these

venerable craft are raced by the staff of the various Port wine companies

in a chaotic regatta.

Port wine is extremely complicated produce and up to five or more

varieties of grapes can be used to make just one variety of Port. There are

two basic types of Port, white and red, each respectively made from white

and red grapes. Aging for all Port wines is based on how much contact the

wine will have with wood, usually oak, and oxygen. Ironically, prolonged

contact with wood robs the red wine of color, while adding color to

whites. Both wines begin their aging process in a similar manner, in large

60

vats made of oak, usually French or American. These vats range in size

from about 10,000 liters, up to about 100,000, though most are less than

half that size. All wines will spend at least two years in these large vats:

larger for those requiring less contact with wood, such as Rubies, Vintages

and Whites, smaller for those needing more, such as Tawnies. The art of

the winemaker is such, that the decision whether it is to be sold as a

simpler young wine, or a more complicated aged one, has already been

made, even while the raw most, or fermented juice is still in the tanks, or

cubas, up in the Douro Valley. However, tasting and blending occurs

constantly during the aging process, to ensure the optimum aging time

takes place in the best container.

Wines

There are several varieties of White Port, whose characteristics are

determined by how quickly fermentation was halted, and how they are

aged. The youngest, and usually the sweetest White, is known as

Lagrimas, or tears. Its high sugar content is assured by adding the brandy

after about a day or so of fermentation. Then, once this wine reaches the

cellars in Gaia, it will usually be stored in larger vats, for three to five

years, depending how it is progressing. Lagrimas will then be filtered and

bottled, and is ready for drinking. Dry White Ports can ferment up to a

week, so converting more sugar into alcohol. The rarest White is one that

61

is aged. These wines will transferred into smaller casks, where their clear

white color gradually darkens to a golden tawny, and the sharp, tropical

fruity flavor taking on a distinctly caramel quality. Most White Ports will

last at least a week once opened.

Ruby Port takes its name from the extremely dark, nearly opaque,

red color of a young red Port. Rubies are meant to have a rich, fruity

flavor, tasting of wild berries in some descriptions, such as blackberries

and raspberries. Preserving that fruit flavor requires that Rubies have

relatively little contact with wood, and so will usually age in large vats

from three to five years before being filtered and bottled, ready to drink.

Wines from different years are often blended in. Reserve Rubies will

generally age another year or two in the vats in order to acquire a fuller,

more complicated flavor. Rubies should be drunk within a week or less to

ensure the best quality.

Vintage Ports, which are wines from a single year's production,

are considered to be the pinnacle of the Port wine maker's art, yet their

production is arguably the simplest of all Ports. Vintage Ports are

technically considered Ruby Ports due to their intense fruity taste and dark

red color, preserved by their limited contact with wood and air. Like

Ruby Ports, Vintages begin aging in large vats, to limit contact with wood

and air, for two years only. By this stage the company enologists will

62

decide whether to declare a vintage, for not every year is likely to produce

such a quality of wine. The next step is to send samples to the Instituto

dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP), the Institute of Douro and Port

Wines, the Portuguese governmental quality control body. While

approval is usually granted, vintages have been turned down, and due to

the vagaries of soil and climate, not every company will have a vintage at

the same time. In fact, most companies will only have a vintage about

three times a decade.

Once the vintage is confirmed, the wine is poured directly into

bottles unfiltered, corked and sealed, and stored, stacked horizontally in

rows in near total darkness, as light would affect its color and quality.

The unfiltered wine will gradually produce sediment over the years, which

will spread along the downward side. The top side of the bottle is usually

marked with white paint, to mark where the label will go, ensuring that

the bottle will always be stored in the same position in order not to

disturb the sediment. While most Vintage Ports are blended initially from

grapes of different quintas, the quality of some of these properties is so

consistent, that a single quinta vintage is declared, using only the produce

of that one vineyard. In that case, the bottle will not only be labeled with

the year of the harvest, but with name of the individual quinta that

produced the wine. Vintage Ports are expected to age at least 10 to 20

years before reaching their peak of quality, and while some are drinkable

63

almost right away, many can age well over 50 years and continue to

improve.

Serving Vintage Ports is a relatively delicate operation due to the

sediment in the bottle. Two schools of thought seem to prevail in this

regard. One suggests that the bottle be stood upright for several hours to

allow the sediment to settle to the bottom. Then the wine should be

carefully poured into a crystal or glass decanter, stopping the pouring as

soon as sediment appears in the wine being poured. The other approach

is not to decant at all, nor stand the bottle upright, but to carefully pour

directly into glasses from a nearly horizontal position so as not to disturb

the sediment. Traditionally, with older bottles whose corks often are very

delicate, a heated pair of tongs is placed around the neck below the cork,

then ice is applied to neck, the shock breaking the glass cleanly. Vintage

Ports should be drunk within 24 hours, as the flavor and quality

deteriorate rapidly upon opening.

The other major red Port is the Tawny, which differs both in color

and flavor from Rubies. Due to their prolonged exposure to wood and air,

the color will change towards a golden "tawny," while the flavor evolves

towards that of dried fruit and nuts. Wines designated as Tawnies begin

in large vats, but after about three years are transferred to the smaller

100+ gallon casks, where they can age many years. Tawnies with an

"Indication of Age" are sold labeled as 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years old.

However, the wine has not remained in a single cask and aged for the

64

indicated period. These wines are, in fact, constantly tasted and blended

over time, from casks of other Tawny Ports varying in age from five to

over sixty years old. The goal, subject entirely to the trained senses of the

blender, is to produce a wine whose characteristics of flavor, color and

aroma are entirely consistent with a Tawny Port of the indicated age,

before being filtered and bottled ready to drink. Because of their longer

exposure to air during aging, these wines can last longer after opening, at

least a month before beginning to lose quality.

Interpretation: Tours

Guided tours are the main interpretive medium of the eight Port

wine lodges considered in this study. Due to the international character of

visitation, tours are offered in most major European languages: English,

French, Spanish, German, Italian and, of course, Portuguese. The

language and schedule of tours are usually based on the needs of a

majority of the visitors present, in the order in which they arrive. The

guides, most of whom are seasonal employees, are particularly chosen for

their linguistic skills. They are young, in their early to mid-twenties, and

predominantly female. The overall method of presentation is to maintain a

running narrative, interspersed with brief pauses for visitor questions.

Guides follow a similar thematic narrative, beginning with the

history of the Port wine trade and the specific company in question and the

65

grape growing conditions in the Douro River valley. During this stage,

most companies will describe what Port wine is, and mention the three

basic varieties. Tours then address grape growing and wine production,

followed by the aging process. During this latter presentation, the

different types of Port wine are introduced as the tour proceeds through

the cellar area of the lodge. Often near the end of the tour, the different

types of wine are described in more detail, prior to moving into the tasting

room. The wine tasting concludes all of the tours. Guides also introduce

the wines being tasted, and remain close by to answer visitor questions.

Most lodges also show films as part of the tour, some at the beginning, and

some at the end. For the most part, these films iterate, or reiterate tour

information.

Tours: Introduction and History

Almost all tours begin by introducing Port as a fortified wine with

three basic types; White Ruby and Tawny. However, history and

development of the industry is the theme that receives the most varied

attention in Port wine lodge tours. Some tour guides start with the 17th

century, mentioning the Anglo-French wars and the English embargo of

French wines, plus the Meuthen Treaty of 1703, but almost all will

mention the demarcation of the Douro in 1756. Some will mention other

events such as the Napoleonic Wars and the Phylloxera epidemic of the

66

mid-19th century. Most lodges spend relatively little time on company

history, unless there is a key personality considered to be important, such

as the company founder. Almost all mention the new parent company and

the date in which the original company was acquired. Ramos Pinto spends

half of its tour in their restored early 20th century office spaces, focused

mainly on the founder Adriano Ramos Pinto, his use of art in promotion

and his innovations in the business, such as the use of office machines and

bottling wine for shipment. Sandeman also emphasizes its founder

Geroge Sandeman, and the family connection to present day operations, as

well as the successful use of art and logo in the "Sandeman Don" symbol.

Taylor's was the only lodge which, during my visits, presented a

distinctly Anglo-centric slant to its tour. This bias may have been due in

part to the young English guide, emphasizing the English contributions to

the development of the wine and its aging, such as teaching barrel making

to the Portuguese. Both Taylor's, with the Bridges and the Robertsons,

and Graham's, with the Symingtons, are run by descendents of their firms'

historical owners and partners, and so place special emphasis on the role

of family ownership and daily involvement in company operations.

Taylor's, however, also highlights that its winemaking operations are the

sole responsibility of David Guimarãens, the Portuguese descendant of the

founders of Fonseca Guimarãens, with whom Taylor's merged in 1948.

67

68

Tours: Terroir and Winemaking

Most tours spend about a third of the time discussing the Douro

Valley: geography, geology, soil and climate; some mention grape

varieties, as well as the winemaking process. A key fact is that the grapes

are grown over 100 kilometers away from Oporto. Furthermore, the

mountain range of the Serra do Marão blocks moderating Atlantic winds,

which creates an extreme climate. The rocky, schistous soil has to be

broken up and terraced on the steep gradients of the valley. The benefits

of this soil are highlighted, such as absorbing heat from the sun and

transferring the heat to the roots, as well as allowing good drainage. All

lodge guides use maps when presenting this information, and several

lodges, such as Cálem, Sandeman and Ferreira, have topographical models

of one of their quintas to show the steep topography. Photographs of the

Douro Valley also serve as focal points for this part of the tour. At least

three lodges feature displays of schist stones to show the origin of the soil:

Cálem has a layer on the floor under photos of the Douro Valley;

Burmester has wine basket full of them, which the guide can pick up and

show visitors; and Ramos Pinto has constructed a complete five meter-

long section of socalco terrace wall, three meters high, complete with inset

steps. Ramos Pinto, however, doesn't discuss terroir and winemaking

until the end of the tour.

69

The theme of winemaking directly follows terroir, with the guides

usually using photos of the harvest and lagares to illustrate the process.

Burmester uses few photos on the tour, but has related artifacts, such as

harvest baskets, cutting shears and vine cuttings to act as visual aids.

Ramos Pinto mainly relies on a slide show at the end of the tour, which the

guide narrates, to illustrate winemaking. Neither Taylor's nor Croft have

significant illustrative material to use during tours, though both have many

images and artifacts in their reception rooms. Graham's features two slide

shows and a film, which guides can elect to use at either the beginning or

end of tours, based on visitor numbers and need. Photos also help

illustrate transportation in all the tours, though several use models of

Barcos de Rabelo to discuss the difficulties of river transport.

Tours: Wines & Aging

Logically enough and without exception, all guides discuss the

wine aging process while leading the tours through the cellars, surrounded

by massive vats and stacks of casks. This part of the tour, therefore is

heavily aided by the warehouse facility itself, as guides point out the

different size vessels and discuss their use, and the wine which ages in

them. If present, guides also indicate the white paint on the vats' stone and

concrete stands, that makes obvious any leakage, as well as the tall gauges

which measure their contents in liters and number of casks. Drawing

70

visitors' attention to the spigots on the vats, guides also emphasize the

constant tasting that goes on as part of the blending process. The varying

size of vats and casks allows guides to illustrate the differences in the wine

caused by contact with wood and air. Several lodges will explain that the

casks in particular are frequently used previously for regular, non-fortified

wine before they are used for Port, as new wood would impart too strong a

flavor. Sandeman's also notes that older casks are then sold again to

Scottish whisky distillers, who value the complexity that used Port casks

add to their product.

Guides often use Vintage Port storage areas to discuss that wine

type, whether they are actual storage areas, or models installed for tours.

Not all guides say if they are showing a model, though Sandeman does,

explaining that the actual Vintage wines require near total darkness.

Guides in several of the lodges use displays to discuss the up to 12

different variations of Port, whether large backlit color images, such as

Cálem and Sandeman, or actual bottles in a wooden box, like Burmester.

This detailing of the wine types usually takes place at the end of the tour

before tasting, though at Burmester it occurs at the beginning. Croft

features the most unique finish to a tour, which takes place in a Vintage

Port storage room, containing the oldest wines owned by the company.

After describing Vintage Ports and their peculiarities, the guide

71

demonstrates the opening of a bottle using tongs, though not actually

heating them, on a bottle that has already had its neck broken in this

manner. Visitors can then handle the tongs and feel the smooth edge of

the glass.

Tours: Tasting

Guided tours are the backbone of Port wine lodge tourist services,

and are the means by which the industry personalizes the visitor

experience, and guides often include tasting notes to highlight the different

wines. The tasting room, as in any winery experience, culminates every

tour in the Port wine lodges. Wine tastings are included with the tour,

regardless of whether the entry is free or not. The offerings range from

one to four wines, typically, a White and a Ruby. Free or low cost tastings

are, of course, effective sales tools for the lodges, and certainly bring alive

for visitors all the information they receive during tours.

Interpretation: Museums

Unlike their tours, the museums of the Port wine lodges vary

considerably in their format, accessibility, and formality or sophistication,

of presentation. A number of the lodges integrate museum displays into

their reception and tasting rooms. Others place them within the cellars

themselves, so they can serve as an introductory interface for visitors, and

72

thus are entered at the beginning of a tour. These are used by the guides to

discuss the historical and technical background of Port wine, and tend to

be more sophisticated than displays in reception and tasting areas. Some

lodges vary their formats, such as Graham's, which, in addition to exhibits

in the reception area, features a cooperage exhibit within the cellars.

Ferreira offers exhibits in reception, as well as the adjacent tour waiting

area, but has two extensive exhibition galleries at the far side of the

cellars, which are seen only at the end of the tour. Sandeman is the only

lodge to feature a dedicated museum space, which is not part of the tasting

room or reception, and is always accessible during regular hours.

Museum exhibition spaces may differ widely, but a major part of

the visitor experience in the lodges, and a significant part of their

interpretive effort, takes place in the cellars, the large, stone warehouses

used to age the wine. While not technically museums, it is within these

spaces that visitors are closest to the "real" world of the wine making

process - more than one guide emphasized that the cellars are not exhibits,

but working areas, whose location, physical plant and atmospheric

conditions are considered vital to the final process of Port wine

production: aging.

73

Museums: Cellars

The word "cellar" refers to "a room below ground level...used for

storage" (See photos in Appendix E). The cellars of the Port wine lodges,

in fact, conform more to the original Latin cellarium, or storehouse. lxxxix

Terraced into the steep hillside fronting the Douro River, the cellars of

Vila Nova de Gaia are large, stone warehouses, built mostly in the 19th

century, their white walls and terra cotta tile roofs dominating the scene.

The interiors of these buildings are uniformly dark, damp and cool,

particularly when contrasted with Portugal's bright, and hot, summer sun.

These characteristics make the cellars ideal for aging Port wine. While a

few companies have begun to age their wines in modern, climate-

controlled buildings up in the Douro River valley, most still continue to

use the facilities in Gaia, as they have for over three hundred years.

Inside the storage areas, one is struck by the sheer scale of the

spaces and the objects they contain. As mentioned earlier, Port wine aging

usually occurs in large, oak containers. There are two types: huge vats, up

to fifteen feet high and holding at least 10,000 liters, and smaller casks,

holding anywhere from 550 to 650 liters each. Most of the vats are of a

type called balseiros, which have slatted sides like barrels, slightly conical

in section, and are stood on the wider end. These vats sit on concrete or

stone platforms, which are often painted white, to show any leakage which

74

may be taking place. Smaller, ovoid-section vats, called toneis, rest on

their narrower sides in stone or concrete cradles. For the most part, the

vats are used for the initial aging of wine, anywhere from two to four

years. The vats are also each marked, on blackboards on their sides, as to

their contents, that is the type of wine, the harvest year and the current

volume. Vats also feature a large glass gauge, looking rather like a huge

thermometer. Two long, hinged wooden slats, which can close to protect

the glass, flank the gauge. Painted white, one side is marked in liters

along its length, while the other side measures the contents in the number

of casks.

The casks, or pipas, are the basic traditional measure of the Port

wine trade, a year's production being measured in "pipes," as the English

call them. Containing over a hundred gallons, or anywhere from 550 to

650 liters, these barrel-shaped casks are stored on their sides, stacked up to

four high. Pipas are used mainly for the storing of Tawny wines, some of

which will remain in the casks for up to sixty years. The contents are

marked in chalk right on the wood face of the barrel: not only the volume

and date harvested, but also the age (10, 20, 30 & 40 Years) of the Tawny

Port in which it is meant to be blended. Long rows of these stacked casks

are often kept in separate areas from the large vats, but frequently they

share space with their larger cousins, making for a visually impressive

75

sight. While the walls are invariably painted white, the floors of the

cellars vary from lodge to lodge: some are packed dirt, some are concrete

or stone, while still others consist of wood blocks, set on end into the floor

like bricks.

Vintage Port is problematic to display. Storage usually consists of

relatively narrow halls, blank by concrete or stone bins, like huge shelves,

usually three high, each containing hundreds of bottles. The bottles are

stacked, laid on their sides starting at the back of each bin, creating a

veritable wall of black glass perhaps twelve meters high. Stored in bottles,

unfiltered, for years, these wines are very susceptible to light. Therefore,

more than one lodge has created "models" of Vintage storage, while others

choose not to interpret them visually at all.

Museums - BURMESTER Burmester (For photos see Appendix F) is located some distance

up the hill from the main tourist area of the Cais de Gaia, and tours are

free of charge. The museum displays have been created mainly during

this past year, 2007, by the two visitor center coordinators assigned by the

parent company, Sogevinus. While Burmester itself has had a complete

museum in the past, the company's collection was transferred up into the

Douro Valley by its previous owners Amorim, before Sogevinus acquired

the company in 2004. The current museum has only been open since July

76

of 2007. As a result, the center coordinators, Gloria Ferreira and Susana

Gonçalves, have had to acquire artifacts and images from other

companies, as well as other sources in the Douro Valley.

As with most companies, the reception area is used as both

waiting room and tasting room. There are displays of the various wines

available for sale, a sales counter/wine bar, and a few museum-style

exhibits as well. These last include a display of a number of the prizes

won by Burmester's wines in recent years. Another small exhibit of

historic advertising posters is arranged on two sides of a large, free-

standing glass frame, though these had been removed by November 2007.

The cellar area, as with all companies, features rows of barrels and a

number of vats for aging the wine. The outstanding feature of this space,

which is emphasized as a working area, is the oldest working vat, or tonel,

still in use, dating to 1885.

The dedicated museum space, through which visitors pass on their

way into the wine cellar area, is quite simple, consisting of a high,

whitewashed room, of about 600 square meters. Formerly used for wine

storage and aging, one side of this room is lined with the stone shelves

which held bottled wine. Placed around the room are a number of small,

hand-operated machines formerly used for corking, labeling, oxygenation

and pumping wine into and out of barrels and vats. Labeling is minimal -

77

one photocopied sheet each, in a document protector, with a number and

the name of the device in Portuguese. On the floor near the middle of the

space is a small display of baskets, hand tools, a work shirt and some vine

cuttings. On the wall, in the right-hand corner after the entry is a small

map of the Douro region, under which is a traditional grape harvesting

basket filled with pieces of chist. Next to this exhibit is a case containing

a bottle of each of the different varieties of Port produced by Burmester.

None of these last three exhibits is labeled, as all exhibits in the museum

are designed to be explained by the guide at the beginning of the tour.

The gift shop offers only wines and related materials for sale, with no

books or other interpretive materials, though a free orientation pamphlet is

available.

Museums - CÁLEM Cálem, the first cellars which tourists reach after crossing the Dom

Luís I bridge, had its entire offices and public spaces completely

remodeled in 2004 (For photos see Appendix G). The dominant Port wine

company in the Sogevinus group features separate spaces for reception,

tasting and museum exhibits, as well as meeting rooms and an auditorium.

The museum is only accessible with a guide and serves as the opening,

explanatory area for the tours, which cost two euros. The large reception

area is dark, and practically bare of any sort of exhibit or decoration.

78

While the reception table is directly opposite the entrance, it is exactly

that, a table, with a couple of chairs and a computer. The casks and vats

of the cellars can be seen dimly behind the reception table, through a large

glass wall with CALÉM etched in 2-meter high letters. A single, small,

interactive computer screen is available over in one corner, featuring

access to the company website (not functioning at the time of my August

visit, but working in November). To the right is the entrance to the

museum; a solid sliding door opens only when a tour enters.

The museum space is large and somewhat "L" shaped, serving as

an anteroom for entering the cellars. Each wall holds a thematically-based

panel grouping consisting mainly of images and text, entirely in

Portuguese. The text blocks are placed throughout the panels, ranging

from nearly floor level to nearly two meters above the floor. Upon entry,

visitors see a large unlabeled, back-illuminated panel, showing the Douro

River from water level, around the corner from which is a large 19th

century image of the cellar complex and bottling plant. The next panel,

História, Tradição, consists of advertising from the 19th and early 20th

centuries, older photos of the Vila Nova de Gaia complex and images of

the founding personalities, printed on a background of a ghostly pale grey

image of the cellar complex. These images surround an inset display case

containing advertising cards, photos of the founders, as well as ledger

79

book and some letters, none of which have accompanying interpretive

text. However, the panel itself is nearly half-covered with blocks of text,

most of about 60-90 words each in at least 48 point non-seriffed type.

This text relates to, but doesn't always specifically address the adjacent

images.

The next wall panel, O Douro, in front of which on the floor is a

nearly half-meter wide bed of schist fragments, describes the Douro River

valley, its geographic location, unique geology and micro-climates. The

visual presentation is completely different, the background being solid

black, with the text being printed in bright red letters, each thematic title

being at least 200 point type, and accompanied by large, high-resolution

color photographs. The last major wall panel, O Vinho, also presents a

completely different visual aspect: the three individual panels are varying

shades of light grey. The text describes wine production and testing,

another transportation and the last highlights the art of cooperage, or

barrel-making. The images are a mixture of antique prints, as well as

older and modern photos showing winemaking facilities. The next display

is made up of three small inset cases in a wooden wall, displaying the

three bottles of Port spanning the company's history: 1870, 1920 and 2000.

The last set of panels before entering the cellars, reverts to the slightly

80

sepia-toned style of the first history panel, and describes the history of the

family and company ownership up through the takeover by Sogevinus.

The path through the moderately dark cellars is relatively long,

proceeding first through a section of vats, where the aging process for all

wines begins. Unlike many Port Wine cellars, the floors and bases for the

vats are plain concrete. At the end of the cellar area, before the tasting

room entrance, is an illuminated panel grouping showing the eight

varieties of wine made by the Cálem. Beside the entrance, markings on

the wall show the historic water levels of floods which reached the cellars,

up to two meters deep.

The tasting room is fairly sparse, flanked on one side by glassed-

in stone arches, allowing visitors to see the stacks of casks in the cellar

area. Along the other wall are shelves of wine for sale, clearly priced and

grouped by variety. The room is filled with modern wooden tables and

aluminum benches. At the far end is the wine bar, and near the exit the

wine sales counter. As with Burmester, the gift shop sells no books or

interpretive materials, only wines and related items, though a free

informational flyer is offered.

Museums - CROFT Croft, though part of the Fladgate Partnership since 2001,

maintains its own visitors center and museum spaces (For photos see

81

Appendix H). The museum area is mainly incorporated into the

reception-tasting room, with another room, dedicated to Vintage Port, at

the far end of the cellar area. While the reception exhibits are obviously

open to the public, the Vintage room can only be seen during tours. The

reception area is in a long, stone room, flanked by an arcade. One side

contains vats of aging wine, and the opposite wall, a series of exhibit cases

and mural-size photographs. Next to the arches are a number of tables and

stools made from wine barrels. Upon entry, the reception counter is on the

left, as well as the cashier for adjacent gift shop area. While there are no

books or other interpretive materials for sale, Croft offers an informative

free pamphlet at the entrance. On the right, behind an unlabeled massive

oak and stone wine press, is the wine bar for serving the free samples of a

Ruby Port. A wide selection of other wines for tasting can be purchased at

the sales counter. The far end of the room offers a pleasant lounge next to

a large double window. The ceiling is of particular interest, for aside from

having massive oak beam supports, it is lined with cork, Portugal's other

famous product, and one small section has been cut away to reveal the

bundled river-reed insulation. However, there is no signage to point this

out, nor why it was done.

Signage, in fact, is not evident in any part of the reception area.

There are pieces of equipment, such as wine pumps for transferring wine

82

and stills for making brandy, placed along the arches, in the lounge area

and next to the display cases. However, there is no interpretation of these

artifacts. There are three traditional vitrines along one wall, each with a

flat upper section and a large lower section with glass doors. They contain

a mix of artifacts: ledgers, historic and more recent letters, photographs,

bottles of wine, labels, decanters and a few items of vinification

equipment. Almost none of these items are labeled. One significant

exception, labeled in Portuguese and English, is a small, hide-bound chest,

which contained a 100,000 pound grant from the British government,

distributed by Sir John Croft to aid the population of the region after the

Napoleonic Wars. Large, mural-size photographs of the Douro Valley

hang over two cases, while a display of branding irons used on casks

hangs over the center case. This display actually surrounds a shadow case

containing a large silver salver, or platter, once owned by the Croft family.

The label, displayed below, consists of a letter, in English, donating the

charger to the company and explaining its background. Between this

group of cases and the serving bar stands a large, elaborately carved

glassed bookcase, in which are prizes, certificates and medals won by

Croft's wines in recent years, displayed alongside bottles of those prize

wines.

83

The cellar area is found in a nearby building. The visitor is first

confronted with a very large title display consisting of three black barrel

heads mounted on a white wall, each bearing the name of Croft in white

letters, under each of which is the founding date of 1678. Under this

display is painted in black the name of Croft's vineyard, Quinta da Roeda.

The path first leads, unusually, through a storage area of vintage wines,

consisting of a series of large stone shelves, painted white, each containing

hundreds of bottles, stacked horizontally, many rows deep. Each shelf is

labeled with the year of the vintage stored there. The path then leads past

rows of vats and then casks, all marked as to their capacity and contents,

before ending in a small room, labeled Museu, which contains the oldest

and most valuable bottles of vintage wine. In the center of the room is a

Victorian desk displaying a decanter and an iron for opening older vintage

Port bottles, while an unlabeled selection of tapping tools are exhibited on

one wall. The white concrete shelves contain probably several hundred

bottles stored on their sides. One bottle of each of Croft's vintages is

mounted on sloping display boards, as well as a number of vintages from

the Delaforce company, which was also acquired by Taylor's in 2001. The

oldest Croft vintage on display is from 1851. Tasting of a Ruby port takes

place back in the reception room.

84

Museums - FERREIRA

A.G. Ferreira, purchased by the Portuguese company Sogrape in

1987, is located at the far western end of the Cais de Gaia (For photos see

Appendix I). The museum spaces occupy two distinct areas, the first is

free charge and consists of a series of panels and cases within the

reception and waiting areas. The second, viewable only during tours

costing two and a half euros, contains a larger series of exhibits in a series

of rooms and passages behind the cellar area, and is seen before entering

the tasting room. The reception area is an extremely large "L" shaped

space, flanked along the right-hand wall by massive, white-painted

concrete holding tanks for wine, each marked as to their capacity and

contents. The reception desk by the door is a simple table with a

computer. The reception museum space begins with an iconic object in

the middle of the room: the small, open carriage of the 19th century head

of the company, Dona Antónia Ferreira, placed on a flagstone base and

surrounded with plexiglas. The 10 x 20 cm. label, with about 18-point

Portuguese and English text, is placed on the floor. The back half of the

room contains a number of exhibits, beginning with two large modern,

black, two-sided stands, featuring antique wine bottle labels and

advertising posters. The title, printed in large white letters in Portuguese

and English, is placed vertically and sideways along one side of an antique

85

poster, while the explanatory text is placed underneath and near the floor

in approximately 20-point type. Behind these panels are a half-dozen

plexiglas cases, placed a little above table height on black pylon legs. One

case contains bottles of wine, while others feature ledgers and documents

related to the company's history, as well as other wine-related artifacts.

Very small text cards are placed on the sides of the bases below the cases.

Much of the front of the room is empty, as is the short arm of the

"L" to the right, though a mural-size photograph of workers carrying

harvested grapes hangs on one wall. Opposite is a separate waiting area,

containing modern wooden benches. On the walls are featured a number

of framed photographs of cellar and vineyard activity. Two exhibits stand

out in this space, though neither features explanatory text. The first is an

original stone marker, dated 1758, used to delineate the Douro wine-

growing region. It is displayed in a large recess in the wall, and set into an

actual section of schist wall, and backed with a large-scale black and white

photograph of the countryside. The other is a large colored topographical

relief model of the upper Douro Valley, with colored lights indicating the

positions of Ferreira's vineyards.

Ferreira's cellar area features the longest path of any of the

companies. It begins in a large chamber filled with dozens of massive

vats, all marked per custom with their capacity and contents, and set on

86

white painted stone and concrete platforms. The visitor then progresses

through a very long, dark and sloping passageway, before arriving in

another area dedicated mainly to aging tawny ports, dominated by rows of

casks, stacked four high and nearly reaching the ceiling. The visitor then

passes under a white painted stone arch, surmounted by the Ferreira name

and crest, before passing through a decorative tile lined anteroom,

featuring a small stone fountain, and entering the main museum area. A

distinguishing feature of this area is its complete lack of labeling and

signage. The hall leading to the exhibits is lined with a series of antique

prints, mounted on black board in groups of eight behind plexiglas. The

first exhibits room is a long, relatively narrow, low-lit modern space, with

terra cotta tile floors. The white walls are lined with wooden display

panels of branding irons and agricultural tools, interspersed with large-

scale photographs of vineyard and cellar activities. There are a number of

large artifacts in the middle of the space, including a barrel cart, baskets, a

grinder and barrel making equipment, some of which are mounted on

carpeted platforms. To one side is a small dark room, shut by a barred

door, containing the oldest vintage wines in Ferreira's collection.

Passing through a short, dimly lit passage, containing a large

model and photograph of a Barco de Rabelo, visitors arrive in a second

room, finished in a modern style as was the first. Here, however, one

87

wall, stripped to reveal the original stone construction, is lined with inset

glass cases. Lit from above, these cases contain a miscellaneous

collection of wine-related artifacts, which are completely unlabeled. The

middle of this larger room features a number of large artifacts, such as a

grape crusher, a barrel scale and a pump, all mounted on carpeted

platforms, and lit from underneath. Visitors pass by two large stills,

before entering the tasting rooms.

There are three distinct tasting areas. The first is a room

previously used for storing wine, with rustic wood benches and tables, a

stone floor, white painted stone walls and open wood-beamed ceilings.

The far end is dominated by a massive black sign with white letters of the

Ferreira name and crest, while one wall has large windows and the other

features three very large early 20th century photos of the cellars and docks

by the river. The second tasting room is far more elaborate, with more

finely finished tables and benches, terra cotta tiled floors, and massive

stone arches flanking the room, into which are inset large-scale black and

white photographs of the Douro Valley landscape. At the far end of this

space is the third tasting area, an elegant alcove, decorated and furnished

like an aristocratic parlor, with hardwood floors, carpet and nearly floor to

ceiling blue and white decorative azulejos or wall tiles. The gift shop is

yet another separate area beyond the tasting rooms, offering almost

88

entirely wines, plus a few clothing items and wine-related souvenirs, such

as cork-pullers, glasses and decanters. As with many of the Port wine

lodges, no books or other interpretive materials are available, aside from

the free orientation pamphlet offered at the entrance.

Museums - GRAHAM

Graham's is the most distant Port wine facility from the tourist

center, situated nearly half a mile up a steep narrow road from Ferreira.

Hence it is the only company which provides a regular shuttle service

from the Gaia waterfront. There are three distinct museum areas, only

one of which is regularly accessible to visitors (For photos see Appendix

J). The first is incorporated into the large reception/tasting area. The

second resides in the cellar area and the third in the basement. The

reception/tasting room is the front portion of a large warehouse. This

area has been divided from the cellar area by a large, wood-framed glass

wall, over which are displayed a continuous series of vintage photographs

of winemaking operations. The space is flanked on one side by a large

series of bookcases holding old ledgers, as well as exhibits of vintage

wines and other artifacts. The other side features a long wine sales bar, at

the far end of which is the glass-enclosed gift shop. Aside from wine and

related items, the shop features several small books on the history of

89

Graham's, as well as Dow's, both of which are owned by Symington

Family Estates. Against the glass wall of the reception room is a wine bar.

Under the bookcases on the left side of the room are a series of

nine sloping glassed-in wooden cases displaying a bottle each of most of

the vintage wines produced by Graham's since its founding in 1820. Each

case contains six bottles on a black background: under each, painted on

the glass in small (ca. 14-point) white letters, is a description of the

conditions of the vintage, a short summary of historic events of that year,

as well as a glossary of terms. The bottom section of each of the cases

displays a numerous different items, such as antique office equipment,

ledgers and other documents, metal stencils and wine testing equipment.

These exhibits sit nearly at floor level and are not labeled. The middle of

the reception area features two, four-sided, glassed-in wood cases,

displaying a variety of artifacts. There were originally three cases, but one

was removed when the new wine bar was installed. The front case

contains a collection of antique bottles, as well as a copper oxygenation

device, above which are a series of apparently original photographs of

harvest, transport and cellar activities, thumb-tacked in place around a

square black central column. One side features a photo of former British

Prime Minister John Major visiting the lodge. Below is tacked an original

letter from Major thanking Graham's for their hospitality.

90

The track available to visitors through the cellar area seems to

vary according to the numbers needing to be served. Upon entering, one

can pass to the left, and view a brief slide presentation on the history and

characteristics of Graham's and the Douro region, plus a display of a bottle

each of the variety of wines offered by the company, each accompanied by

a lighted tube of colored liquid, showing the change in color as the wines

age. Further along, one can visit a recently constructed corner museum

area, dedicated to the continuing need for cooperage by the company. A

series of high quality, framed black and white photographs of the

coopering team are displayed on two walls. While modern works, the

quality of the lighting gives these images a vintage feel. The middle of

this space features barrel-making tools and equipment, as well as a partly

constructed barrel. While labeled with small white cards, the print is quite

small (ca. 18-point).

Also, turning to the right rather than the left on entering the cellar

area, one can climb a set of stairs into a large room set up as a movie

theater and view a ten-minute film on Graham's and the Douro region.

Returning to the ground floor, the path continues past one end of the many

rows of vats and casks, before visitors can a slide show and display of

bottles, which are duplicates to those on the other side of the cellar,

described above.

91

The basement museum area was not mentioned by the staff at

reception. It appears to be currently used for special tastings and receiving

dignitaries. A series of finely finished vats lines the right hand wall, each

labeled in brass letters with a title, such as Ambassador, Governor and

Minister. A panel in Portuguese and English, entitled "Baptism

Ceremony," explains that "distinguished visitors" are invited to throw a

glass of twenty-year-old Tawny Port at the vat bearing his/her title. The

photographic exhibition on the left of this space, which was opened in

2002, is introduced by a title panel, "A Tradition Brought Alive," which

particularly focuses visitors' attention on the people involved in making

Port wine. A series of ten large pre-fabricated panels, arranged in a

square, displays mostly black and white, vintage photographs, with some

modern color ones. Displayed against a dark green background, these

images portray the Douro Valley, the river, transportation, harvest and

cellaring activities, as well as the Symington family (the current owners),

and present-day wine-making. Not all panels have block text, though all

images are labeled, albeit in relatively small (ca. 18 to 20-point) print.

Museums - RAMOS PINTO

Ramos Pinto, while owned by the French wine company

Roederer, functions independently. The lodge is the third major

establishment located along the Cais de Gaia, after Cálem and Sandeman.

92

Ramos Pinto's museum program differs from the other Port wine

companies, not only in style but also in extent, featuring an extensive

archeology and history museum on one of its vineyards in the upper Douro

Valley, as well as the facility in the lodge in Gaia (For photos see

Appendix K). No exhibits are installed in the reception/tasting area, a

large, traditional room with wood beamed ceilings, set up as a series of

lounge areas with large couches, as well as the usual tables with chairs or

benches. The reception desk, located by entrance, also functions as the

wine and gift sales point, beyond which is the wine tasting bar.

The museum area consists almost entirely of Ramos Pinto's

preserved early 20th century offices and private reception room. The

museum is viewable only during tours, with no photography permitted. It

occupies the upper floor of the main building, a large, yellow 19th century

structure. Visitors enter through the main door, and ascend a large

wooden staircase, the walls lined with elaborate blue and white azulejos,

which are one of the outstanding features of the building's interior. The

landing features a large mural of azulejos, depicting sensuous figures in

classical scenes of country life. The museum itself is large and bright,

with windows along one wall. Over a dozen roll-top desks in rows serve

as exhibit cases, and display under glass artifacts relating to the company's

history, interpreted by small cards using smaller (ca.14-18 point) print.

93

Most of desk/cases tell a particular story. For instance, one desk

contains an empty Ramos Pinto vintage port bottle intended for the

president of Brazil, carried by the first Portuguese pilots to attempt a flight

from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. The bottle is displayed with related

photographs and a letter signed by the pilots themselves, apologizing for

drinking the wine after their plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean.

Another desk contains a bottle of Port intended as sacramental wine,

accompanied by a letter from the Archbishop of Lisbon used to market the

wine to India, while a further desk interprets the company's use of

promotional gifts in its business.

The private reception room behind the office is a highpoint of the

museum. Richly furnished, it features artwork, a three bottles-in-one Port

wine decanter, and a throne used to seat important guests as they sampled

the wine. An anteroom, also elaborately decorated, contains a number of

rare vintage wines, displayed as they would have been during the early

20th century. Paintings and sculpture are featured throughout the

reception rooms, but none so massive as a scale model of a fountain

intended as a gift to the people of Brazil in thanks for their commercial

support. Occupying a large former safe, the exhibit tells that the design

that was rejected by Brazil's president as being morally objectionable;

evidently the figures in the sculpture were too scantily clad.

94

The cellar area open to the public is one of the smallest in Gaia,

particularly considering the size of Ramos Pinto and its production,

though it is clear that the company has considerable additional warehouse

space. Adjacent to some of the rows of vats and casks, marked as per

custom, are a few unlabeled pieces of antique production equipment, such

as a bottler. In one corner of this cellar space is displayed a full-scale

model of a schist terrace wall, such as are used on the steep slopes of the

Douro Valley. Neither this exhibit, nor the accompanying map of the

wine-growing region are labeled, intended as they are to be interpreted by

the tour guides. Guides also explain the silent slide show about the

geography and geology of the Douro region, and the wine production

taking place there.

The tour returns to the reception room, where a Ruby port is

offered for tasting. While there is no dedicated gift shop, a glassed in

wooden display table features a number of books for sale about the history

of the company and its advertising art, while an adjacent rack holds a large

selection of vintage advertising posters available for purchase.

Museums - SANDEMAN

Sandeman, part of the Portuguese Sogrape group, is found in the

middle of the Cais de Gaia tourist district (For photos see Appendix L).

The large white arched facade is arguably the most recognizable in Gaia,

95

and is situated on the only open square in town, facing the Douro River.

The reception area is a long, dark space, and the visitors' services desk is

found at the back by the cellar entrance, rather than by the front door. The

tasting area, containing a wine and sales bar, is separated from reception

by a low glass fence. Of all the Port wine lodges, only Sandeman features

a dedicated museum space, not part of the tasting room or reception area,

open to the public without a tour guide. It is also the only dedicated

museum space that has free admission, though admission to the cellars and

tours costs three euros. The entrance to the museum is found on the left

shortly after entering, just past a large, blown-up antique print of the

building's exterior.

The museum is small, perhaps eight by fifteen meters, and is

brightly lit, with a modern feel, emphasized by the black tile floor and the

white wall panels interspersed with sections of the original stone wall.

The title panel says much about the exhibition's interpretive focus:

"Sandeman - The Art of Branding Since 1790." About one third of the

exhibit space is dedicated to a temporary exhibition of the 20th century

history of the company's advertising efforts, exemplified by a series of

vintage posters and more recent publicity campaigns. The framed posters

and publicity photos are mounted on white walls, and interpreted by text

panels in Portuguese and English, varying from about fifty to 150 words in

96

a large (ca. 48 point) unseriffed font. For most of the pieces, the text

introduces the artists, explains the origins of the design and sometimes

gives anecdotes about their creation.

The "Sandeman Don," for example, was designed by George

Massiot Brown in 1928, and is still in use today. He wears a black, wide

brimmed Spanish style hat to symbolize Sandeman's sherry business,

while also wearing a black cape, like those traditionally worn by

Portuguese students, to symbolize the Port trade. Placed adjacent to the

"Don" poster and mounted on a black box, is a plexiglas cube case

containing a unique collection of ceramic Port wine bottles displayed on a

light grey cloth ground. These bottles were cast in the shape of the

"Don," and were produced in various colors and sizes from the 1940's

through the '70's.

The balance of Sandeman's museum displays historical prints, as

well as artifacts related to wine production and consumption. Along the

wall past the "Don" exhibit is placed another plexiglas case, which

features a collection of antique bottles, from the 17th through the 20th

centuries. A 15 x 20 cm. white card with letters in a small (ca.16 point)

font is placed flat inside the front of the case, explains the evolution of the

bottle shapes in 2 blocks of text in Portuguese and English of about 150

words each. Beyond the bottle exhibit, six antique prints of Vila Nova de

97

Gaia and the Douro valley are mounted on a white wall panel, next to

which hangs a large print of 19th century barrel making. Next to the print

in the corner stands a barrel, above which hangs a branding iron with a

block of wood showing the Sandeman mark which it made.

In the middle of the floor sits another large, lower plexiglas cube

case, displaying a bench and implements used traditionally for corking

Port bottles. These artifacts include a small work-bench, mallets and

leather "boots" or sleeves to hold the bottles while corking.

Accompanying the small text card is a 20 x 14 cm. black and white

photograph, picturing workers engaged in corking during the mid-20th

century. Against the wall opposite sits a glass-topped, wood, table-height

case containing a variety of objects, ranging from bottle labels and enamel

cask tags, to a diverse selection of cork pullers.

Back in the reception area, just past the museum hangs a large flat

video screen showing a silent continuous loop film of vineyard activity

and views of the Douro Valley, above which are printed in large white

letters historical quotes about the characteristics of Port wine. Next to the

screen and opposite the reception desk stands another plexiglas case

displaying a collection of antique metal wine measures.

The cellar area is entered by passing a life-size billboard of the

Sandeman Don, and into a small room containing a topographical model

98

of the "A" rated Quinta do Vau, the company's flagship vineyard, set into

the wall behind glass. The path then proceeds through a series of large

(2.5 meter high) curved back-lit plastic panels featuring close up

photographs of grapes and vines, interspersed with more distant views of

vineyards and the Douro Valley, before passing through two large

warehouse spaces, the first containing mainly large vats and the second

mainly stacked casks. The vats, the largest of which has a 70,000 liter

capacity, are mounted on stone and concrete platforms with legs, all

painted white, as is the floor underneath, to alert workers to leakage. The

floor is made up of wooden blocks set in like bricks. A method used only

by a few companies, this protected casks as they were rolled through the

warehouse, as well as absorbing moisture to help maintain humidity.

Water troughs are also placed throughout the aging spaces to add

humidity.

The cellar path passes through a set of illuminated curved plexiglas

panels portraying the 13 variations of Port wine marketed by Sandeman.

Not only do these panels show larger than life-size color photographs of

each bottle of wine against a white background, but below are represented

some of the foods that best accompany each type. The next space is a

small theatre in which a short, narrated slideshow is presented, featuring

an overview of the characteristics of the Douro Valley, wine growing and

99

production, as well as the characteristics of the different wines and their

aging. Adjacent to the reception area, the tasting room is a large space

under beamed ceilings and stone arches. A Ruby and a Dry White Port

are offered to visitors seated on benches at long wood tables. The wine

bar/gift counter occupies one side of the space, offering a number of

branded items in addition to wine; however, at the time of my visit, no

books or other educational material were available for purchase, aside

from the Association of Port Wine Companies' publication, A Wine

Lover's Guide to Port. Not available currently is a book on Sandeman's

history, published by the company and advertised on their website.

Evidently, a new pamphlet is also being developed, therefore none were

available to be handed out, and I was given a previous edition.

Museums - TAYLOR

Taylor's, or Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman, is the oldest

independent Port producer, and is the lead company of the Fladgate

Partnership, which also owns Croft and Fonseca Guimarãens. The lodge

is the second most distant from the riverside tourist center in Gaia, situated

a half mile up the hill from Sandeman. Admission is free for both tours

and tasting two wines. This location provides Taylor's with incomparable

views of the river and Porto on the opposite bank, particularly from their

terrace restaurant, the only such facility provided by a Port Wine lodge in

100

Gaia. The entrance, off a steep, narrow and busy one-way street, is

through a short drive, featuring a fountain and shaded by grape arbors,

beyond which are the entrances to the gift shop and the reception/tasting

room. The tasting room has the atmosphere of a private clubroom, with a

fireplace, plus over-stuffed armchairs and sofas, in addition to the usual

tables and stools made from barrels. The entire wall opposite the entrance

is a glassed arcade, with doors leading to the garden outside. Museum

exhibits appear throughout the reception area, and serve a dual purpose,

both didactic and decorative (For photos see Appendix M).

The largest exhibit is found in a large, traditional, floor to ceiling,

wood and glass case adjacent to the bar. This exhibit consists of about

three-dozen bottles arranged on glass shelves, each identified with a small

card fixed on a stand made from a wine cork. The earliest example dates

from Roman times, though the majority range between the 17th and 20th

centuries. Some bottles are grouped by date or type, and there is no

explanation of the evolution of bottle shapes over time. Opposite this

case, before passing under the arches to enter the lounge area, is glassed

table case containing a variety of items, including antique cash boxes,

bottles of wine, prizes from wine competitions, as well as medals from the

Portuguese government awarded to Richard Yeatman, one of Taylor's

owners before 1950. The lounge area is flanked on two walls with built-in

101

bookcases containing dozens of leather-bound ledgers and account books,

alternating with built-in display cases. Over the first of these of these

cases hangs an 18th century map of the Douro wine growing region, while

over another is a portrait of Yeatman. The cases feature mainly letters

related to the history of Taylor's, as well as wine competition prizes. Little

labeling is evident, and when present, consists of small cards with text in a

small (ca. 14-point) font.

A number of exhibits are situated in an area on the far side of the

bar from the entrance. Opposite the end of the bar is a large glass case,

built with a flat top divided in three sections. The first section contains

some letters and receipts, the second, photos of wine production, as well

as printed sheet detailing the innovations in production and marketing

Taylor's has undertaken over the years, while the third section has more

letters, and a sheet telling the history of Taylor's 4TXX brand mark. The

bottom section of this case contains a number of antique bottles and

vinification equipment. Above this case are hung three large prints, drawn

in a cartoon style, describing respectively "Viticulture in the Douro," "Port

Harvest" and "How Port is Made."

Proceeding clockwise, the next exhibit in mounted on two large,

nearly two meter high, folding screens, each with nine panels about ten

inches wide. Mounted on the screen are photographs on photocopied A4

102

sheets, alternating with sheets of text in about 14-point font. These sheets

are staggered so as not to display a single row of images or text, though

they cover the screens from the top to the floor. The first screen discusses

the history of the company, as well as the geography of the region and the

geology of the Douro Valley. The second screen exhibit is concerned with

the process of growing, producing and aging Port Wine. The last exhibit

is directly adjacent to the end of the bar, and consists of a flat glass case

dedicated to the development of the Late Bottled Vintage variety of Port

Wine. Taylor's asserts that Richard Yeatman originated the L.B.V. in the

1970's, allowing restaurants to offer a higher quality of Port, which would

last more than one day after opening, as traditional Vintage Ports will not.

Now nearly every Port shipper in Gaia markets an L.B.V.

The cellars open for tours are situated in another building. After

passing through a tiled entry hall, visitors enter a small anteroom

containing a small map of the Douro Valley growing region, as well as

some small photographs of the wine production process. The visitor path

continues through rows of casks, used for longer term aging, stacked three

and four high, as well the large vats for the initial aging of nearly all Port

wines. One visual highpoint is the view of a massive oak vat standing at

the end of a long row of stacked casks, marked with the name "Taylor's"

in large white letters and bearing the 4TXX brand emblazoned on a red

103

shield. The gift shop sells mainly wine and related items, as well as

vouchers for tasting additional wines, but it also offers a number of books

on Port wine and its history.

Summary

The history and creation of Port wine is complicated and the

lodges spend considerable effort to tell that story to the visiting public.

Guided tours are the main medium by which visitors learn about the

industry and its history. Most lodges treat the different thematic areas in a

similar manner, and arrange their presentation in the same order: history,

vine growing and winemaking, aging and tasting. Tasting is certainly the

climax of the visitor experience, though lodges differ on the variety of

wines offered, varying between one and four samples. Museums and

exhibits are treated in very different ways by the lodges in this study, in

terms of accessibility and format, or style. Some lodges mount their

displays informally in their reception rooms, while others have elaborate

exhibits which may only be visited as part their tours. Furthermore,

exhibits may or may not be used by guides to supplement tour

information, whether or not visitors pass through those areas during tours.

While all lodges provide small orientation pamphlets, again the amount of

information they provide varies widely, and only about half their gift

stores sell additional literature.

104

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The Port wine industry has been a vital component of the Douro

Valley and the Oporto region for over three hundred years, and even the

name "Port" inextricably links it with the region's culture and image. The

rise of cultural tourism as a recognized facet of European leisure travel in

the last quarter of the 20th century coincided with the fall of Portugal's 40-

year dictatorship, the beginning of tourism development in the country,

and the opening up of the Port wine lodges to tourism. The lodges in Vila

Nova de Gaia quickly became a major tourist destination, exposing

visitors to a "real life" space dedicated to the aging of a unique kind of

wine, and in tasting, allowing them to experience that product. After the

turn of the millenium, the Port lodges remain the single most important

tourism offering in Oporto, and this influence is now expanding into the

upper Douro River valley where the grapevines are grown.

Niche tourism has also been growing in recent years, as travelers

seek to follow their own specific interests throughout the world.

Enotourism addresses one of these interests, though many general tourists

also seek out wine related sites as an important aspect of local culture.

While Europeans have long recognized wine as a major cultural feature,

tourists from around the world are now seeking out wine-related

105

experiences such as vineyard and cellar visits, and naturally wine tasting.

Oporto, Vila Nova de Gaia and the upper Douro Valley are growing ever

more prominent as wine tourism destinations, as interest grows in the

country's heretofore little known wine. Oporto is now a member city of

the Global Network of Great Wine Capitals, and several Port wine lodges

have won Best of International Wine Tourism awards, as have properties

in the Douro Valley.xc

Likewise, museums have been increasingly recognized by the

tourism industry in recent years as key cultural sites, just as the museum

community has been cultivating tourists as a major source of visitation.

Regional and municipal authorities in Europe promote museums heavily

to tourists, and the number of museums is growing. Artistic endeavor and

traditional culture are not the only subjects of these institutions.

Traditional production entities, such as the Port wine industry, which have

been key to regional development and history, are now being "museum-

ized" to preserve older manufacturing techniques, as well as to make a

vast industrial patrimony more economically viable. The opening of the

Port lodges to tourism has added value to those facilities: financially

through entrance fees and wine sales; in a promotional sense in creating

awareness of the wine; and through tours and exhibitions that educate

106

visitors about the complex process of producing Port, as well as the

relationship of the industry to Oporto's culture and history.

Winemaking has certainly been recognized by local and national

governments as an important facet of regional culture, and enotourism has

become a key niche market. Specialized tour packages are now offered in

major wine producing regions throughout the world. In Portugal, for

example, tours are available through the website For the Love of Port to

both the Douro Valley and the other major fortified wine region, the island

of Madeira. Wineries have reacted to growing visitor interest by offering

tours and wine tasting, and many have now begun to open museums

related to winemaking and local culture as a means of differentiating

themselves from their competitors. While only about ten percent of

visitors buy wine at the lodges, sales and entrance fees make tourism

profitable, and the customer good will and interest created by the tour

experience are considered invaluable.

Port Lodge Museum Activities

The museological activities of the Port wine lodges of Vila Nova

de Gaia in Portugal are a major feature of cultural tourism in the Oporto

region, and exemplify the growth of wine tourism throughout the country.

Tours of the cellars, as well as wine tasting, are the certainly predominant

offerings in the lodges' tourism efforts. However, it is evident that in

107

recent years museum exhibits, whatever their scope, are also being used to

educate the public, not only as potential consumers of wine, but in

response to visitor interest in the industry as a regional and national

cultural icon.xci

Guided tours are the lodges' principal interpretive medium, and

have achieved a certain level of standardization in both style and content.

But lodge museum exhibits vary widely in format and sophistication. It is

evident that the different companies have varying confidence in the

museum idea, and some have limited means, in budget, expertise and

personnel, to maximize the potential of their museums as interpretive

tools. While the lodges wish to differentiate their programming, they

might still increase the effectiveness of their museum formats by

collaborating to seek out professional input.

Tours, as noted above, are fairly homogenous in both their form

and content, covering basically the same interpretive material in a similar

order: history, grapevine growing, winemaking and aging, and varieties

and characteristics of the different Port wines. An exception is found at

Ramos Pinto, where the first half of the tour focuses on the company's

commercial history. As my descriptions in the previous chapter

demonstrate, a great deal of detailed information is imparted during the

tours. Moreover, it is evident from my observations that visitors are

108

interested in what they are hearing and often ask relevant questions.

There exists, however, a sense that time is a constraint, which is

borne out by the fact that visitors allow less than one hour for their entire

visit, including tastings.xcii One result is that guides tend to speak in a

continuous monologue, with pauses for questions. Yet, guides usually do

not prompt more visitor response through questioning techniques of their

own. Furthermore, guides present mainly factual information, and they

tend not to use the more engaging method of story telling, as advocated by

specialists like Falk and Dierking. Creating an "archive" of personal

stories of the key people and events of the development of Port wine

would go a long towards bringing those facts alive. Another missed

educational opportunity in the tours is the amount of guidance given to

visitors during tastings. While many visitors may be familiar with Port

wine, analyzing a wine's qualities while tasting it is a skill that tour guides

can foster, both through highlighting key flavors and asking visitors to

describe what they are tasting.

The individual museums in the Port wine lodges are more difficult

to analyze, given their wide range of style and format. Therefore I will

make general recommendations based on observations of characteristics

common to all the museums, as well as make further suggestions related to

those museums with unique characteristics of format and style. I also

109

include in this analysis specific examples of good exhibit practice that I

found in the lodge museums.

Four of museums existing in the eight lodges in this study are open

to visitors within or adjacent to the reception areas, while the other half are

housed within the cellar area, and are only accessible during tours. In the

former category, three of the lodges, Croft, Taylor's and Graham's,

incorporate those exhibits directly into the furnishings and decor of

reception area, while only Sandeman features a "dedicated space" per my

original control definition of a museum, adjacent to their waiting area.

Four lodges have exhibit space within their cellars: Burmester, Cálem,

Ramos Pinto and Ferreira. While Ferreira has a special exhibit in their

reception area, the majority of exhibits lie within a museum space in the

cellars, at the end of the tour. The balance of these lodges use their

museums at the beginning of the tour as an orientation space.

General suggestions for the Port wine museums refer to onsite

promotion of the museums, the organization of exhibits, the use and

interpretation of objects and images, and the placement and readability of

signage and labels. While all of the lodges in this study advertise in

promotional literature that they have a museum, visitors center staff do not

always actively encourage tourists to visit them, nor point out their most

interesting features. Reception staff should be encouraged to do so, as

110

well as be trained to highlight key aspects of the space they are in, such as

architectural details, or interesting artifacts and stories

Exhibits, both of objects and images, should be organized

thematically, each area designed ideally to tell a story related to the

highlighted theme. Objects and images should be carefully chosen to

further the narrative, and each should be at least identified by a clear label,

and their function or depiction incorporated into the thematic story. A

good example of thematic organization is the office museum of Ramos

Pinto, in which each glassed-in roll-top desk features a different theme and

story based on the featured material. Taylor's installed a good exhibit on

the introduction of Late Bottled Vintage Port, which this company was

instrumental in developing and promoting, featuring explanatory text,

advertising and original bottles of wine.

Key or iconic objects should be sought out and displayed in such a

way as to draw visitor attention. This type of material is particularly in

revealing some unique aspect of a given company's history and

contribution to the region, and would further serve to differentiate that

lodge from others. One example displayed in Croft's reception exhibit

space is an alms box, in which John Croft delivered a 100,000 pound grant

from the British government to the Portuguese people after the Napoleonic

Wars. Another example is Sandeman's temporary exhibit on their

111

advertising history, particularly highlighting the 1928 poster of the

Sandeman Don, the company's widely recognized symbol.

Museums and exhibit spaces should feature rotating exhibitions of

a particular aspect of company or regional history, or other wine-related

themes. Most visitors are unlikely to visit more than once a year, so

rotation need be only annual. However, over sixty-three percent of

visitors express great satisfaction with their lodge visits, while seventy

percent indicated that they would make a return visit.xciii With such a

large potential repeat clientele, the Port lodges could greatly enhance their

visitors' experience with new exhibits. Both Sandeman's and Ferreira

currently (2007) feature informative temporary exhibitions of their

advertising art and wine labels.

Addressing labels and signage, typeface or font size tends to be too

small for easy reading, especially in dark spaces: the body of the text

should be a minimum of 18 point, and captions should be larger still, with

high contrast to the background color.xciv The larger the type, the easier it

is to read. Both Cálem and Graham's have legible and well-organized

photographic exhibits on pre-fabricated panels. Text length and legibility

are particularly important during tours, as visitors have little time to read.

For this very reason, text on panels viewed during tours should be kept as

concise as possible. The height of text panels can be an issue: at least two

112

exhibits, among the most recently installed in lodge museums, have placed

blocks of text at nearly floor level, meaning that visitors have to crouch to

read it.

Another labeling issue is interpretive way-finding, as visitors will

have an easier time choosing what to view if signage points out the

different thematic areas. While most problematic in reception area

exhibits, the solution is not simple, as the atmosphere and decor often

resemble a 19th century club. Therefore, thematic way-finding needs to

designed so as to maintain this traditional ambience. Furthermore, objects

should be labeled at all times. This identification is particularly important

in museum spaces included with tours, where long text panels are not

viable, and visitors do not have time to examine artifacts and images at

length to ascertain their significance.

The use of dioramas or other exhibits which group objects help

create context for visitors. An important object category in the industry is

bottles, illustrated by the fact that at least three companies have amassed

bottle collections. As the evolution of bottle shape was crucial to the

development of Vintage Port, such exhibits could be organized

chronologically to illustrate changes over time. On a large scale, Ramos

Pinto has preserved their entire original office space in order to emphasize

the company's commercial history. Ferreira installed an extensive

113

exhibition in about 2003 related to a key 19th century figure, Dona

Antonia Ferreira, which included recreated office space and numerous

personal material related to her, including her small carriage. This

exhibition was evidently temporary, as it was removed within a couple of

years.

Sandeman's museum has installed an effective exhibit on

traditional hand-bottling practices, featuring a work bench and all the

necessary tools, and supplemented by a photograph of a workman engaged

in the process itself. Graham's also created a particularly evocative

exhibition on barrel making, or cooperage, featuring a complete set of

tools, along with fully and partially completed barrels, accompanied by a

large set of high-quality photographs showing the company's present day

coopering staff engaged in their work.

One effective exhibition technique is to relate key moments in an

industry's story to larger historical events with which visitors may be

familiar, of which Graham's exhibition of Vintage Port is a good example.

Displayed in a series of wood-framed vitrines, a bottle from every year

that the company declared a Vintage is displayed. The accompanying text

describes both the growing conditions of that year, as well as local events,

and further briefly describes one or two internationally significant events

which occurred during the same year.

114

Hands-on activities are another means by which the lodge

museums can further engage visitors. Burmester's museum now has some

potential to experiment with interactive exhibits. The museum currently

displays a grape-harvesting basket filled with large fragments of schist

rock, which guides handle and show visitors. The next step would be to

let the public pick up and feel these rocks, and imagine what it would be

like to have to break them up for vine planting. Visitors also could be

encouraged to pick up the basket and visualize the harvest. Burmester's

museum also contains a number of small, hand-operated machines,

formerly used in a variety of winemaking activities. While some may be

too fragile to operate, others may be suitable to be manipulated by visitors,

giving them a unique and memorable experience.

One last recommendation is to establish a system of professional

support for the Port wine lodge museums. The Associação das Empresas

do Vinho do Porto (Association of Port Wine Companies), already serves

as a promotional body for the industry, and further serves to coordinate

and publicize its tourism activities. The Association also employs an

independent quality control company, SGS Portugal, to visit the lodges

and perform annual tourism services evaluations.xcv Therefore, this

organization is ideally positioned to act as a coordinating body for

museum activities as tourism services. The Oporto city government

115

employs trained museum staff, which could be one source for professional

expertise. Furthermore, the University of Oporto offers a master's degree

in History and Patrimony, while the Universidade Lusófona offers a

program in Museology. These schools could well provide a source of

further professional guidance, if not a source of interns to help plan and

execute museum projects.

Summary

Collaboration is something which does not come easily to

museums due to the competitive nature of the field, and it is even more

problematic in the commercial world, where competition is even fiercer.

Yet through professional organizations, as well as artifact loans and

exhibition adaptation, such cooperation is rapidly becoming the norm.

The Port wine lodge tourism staff meets several times a year to exchange

ideas and plan strategy, and the result can be seen in their inviting visitor

centers and professional tours. Museums in the lodges remain relatively

idiosyncratic, each displaying a distinctive style, which serves to

distinguish them one from the other, but occasionally results in

methodology which may interfere with the visitors' understanding and

experience. It is my hope that the high level of collaboration evident in

the Port wine lodges' other tourism programs, can be applied to their

museums as well. This cooperation should not "homogenize" these

116

exhibit spaces, but should rather serve to optimize the interpretive

effectiveness of each, in such a way that accentuates its special qualities,

and the unique contributions of each of these Port wine companies, both to

the cultural history and contemporary economy of the region and the

nation.

117

Final Product Description

The final product for this project consists of a letter to the

Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto - AEVP (The Association of

Port Wine Companies) in Vila Nova de Gaia, written in both English and

Portuguese. In the letter, I propose to the Association that I make a formal

presentation in person of the findings of this project to the visitors center

managers of the Port wine lodges certified by the AEVP, and as well as to

any other staff which may be associated with museum activities in the

lodges. I have suggested that the presentation take place in the spring,

after I have competed my move to Portugal, and before the start of the

summer tourist season. I hope that this presentation will be the first step

towards establishing collaboration among the Port lodges in their museum

activities, and that it will further encourage them to in seek out and

develop innovative ideas for their exhibits and programming.

118

NOTES

i AEVP (Association of Port Wine Companies), http://www.cavesvinhodoporto.com/members.htm. Accessed 1 July 2007 and after. ii McKercher, Bob & Du Cros, Hilary, Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management, (New York: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2002), 1. iii Boorstin, D., The Image: a Guide to Pseudo-events in America, (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), quoted in Richards, G., "The Development of Cultural Tourism in Europe," in Cultural Attractions and European Tourism, Greg Richards, ed. (New York: CABI Publishing, 2001), 14. iv Anonymous quote in Newton, D., "Old Wine in New Bottles, and the Reverse," in Museums and the Making of Ourselves, ed. Flora Kaplan (London & New York: Leicester University Press, 1994), 274. v Silberberg, T., "Cultural Tourism and Business Opportunities for Museums and Heritage Sites," Tourism Mgt. 16, no.5, 361, quoted in McKercher, Bob & Du Cros, Hilary, Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management, (New York: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2002), 4. vi Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums and Heritage, (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998), 145. vii MacCannell, Dean, The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class, (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), 6. viii McKercher & Du Cros, Cultural Tourism, 40. ix Picard, M. Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture,(Singapore: Archipelago Press, 1996) 108, quoted in Richards, G., "The Development of Cultural Tourism in Europe," in Cultural Attractions and European Tourism, Greg Richards, ed. (New York: CABI Publishing, 2001), 20.

119

x Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, Destination Culture, 149-150. xi Ibid., 28. xii MacCannell, Dean, The Tourist, 50-51. xiii Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, Destination Culture, 138. xiv Ibid. xv Ibid., 150. xvi Richards, G., "The Development of Cultural Tourism in Europe," in Cultural Attractions and European Tourism, Greg Richards, ed. (New York: CABI Publishing, 2001), 62-63 xvii ICOM. Development of the Museum Definition according to ICOM Statutes (1946-2001). (International Council of Museums, 2007.) http://icom.museum/hist_def_eng.html Accessed 10 October 2007. xviii Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, Destination Culture, 137-8. xix Ibid., 139. xx Low, Theodore, "What is a Museum?", in Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift, Gail Anderson, ed., (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2004), 36. xxi Low, Theodore, "What is a Museum?", in Reinventing the Museum, 39. xxii Falk, John H. & Dierking, Lyn D, Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning, (Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2000), 10-11. xxiii Falk & Dierking, Learning from Museums, 17-19.

120

xxiv Ibid., 42-45. xxv Ibid., 48-49. xxvi Ibid., 57-59. xxvii Richards, G. "World Culture and Heritage and Tourism," Tourism Recreation Research 25, no.1, (2000) 9-18, cited in Richards, G. "The Experience Industry and the Creation of Attractions," in Cultural Attractions, 64-65. xxviii Richards, G. & Raymond, C. "Creative Tourism," ATLAS News, (2000) no.23, cited in Richards, G. "The Experience Industry," in Cultural Attractions, 65. xxix Rooijaakers, G., "Identity Factories Southeast Towards a Flexible Cultural Leisure Infrastructure," in Planning European Cultural Tourism, D. Dodd & A. van Hamel, eds. (Amsterdam: Boekman Found., 1999) 101-111, cited in Richards, G. "The Experience Industry," in Cultural Attractions, 66. xxx Dodd, T, "Opportunities and Pitfalls of Tourism in a Developing Wine Industry," International Journal of Wine Marketing, 7, no.1 (1995): 5-16, quoted in Williams, Peter & Dossa, Karim, "Non-Resident Tourist Markets: Implications for British Columbia's Emerging Wine Tourism Industry," in Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing, C. Michael Hall, ed., (Binghamton, NY: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2003), 2. xxxi Folwell, R. & Grisell, B., "Characteristics of Tasting Rooms in Washington Wineries," Research Bulletin XB 1013, (Pullman, WA: College of Agriculture and Home Economics Research Ctr, Washington State U., 1989), quoted in Williams & Dossa, "Non-Resident Tourist Markets...," in Wine Food and Tourism Marketing, 2-3; and Williams & Dossa, "Non-Resident Tourist Markets...," in Wine Food and Tourism Marketing, 3. xxxii van Westering, J. & Niel, E., "The Organization of Wine Tourism in France: The Involvement of the French Public Sector," in Wine, Food and Tourism Marketing, 42-3.

121

xxxiii Thevenin, C., "Quand le Vignerons Font du Touristique," Espace, 140 (1996): 34-48, quoted in Hall, Wine Food and Tourism Marketing, 29-30. xxxiv MacCannell, Dean, The Tourist, 166. xxxv Ibid., 9-10. xxxvi Mitchell, R. & Hall, C. M., "Seasonality in New Zealand Winery Visitation: An Issue of Supply and Demand," in Wine, Food and Tourism Marketing, 155,165. xxxvii Goldberg, Howard G. "The Driest Wines (and the Drollest) Are in the Museum." New York Times, 2 July 1993, sec. C, p.1, col.1, Weekend Desk. xxxviii Goldberg, H. "The Driest Wines." xxxix Geraci, Victor W. Review of the Exhibit "Gift of the Gods: the Art of Wine from the Ancient World to Canadian Vineyards" in the Canadian Museum of Civilization, co-curated by Sylvie Morel and Roderick Philips, 5 November 2004 - 3 April 2005. The Public Historian 27, no.3 (Summer 2005): 96-99. xl Geraci, V. Review of the Exhibit "Gift of the Gods," 97. xli Levy, Paul, "Wine: A Theme Park for Oenophiles" Wall Street Journal, 30 July 1999, p.W.6, View; and Smith, Rod, "A Theme Park for Wine Lovers: Vinopolis Opens in London," Los Angeles Times, 21 July 1999, Home Edition, p.1; and Vinopolis, Wineworld London, 2007, http://www.vinopolis.co.uk/ xlii Levy, Paul, "Wine: A Them Park for Oenophiles," Wall Street Journal, 30 July 1999, p.W.6, View. xliii Bodega la Rural, Bodega la Rural, S.A. http://bodegaslarural.com/ingles/tradicion.htm Accessed 9 October 2007.

122

xliv Cueto, Adolfo Omar, Bodega "La Rural" y Museo del Vino: Dos Ejemplos que Respetan a una Misma Tradición. 2nd ed., (Mendoza, Argentina: Bodega La Rural Museo del Vino, 1987), 47. xlv Cueto, A., Bodega "La Rural, 48-55. xlvi Foster, D. in "World of Wine," Buenos Aires Herald, 1983, quoted in Cueto, A., Bodega "La Rural, 58. xlvii Jones, Benjamin, "A Modern Temple Dedicated to Wine," New York Times, 15 August 2004, sec.5, p.3, col.3, Travel Desk, Travel Advisory. xlviii El Museo de la Cultura del Vino, Dinastia Vivanco, http://www.dinastiavivanco.com/museo/museo.asp Accessed 14 October 2007. xlix Jones, Benjamin, "A Modern Temple." l Fisher, Ian, " Museum Puts Life, Truth and, It Hopes, Sales in a Wine," New York Times, 10 December 2004, sec. A, col. 3, Foreign Desk, Montalcino Journal, p.4. li Fisher, Ian, " Museum Puts Life...in a Wine." lii Ibid. liii Muirhead's Southern Spain and Portugal, The Blue Guides, ed. Findlay Muirhead, (London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd. 1929), 259-260. liv Spain and Portugal, Baedeker's Touring Guides, (Freiburg: Karl Baedeker, 1959), 223. lv "The City of Porto: Port Wine," in Porto Tourism, http://www.portoturismo.pt/index.php?m=1&s=2 Website accessed 25 October 2007. lvi Green Guide Portugal, (Watford, Herts., UK: Michelin Maps & Guides, 2007), 259, 267-268; & Fodor's Portugal, 8th ed. (New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, 2007), 324-325, 338-339.

123

lvii Brown, Jules, et al, The Rough Guide to Portugal, (New York: Rough Guides, 2007), 342- 344, + 4 pg. section betw. 536 & 537. lviii "Tourism," in Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto, http://www.ivp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=22&codSeccao=5&idioma=1 Website accessed 25 October 2007; & McArthur, Samantha, "Lisbon: Port Appeal," Europe, no. 368 (July/August 1997): 38. lix "Enoturismo e Rotas do Vinho," in Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, http://www.ivv.min-agricultura.pt/cultura/index.html Website accessed 25 October 2007. lx AEVP, Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto (Association of Port Wine Companies). http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=1&mnu=1 Website accessed 25 November 2007 & before. lxi Ema Pinto, Promotional Office, AEVP (Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto - Assoc. of Port Wine Companies), interview by author, Vila Nova de Gaia, 13 November 2007, Author notes. lxii Vaughn, Linda, Visitor Center Director, W. & J. Graham & Ca., S.A. (Symington Family Estates) Email response to short survey, 12 November 2007. lxiii Ema Pinto, Promotional Office, AEVP, interview. lxiv "A recepção de turistas quer nas Caves em Vila Nova de Gaia, quer nas Quintas no Douro é fundamental para a Ramos Pinto porque é a única forma que a empresa tem de contactar directamente com o público que representa o cliente." Correia, Ana Filipa, Director, Archives & Museum, Ramos Pinto - Vinhos, S.A., email response to long survey, 14 November 2007. lxv Morgado, Ana Margarida, Director of Public Relations, Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman Vinhos, S.A., interview by author, 28 August 2007, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, author notes.

124

lxvi Martins, João Paulo, Tudo Sobre o Vinho do Porto: os Sabores e as Histórias, (Lisbon: Publicações Dom Qiuixote, 2000), map insert; & Caves do Vinho do Porto, map & guide, (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto, n.d.). lxvii Mayson, Richard, Port and the Douro, revised ed., (London: Octopus Publishing Group, 2004), 1-3; & "Vila Nova de Gaia," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vila_Nova_de_Gaia Website accessed 19 October 2007. lxviii Mayson, Richard, Port and the Douro, 2-3. lxix Ibid., 6-8. lxx Ibid., 9-12. lxxi Ibid., 13-18. lxxii Ibid., 23-26. lxxiii Ibid., 36-8, 40; & Martins, João Paulo, Tudo Sobre o Vinho do Porto: os Sabores e as Histórias, (Lisbon: Publicações Dom Qiuixote, 2000), 68-74 lxxiv By 2000, about 33,000 growers were planting just over 93,000 acres. In spite of the large holdings of the Port wine companies, over eighty percent of these parcels are less than 1.2 acres, and only .01 percent hold more than 74 acres. Mayson, Richard, Port and the Douro, 66-67. lxxv Burmester, Est'd 1750, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. Hardbound,10 pp. large (A4) format; Burmester, Est'd 1750: More than 250 Years of Tradition in the Fine Art of Making Port Wine, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold, ½ sheet format: & Cálem. http://www.calem.pt/ Website accessed 23 October 2007. lxxvi Porto Cálem, Est'd 1859. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold,¾ sheet format pamphlet; & Cálem. http://www.calem.pt/, website accessed 23 October 2007.

125

lxxvii Sogrape (English site), http://eng.sogrape.pt/ Website accessed 23 October 2007 & before; lxxviii Graham's Port. http://www.grahams-port.com/history.asp Website accessed 23 October 2007; & A Tradition Brought Alive / Reviver uma Tradição, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: W. & J. Graham & Ca., S.A., pamphlet. lxxix França, José-Augusto, Ramos-Pinto, 1880-1980, 4th ed. (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Adriano Ramos-Pinto (Vinhos) S.A., 1998), cover. lxxx Ramos Pinto, http://www.ramospinto.pt/home_ing.htm Website accessed 23 October 2007. lxxxi Sandeman, http://www.sandeman.com/ing/general.html Website accessed 23 October 2007. lxxxii Taylor's, http://www.taylor.pt/main.htm Website accessed 23 October 2007. lxxxiii "Brief Description: Wine has been produced by traditional landholders in the Alto Douro region for some 2,000 years. Since the 18th century, its main product, port wine, has been world famous for its quality. This long tradition of viticulture has produced a cultural landscape of outstanding beauty that reflects its technological, social and economic evolution."

"Justification for Inscription: Criterion iii The Alto Douro Region has been producing wine for nearly two thousand years and its landscape has been moulded by human activities. Criterion iv The components of the Alto Douro landscape are representative of the full range of activities association with winemaking – terraces, quintas (wine-producing farm complexes), villages, chapels, and roads. Criterion v The cultural landscape of the Alto Douro is an outstanding example of a traditional European wine-producing region, reflecting the evolution of this human activity over time." "Alto Douro Wine Region," in UNESCO: World

126

Heritage, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1046 Website accessed 23 October 2007.

lxxxiv "Region," in Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, (English), http://www.ivp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=16&codSeccao=4&idioma=1#c Website accessed 24 October 2007. lxxxv Spence, Godfrey, O Guia do Vinho do Porto: Guia do Conhecedor, Translated by Maria Filomena Duarte. (n.p: Qunitet Publishing Ltd., 1997. Portuguese edition, n.p: Centralivros Lda., 1998), 14-15. lxxxvi Spence, Godfrey, O Guia do Vinho do Porto, 16-17. lxxxvii Martins, João Paulo. Tudo Sobre o Vinho do Porto: os Sabores e as Histórias. (Lisbon: Publicações Dom Qiuixote, 2000), 100-105; & "Vines' Cultivation," in Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, http://www.ivp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=17&codSeccao=4&idioma=1 Website accessed 24 October 2007. lxxxviii Martins, João Paulo. Tudo Sobre o Vinho do Porto, 117-126; Spence, Godfrey, O Guia do Vinho do Porto, 29-32; & "Winemaking," in Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, http://www.ivp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=69&codSeccao=2&idioma=1 Website accessed 24 October 2007. lxxxix The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, American Edition, (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 224. xc A number of documents related to the Best of Wine Tourism awards are available through the general inquiries "contact us" link: http://www.greatwinecapitals.com/cont_act_us.html such as: Best of Wine Tourism Awards 2007; 5th International Best of Wine Tourism Awards 2008, Contest Rules; as well as the 2008 Entry Form; all of which indicate the scope, categories and criteria for the contest. Global Network of Great Wine Capitals. http://www.greatwinecapitals.com/index.htm Accessed 28 November 2007 & before.

127

xci Perfil do Visitante das Caves do Vinho do Porto (Visitor Profile of the Port Wine Cellars), PDF, 22. http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=0&ACT=19 xcii Perfil do Visitante, 16. xciii Perfil do Visitante, 55 & 59. xciv Serrell, Beverly. Exhibit Labels: an Interpretive Approach, (Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1996), 197-198.. xcv Ema Pinto, Promotional Office, AEVP, interview; & SGS in Portugal, http://www.pt.sgs.com/pt/home_pt_v2? Website accessed 19 November 2007.

128

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books 250 Anos Depois / 250 Years Later. Oporto: Universidade do Porto, 2006. Anderson, Gail. Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2004. Beck, Larry & Cable, Ted. Interpretation for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 2002. Brown, Jules, et al. The Rough Guide to Portugal. New York: Rough Guides, 2007. Cueto, Adolfo Omar. Bodega "La Rural" y Museo del Vino: Dos Ejemplos que Respetan a una Misma Tradición. 2nd ed. Mendoza, Argentina: Bodega La Rural Museo del Vino, 1987. Dow's, Established 1798: Family Owned Producer of the Finest Quality Port for Over Two Centuries. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Symington Family Estates, n.d. Falk, John H. & Dierking, Lyn D. Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2000. França, José-Augusto. Ramos-Pinto, 1880-1980, 4th ed. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Adriano Ramos-Pinto (Vinhos) S.A. Green Guide Portugal. Watford, Herts., UK: Michelin Maps & Guides, 2007. Hall, C. Michael. Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2003. (co-published simultaneously as Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,18, no.s 3/4, 2003.) Janneau, Michel. Adriano Ramos Pinto: Le Génie Facétieux. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Adriano Ramos Pinto, Vinhos, S.A., 2000.

129

Kaplan, Flora S. Museums and the Making of Ourselves: The Role of Objects in National Identity. London & New York: Leicester University Press, 1994.

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara. Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums and Heritage. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998. Leinhardt, Gaea & Knutson, Karen. Listening in on Museum Conversations. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2004. Linder, Lisa, art director & Davies, Susan W., ed. Port to Port. London: LB Publishing Ltd., 1996. MacCannell, Dean. The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. Martins, João Paulo. Tudo Sobre o Vinho do Porto: os Sabores e as Histórias. Lisbon: Publicações Dom Qiuixote, 2000. Mayson, Richard. Port and the Douro, revised ed. London: Octopus Publishing Group, 2004. McKercher, Bob & Du Cros, Hilary. Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management. New York: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2002. Muirhead's Southern Spain and Portugal. The Blue Guides, ed. Findlay Muirhead, London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd. 1929. The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, American Edition. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pereira, Gaspar Martins & Almeida, João Nicolau de. Porto Vintage, 2nd ed. n.p: Instituto do Vinho do Porto & Campo das Letras - Editores, SA, 2002. Richards, Greg. Cultural Attractions and European Tourism. New York:

CABI Publishing, 2001. Roberts, Lisa C. From Knowledge to Narrative: Educators and the Changing Museum. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.

130

Sachatello-Sawyer, Bonnie, et al. Adult Museum Programs: Designing Meaningful Experiences. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2002. Serrell, Beverly. Exhibit Labels: an Interpretive Approach. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1996.

Spence, Godfrey. O Guia do Vinho do Porto: Guia do Conhecedor. Translated by Maria Filomena Duarte. n.p: Qunitet Publishing Ltd., 1997. Portuguese edition, n.p: Centralivros Lda., 1998.

Vinografia: Desenhos para o Vinho.(exhibition booklet) Oporto: Museu do Vinho do Porto & Da Companhia Design de Communicação, Lda., 2004 W.& J. Graham's Port, Established 1820. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: W. & J. Graham & Ca. SA, 2006.

Articles "A Vine Time is Set to Tempt the Fans." TTG, Travel Trade Gazette, U.K. and Ireland, 5 May 2003, 40. Brito, Carlos. "A Network Perspective of the Port Wine Sector." International Journal of Wine Marketing 18, no. 2 (2006): 124-?

"Editorial." Museum Management and Curatorship, no.12, 1993. 123-125. Fisher, Ian. " Museum Puts Life, Truth and, It Hopes, Sales in a Wine." New York Times, 10 December 2004, sec. A, col. 3, Foreign Desk, Montalcino Journal, p.4. Fodor's Portugal, 8th ed. New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, 2007. Geraci, Victor W. Review of the Exhibit "Gift of the Gods: the Art of Wine from the Ancient World to Canadian Vineyards" in the Canadian Museum of Civilization, co-curated by Sylvie Morel and Roderick Philips, 5 November 2004 - 3 April 2005. The Public Historian 27, no.3 (Summer 2005): 96-99. Goldberg, Howard G. "The Driest Wines (and the Drollest) Are in the Museum." New York Times, 2 July 1993, sec. C, p.1, col.1, Weekend Desk.

131

Hall, C. Michael & Mitchell, Richard. "Gastronomic Tourism: Comparing Food and Wine Tourism Experiences." In Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issue, Trends and Cases, Marina Novelli, ed.. Oxford: Elsvier, 2005. Jennings, Lisa. "Wine Country Learning Center growing into a Mecca for Culinary Travelers." Nation's Restaurant News, 40, no.22, (29 May 2006): 50. Jones, Benjamin. "A Modern Temple Dedicated to Wine." New York Times, 15 August 2004, sec.5, p.3, col.3, Travel Desk, Travel Advisory. Levy, Paul. "Wine: A Theme Park for Oenophiles." Wall Street Journal, 30 July 1999, p.W.6, View. Marques, Helena. "Research Report: Searching for Complementaries

Between Agriculture and Tourism - the Demarcated Wine-Producing Regions of Northern Portugal." (Abstract) Tourism Economics, 12, no.1, (March 2006): 147-?

McArthur, Samantha. "Lisbon: Port Appeal." Europe, no. 368 (July/August 1997): 38. Mendes, José M. A. "Património das Empresas." Munda, no.18, November 1989, 57-63. _______"Património Industrial: uma Bem da Comunidade ao Alcance da Escola." Munda, no. 20, November 1990, 65-72. Mitchell, R. & Hall, C. M., "Seasonality in New Zealand Winery Visitation: An Issue of Supply and Demand," in Wine, Food and Tourism Marketing, C. Michael hall, ed. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2003. 155- 173. Oliver, Suzanne. "Sipping at the Source." Forbes, 156, no.3 (31 July 1995): 132- 133. Ravenscroft, Neil & van Westerling, Jestke. "Wine Tourism, Culture and the Everyday: A Theoretical Note." Tourism and Hospitality Research 3, no.2 (September 2001): 149-163.

132

Richards, Greg. "The Development of Cultural Tourism in Europe." In Cultural Attractions and European Tourism, Greg Richards, ed. New York: CABI Publishing, 2001. Roberts, Alison. "Lisbon: The Power of Port." Europe, no.407 (June 2001): 40- 41. Robinson, Mike & Novelli, Marina. "Niche Tourism: an Introduction." In Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issue, Trends and Cases, Marina Novelli, ed.. Oxford: Elsvier, 2005. Sharples, A. "Cider and the Marketing of the Tourism Experience in Somerset, England: Three Case Studies." in Wine, Food and Tourism Marketing, C. Michael Hall, ed. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2003. (co-published simultaneously as Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,18, no.s 3/4, 2003.),49-60. Smith, Rod. "A Theme Park for Wine Lovers: Vinopolis Opens in London." Los Angeles Times, 21 July 1999, Home Edition, p.1. Spain and Portugal. Baedeker's Touring Guides. Freiburg: Karl Baedeker, 1959. van Westering, J. & Niel, E. "The Organization of Wine Tourism in France: The Involvement of the French Public Sector," in Hall, Wine, Food and Tourism Marketing, 35-47. Williams, Peter & Dossa, Karim. "Non-Resident Tourist Markets: Implications for British Columbia's Emerging Wine Tourism Industry." in Hall, C. Michael. Wine, Food, and Tourism Marketing. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Hospitality Press, 2003. (co-published simultaneously as Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,18, no.s 3/4, 2003.) Pamphlets (All pamphlets are in English and undated, except where mentioned. Duplicates in other languages may exist.) A Tradition Brought Alive / Reviver uma Tradição. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: W. & J. Graham & Ca., S.A. 20 pp. Barros Porto: A Seductive Proposal, an Irresistible Pleasure. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold 150% format.

133

Barros Porto, Est. 1913. n.p. 12 pp. large (A4) format. Burmester, Est'd 1750. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. Hardbound,10 pp. large (A4) format. Burmester, Est'd 1750. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 15 pp. large (A4) format sheets in A4 folder. Burmester, Est'd 1750: Come and Visit Casa Burmester and Port Wine Museum. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: J.W. Burmester & Ca., S.A. 3-fold in Portuguese, English & French. Burmester, Est'd 1750: More than 250 Years of Tradition in the Fine Art of Making Port Wine.Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold, ½ sheet format. Caves do Vinho do Porto, map & guide. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto, n.d. C.N. Kopke, Est'd 1638. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 10 pp. large (A4) format. C.N. Kopke, Est'd 1638. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 4-fold large 2/3 sheet (A4) format. Croft: Family Port Shippers, est. 1678. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Croft Port. 12pp. Dom Rozés Wine Bar: Come and Visit the Superior Douro. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: SPR Vinhos, S.A. 2-fold. Ferreira Porto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: A.A. Ferreira, S.A. 3-fold in English & French. Fonseca Porto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Fonseca-Guimarãens, S.A., 7-fold. Krohn Port. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Wiese & Krohn Sucrs., Lda., 4-fold in English Spanish, French & German.

134

Museum Area, Casa Ramos Pinto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Adriano Ramos Pinto - Vinhos, S.A., 3-fold 70% format. Offley Porto Est, 1737. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Offley-Forrester, S.A. 5- fold, ½ format in Portuguese & Spanish. Porto Cálem, Est'd 1859. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold ¾ sheet format. Porto Cálem, Est'd 1859:Award "Best of Wine Tourism 2006." Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 3-fold 70%+ format. Porto Wine, Ramos Pinto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Adriano Ramos Pinto - Vinhos, S.A. 3-fold. Quinta do N oval, Fine Ports Since 1715. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Quinta do Noval, S.A. 3-fold, 150% long-wise format. Quinta do Panascal. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Fonseca-Guimarãens, S.A. 2- fold in English, Portuguese & French. Quinta de Vargellas, Vintage Port. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, S.A. 22 pp. Rozés Porto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Rozés S.A. 3-fold in Portuguese. Rozés Porto. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Rozés S.A. (Grupo Vranken Monopole) Large format (A4) 4 sheets, 2-sided in folder. Sandeman Port Museum. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sandeman & Ca., S.A. 3- fold + insert. Taylor's Old Bottle Collection. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, S.A. 4-fold. Taylor's Port. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, S.A. 22 pp.. W. & J. Graham's Port, established 1820. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: W. & J. Graham & Ca., S.A., 5-fold.

135

Unpublished Documents "1ro Encontro Internacional sobre PatrimEonio Industrial e a sua Museologia: Communicações." Proceedings of conference given at Museu da Água da Epal, Portugal, 1-2 October 1999. "18 Maio, Dia Internacional dos Museus: Programa." n.p. (Museu do Vinho do Porto). 1 p. photocopy. "Apresentação da Marca." Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: Sogenvinus - Fine Wines, S.A. 7 pp. photocopy. Campos, Maria Rosário Castiço de. Museums as a Tourist Resource. Paper given at "Things that Move: The Material Worlds of Tourism and Travel," conference given at the Center for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University, U.K., 19-23 July 2007.

"Folhas de Sala do Museu do Vinho do Porto." (descriptions of text panels) n.p. (Museu do Vinho do Porto). 3 pp. photocopy. "Guide for a Visit, Port Wine Museum." Oporto: Câmara Municipal do Porto. 6 pp. photocopy. Perfil do Visitante das Caves do Vinho do Porto (Visitor Profile of the Port Wine Cellars), PDF. http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=0&ACT=19 "Plano de Actividade: Cozinha com Porto." n.p. (Museu do Vinho do Porto). 2 pp. photocopy. Websites "Alto Douro Wine Region," in UNESCO: World Heritage. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1046 Accessed 23 October 2007. Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tours. St. Louis, MO: Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 2007. http://www.budweisertours.com/home.htm Accessed 9 October 2007.

136

AEVP, Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto (Association of Port Wine Companies). http://www.aevp.pt/new/pt/default.asp?id=1&mnu=1 Accessed 25 November 2007 & before. Burmester. http://www.burmesterporto.com/en/historia/historia.htm Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Cálem. http://www.calem.pt/ Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. http://www.copia.org/ Accessed 12 October 2007. Croft Port. http://www.croftport.com/entry.htm Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Bodega la Rural. Bodega la Rural, S.A. http://bodegaslarural.com/ingles/tradicion.htm Accessed 9 October 2007. El Museo de la Cultura del Vino. Dinastia Vivanco. http://www.dinastiavivanco.com/museo/museo.asp Accessed 14 October 2007. For the Love of Port. July 2007. http://www.fortheloveofport.com/index.php?option=com_magazin e&Itemid=1 Accessed 1 October 2007. Fundação Serralves. Museum of contemporary art, Oporto, Portugal. http://www.serralves.pt/gca/?id=873 Accessed 14 October 2007. Global Network of Great Wine Capitals. http://www.greatwinecapitals.com/index.htm Accessed 28 November 2007 & before.

137

Graham's Port. http://www.grahams-port.com/history.asp Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. ICOM. Development of the Museum Definition according to ICOM Statutes (1946-2001). International Council of Museums, 2007. http://icom.museum/hist_def_eng.html Accessed 10 October 2007. ICOMOS. The Venice Charter - International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites. International Council on Monuments and Sites, 1996. http://www.icomos.org/venice_charter.html Accessed 1 October 2007. Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho. http://www.ivv.min-agricultura.pt/cultura/index.html Accessed 25 October 2007 & before. Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto. http://www.ivp.pt/index.asp?idioma=1 Accessed 24 October 2007 & before. Porto Tourism. http://www.portoturismo.pt/ Accessed 25 October 2007 & before. Ramos Pinto. http://www.ramospinto.pt/home_ing.htm Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. SGS in Portugal. http://www.pt.sgs.com/pt/home_pt_v2? Accessed 19 November 2007. Sandeman. http://www.sandeman.com/ing/general.html Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Sogrape (English site).

138

http://eng.sogrape.pt/ Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Taylor's. http://www.taylor.pt/main.htm Accessed 23 October 2007 & before. Vila Nova de Gaia. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vila_Nova_de_Gaia Accessed 19 October 2007. Vinopolis. Wineworld London, 2007 http://www.vinopolis.co.uk/ Accessed 12 October 2007. Interviews & Survey Responses Correia, Ana Filipa, Director, Archives & Museum, Ramos Pinto - Vinhos, S.A. Email response to long survey, 14 November 2007. Morais, Isabel, Public Relations, Sogrape S.A. (Sandeman & Ferreira) Email response to short survey, 14 November 2007. Morgado, Ana Margarida, Director of Public Relations, Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman Vinhos, S.A. Interview by author, 28 August 2007, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. Author notes. Nápoles, Ana, Visitors Center Manager, Ramos Pinto - Vinhos, S.A. Interview by author, 12 November 2007, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. Author notes. Ema Pinto, Promotional Office, AEVP (Associação das Empresas do Vinho do Porto - Assoc. of Port Wine Companies). Interview by author. Vila Nova de Gaia, 13 November 2007. Author notes. Vaughn, Linda, Visitor Center Director, W. & J. Graham & Ca., S.A. (Symington Family Estates) Email response to short survey, 12 November 2007.

139

Appendix "A" PORT WINE LODGE MUSEUM SUMMARY Company: Burmester Parent Company: Sogevinus (Spanish) Website: http://www.burmesterporto.com/index.htm Distance from Riverfront: ca. 1 kilometer Entry Fee: Free Museum Access: only during tour Museum Location: entrance to cellars Use during tour? Yes, as introduction & orientation. Description: Dedicated space, separate from cellar area, containing mainly small scale winemaking equipment. Main Thematic Scope: Mainly terroir, plus wine types. Company: Cálem Parent Company: Sogevinus (Spanish) Website: http://www.calem.pt/ Distance from Riverfront: on the riverfront by bridge (Dom Luis I). Entry Fee: 2.00 euros Museum Access: only during tour Museum Location: entrance to cellars Use during tour? Yes, as introduction & orientation. Description: Dedicated space, separate from cellar area, containing mainly modern pre-fab. text panels, few artifacts + display of Vintage & other wine types. Main Thematic Scope: Terroir, company history & winemaking. Company: Croft Parent Company: Fladgate Partnership (British) Website: http://www.croftport.com/ Distance from Riverfront: 2 blocks Entry Fee: Free Museum Access: Open, except for Vintage Port museum on tour only. Museum Location: Reception & in cellars Use during tour? Reception room exhibits no. Vintage museum at end of tour. Description: (Reception) Artifacts and documents displayed in traditional vitrines + large scale photographs. (Museum) Vintage wines on storage shelves, labeled older bottles & bottle opening "tongs." Main Thematic Scope: Quality wines, historical importance of company, terroir (visual).

140

Appendix "A" Port Wine Lodge Museum Summary, cont'd Company: Ferreira Parent Company: Sogrape (Portuguese) Website: http://eng.sogrape.pt/marcas/8/historia Distance from Riverfront: On riverfront, 1 km. from bridge. Entry Fee: 2.50 euros Museum Access: Label exhibition in reception open. Mian museum only on tour. Museum Location: Reception, waiting room & at far end of cellars. Use during tour? Only map in waiting room for orientation + vintage wine exhibit in main museum. Description: (Reception) Carriage, Exhibition of bottle labels & advertising posters. (Waiting Rm.) Original demarcation stone, map & photos. (Mian Museum) Large collection of wine related artifacts, in ultra-modern exhibits - no labels. Main Thematic Scope: Company history & quality wines. Company: Graham Parent Company: Symington Family Estates (British) Website: http://www.grahams-port.com/ Distance from Riverfront: 1 km., (2 km. from bridge). Entry Fee: Free Museum Access: Reception area & basement open, barrel making exhibit only during tours. Museum Location: Reception area, in basement & in cellars. Use during tour? None. Description: (Reception) Vintage Port exhibit in vitrines, under large wood book cases + misc. documents & artifacts. Also prize wines & misc. artifacts in glass cases in center. (Cellars) Barrel making exhibit w/tools & photogtaphs. Main Thematic Scope: Company history, quality wines & barrel making. Company: Ramos Pinto Parent Company: Roederer (French) Website: http://www.ramospinto.pt/ Distance from Riverfront: On waterfront 1 km. from bridge. Entry Fee: 2.00 euros. Museum Access: Only during tour. Museum Location: Before cellars + exhibit in cellars.

141

Appendix "A" Port Wine Lodge Museum Summary, cont'd (Ramos Pinto cont'd) Use during tour? Main introduction & orientation. Description: (Main museum) "House museum" consisting of early 20th century offices & private reception area containign original fcurnishing & art works. Glassed-in roll-top desks each contain different exhibit on company history. Main Thematic Scope: Company history & Terroir. Company: Sandeman Parent Company: Sogevinus (Portuguese) Website: http://www.sandeman.com/ing/index1.html Distance from Riverfront: On waterfront, ½ km. from bridge. Entry Fee: 3.00 euros (for tour). Museum Access: Open, free entry. Museum Location: Next to reception. Use during tour? None. Description: Separate room. Half is exhibition of advertising posters, well-labeled; other half displays historic prints, vitrine w/wine related artifacts, branding irons, barrel equip. & exhibit of hand-bottling techniques. Main Thematic Scope: Company history, advertising & post-winemaking production. Company: Taylor Parent Company: Fladgate Partnership (British) Website: http://www.taylor.pt/main.htm Distance from Riverfront: 1 km., (1 ½ km. from bridge). Entry Fee: Free Museum Access: Open. Museum Location: Reception area. Use during tour? None. Description: In entry, glass case w/historic bottle exhibit. In lounge area wooden book cases w/bound documents, over traditional vitrines w/ misc. documents. In main area, vitrines w/prize wines, Late Bottled Vintage exhibit + in-house produced panel on winemaking. Main Thematic Scope: Company history, quality wines, Terroir & winemaking.

142

APPENDIX "B" Research Surveys - Revised Long Version

GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT PORT WINE MUSEUMS & PROGRAMS

Background

1. Please tell me how your tourism programs began and developed over the years.

(Diga-me, por favor,) Como começaram os seus programas turísticos e como é que estes se desenvoleram ao longo dos anos?)

Personnel

2. Please tell me about how exhibitions are created and by whom.

(Diga-me, por favor,) Como, e por quem, foram criadas as exibições? ou Como são criadas as exibições e por quem?)

Exhibits

3. Why is access to the museum open or limited?

(Por que motivo é que o acesso ao museu é aberto ou limitado?)

4. What factors and philosophy determine the format of your exhibits, such as display methods, use of interpretive text, etc?

(Que factores e qual a filosofia que determinam o formato das suas exibições, por exemplo, nos métodos de organização das demonstrações, no uso de textos interpretivos, etc.?)

Collections

5. Please tell me about your collections, how and why they are acquired, catalogued and stored.

(Por favor, fale-me sobre a suas colecções: como e por que é que foram adquiridas, catalogadas e armazenadas.)

143

Appendix "B" Research Surveys - Revised Version, continued

VISITOR SERVICES – Guided Tours

Guide Training

6. Please tell me about your guide recruitment and training.

(Por favor, fale-me sobre o recrutamento e o treino/ formação dos guias.)

Tour Content

7. Please tell me about what themes are most important in your tours and why.

(Fale-me, por favor, sobre) Quais são os temas mais importantes nas suas visitas guiadas e por quê?)

Tasting

8. How important is tasting to the overall visitor experience?

(Em que medida é que a prova do vinho é importante para a experiência dos visitantes?)

9. What percentage of visitors buys wine?

(Qual é a percentagem dos visitantes que compra vinho?)

Visits Outside Vila Nova de Gaia

10. Please tell me about your properties in the Douro valley, and whether tourism is encouraged there or not, and why.

(Por favor, fale-me das suas quintas no Vale do Douro e se o turísmo é, aí, encorajado ou não e por quê.)

Tourism Philosophy (Please answer as completely as you feel comfortable) (Por favor, responda da forma mais completa que lhe for possível.)

11. Please tell me how tourism is important to the Port wine

144

Appendix "B" Research Surveys - Revised Version, continued

trade, to your company in particular, and vice versa.

(Diga-me, por favor, ) Em que medida é que o turismo é importante para o comércio do vinho do Porto, para a sua companhia em particular e vica versa?)

12. Why do you charge (or not charge) for guided visits?

(Por que é que a entrada nas cave, e as visitas guiadas, são (ou não são) pagas?)

13. Please tell me why the museum is important to your tourism programming, and whether and why you may be expanding it.

( Diga-me, por favor, por que motivo é que o museu é importante para a sua programação turística e se está a pensar em expandi-lo ou não, e por quê.)

14. Which do you think are the strongest aspects of your museum activities, which could be improved, and how?

(Quais, em sua opinião, são os aspectos mais fortes das actividades museológicas do seu museu, quais delas poderiam ser melhoradas e como?)

15. What visitor commentary do you receive about your museum exhibits, and do you have a formal survey process?

(Que tipo de comentário fazem os visitantes sobre as suas exibições?; existe nas caves um sistema formal de fazer pesquisas de/aos visitantes?

16. Are there any internal documents, relevant to my study, that you would be willing to share or summarize?

(Existem, por acaso, quaisquer documentos internos pertinentes para a minha pesquisa, cujo conteúdo os/as senhores/as estejam disponíveis em partilhar ou resumir?)

17. Is there anything else you would like to share about your museum exhibits or other visitor services?

145

Appendix "B" Research Surveys - Revised Version, continued

(Existe qualquer outra coisa, relativa às suas exhibições ou a outros serviços turísticos, que queriam partilhar comigo?)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND COOPERATION!

(Muito obrigado pela vossa ajuda e cooperação!)

If you are responding only by email, please send your response to:

(Caso responda apenas via email, envie, por favor, a sua resposta para:)

richbradley56@comcast.net

and please copy to:

(e faça, por favor, uma cópia para:)

quinam@mail.telepac.pt

146

APPENDIX "B" Research Surveys - Short Email Version 1-Quando começou o acolhemento turístico nos caves e por que? (When were tourist first welcomed in the lodges and why? 2-Quando se abriu o museu e por que? (When was the museum opened and why? 3-Como desenvolvia o museu, e como mudou o formato dele? (How did the museum eveolve and how did its format change? 4-Como é importante o turismo aos caves e ao commercio do Vinho do Porto? (How is tourism important to the lodges and to the Port wine industry? 5-Como é importante os caves e o commercio do Vinho do Porto ao turísmo regional do Porto? (How are the lodges and the Port wine industry important to Oporto's regional tourism?) 5-Como aumentam o museu a experiencia turística, e como é que ajudam às visitas guiadas? (How does the museum enhance the tourist experience, and how does it help guided visits?

147

Appendix "C" Upper Douro Valley Demarcated Region

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

http://espanol.vacationstogo.com/cruiseports/viewport.cfm?port=1074

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

www.bar-do-binho.com/ port/douro.htm

148

Appendix "D" Douro Valley Images (Images: Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto

http://www.ivp.pt/index.asp?idioma=0 )

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

River Valley Terraces

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Terraces "Mortórios"

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.QuickTime™ and a

TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Barcos de Rabelo loading Vila Nova de Gaia (author)

149

APPENDIX "E"

Images of the Cellars - Imágems das caves

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Cellars or Caves

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Casks or Pipas

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Vats or Balseiros

150

APPENDIX "F"

BURMESTER

Burmester museum - machines Burmester museum - map & schist

Burmester museum - bottler Burmester museum - posters

151

APPENDIX "G"

CÁLEM

Cálem museum - history panel Cálem museum - winemaking & Vintages

Cálem museum - types of wine Cálem tasting room

152

APPENDIX "H"

CROFT

Croft museum - reception Croft museum - photo & case display

Croft museum - letters display Croft museum - display of alms box

153

APPENDIX "I"

FERREIRA

Ferreira museum - reception Ferreira museum - waiting room

Ferreira museum - equipment Ferreira museum - cases

154

APPENDIX "J"

GRAHAM'S

Graham's museum - Vintage exhibit Graham's museum - reception

Graham's museum - basement

155

APPENDIX "K"

RAMOS PINTO

Ramos Pinto museum - entrance Ramos Pinto museum - exhibits

Ramos Pinto museum - display Ramos Pinto museum - reception "throne"

156

APPENDIX "L"

SANDEMAN

Sandeman museum - exhibits Sandeman museum - exhibits

Sandeman museum - bottling Sandeman museum - poster 1929 equipment

157

APPENDIX "M"

TAYLOR'S

Taylor's museum - bottles Taylor's museum - reception

Taylor's museum - document exhibit Taylor's museum - winemaking

158

Richard Bradley, B.A. (Final Product - English Version) Masters Degree Candidate Travessa do Entroncamento, 42 4595 Seroa Ms. Ema Pinto, Promotional Office Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP) Rua Dr. António Granjo, 207 4400-124 Vila Nova de Gaia Dear Ms. Pinto, It has been my pleasure to have conducted a study over the last six months for my masters degree thesis at John F. Kennedy University in the U.S., of museum activities in Port wine lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, whose tourism programs are certified by the AEVP. It is evident that great effort has been made developing tourist facilities in the lodges, particularly with guided tours and tastings. Their museum exhibits also convey the importance of the Port wine industry to the history and culture of the region, as well as the great variety and quality of the wines it produces. One key to Port lodge tourism facilities is differentiating each from the other, while still conveying the company and industry message. My thesis shows how their museum exhibits have all developed along different lines, and have unique styles and formats. I believe that all these formats are equally valid, and have the potential to be effective means of communication and education. My University has suggested that I present the results of my research at the AEVP, and to discuss with lodge tourism staff what my study revealed about maximizing their exhibits' effectiveness, while still maintaining the unique character and ambience of their facilities. I am relocating to the Oporto area, joining my family in Seroa in March 2008, and I look forward to discussing my thesis with you. I will be available to make my presentation on a date of your choosing in late April or early May, before the high tourism season begins. I welcome any comments or suggestions regarding developing future collaborative contacts among Port wine lodge staff regarding museum exhibits. With best regards,

159

Richard Bradley, B.A. ( Final Product - Portuguese Version) Candidato a Mestrado Travessa do Entroncamento, 42 4595 Seroa Sra. Ema Pinto, Promotional Office Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP) Rua Dr. António Granjo, 207 4400-124 Vila Nova de Gaia Exma. Sra. Pinto, Foi, realmente, com grande prazer que, ao longo dos últimos seis meses, me dediquei ao tema de estudo da minha tese de mestrado a decorrer na Universidade John F. Kennedy nos Estados Unidos, cuja temática versa sobre a importância dos museus nas caves do vinho do Porto da cidade de Vila Nova de Gaia e cujos programas turísticos estão certificados pela AEVP. É, sem dúvida, evidente que foram empreendidos grandes esforços no desenvolvimento de programas turísticos nas caves, particularmente no que diz respeito às visitas guiadas e às provas de vinhos. As exposições apresentadas nos seus museus demonstram, igualmente, a importância da indústria do vinho do Porto para a história e cultura da região, assim como a grande variedade e qualidade dos vinhos que produz. Um aspecto importante, no que diz respeito ao turismo proporcionado pelas caves do vinho do Porto, é a diversidade que apresentam entre si, sem, no entanto, deixarem de partilhar a mensagem central que as liga à industria e à companhia que representam. A minha tese demonstra a forma como as suas exposições museológicas se desenvolveram, todas elas seguindo linhas diferentes, possuindo, no entanto, cada uma delas um estilo e formato únicos. Acredito que todos os diferentes formatos são válidos, tendo, cada um deles, o potencial para serem meios de educação e de comunicação eficazes. A minha Universidade sugeriu que eu apresentasse os resultados da minha pesquisa na AEVP. Salientou, também, que seria importante discutir, com o pessoal responsável pelo turismo das caves, os resultados revelados pela minha tese no que diz respeito à maximização da eficácia das suas exibições, mantendo-se, ao mesmo tempo, a atmosfera e o carácter únicos do seu espaço. Vou mudar-me em breve para a região da cidade do Porto, mais propriamente para a freguesia de Seroa, no concelho de Paços de Ferreira, onde me vou juntar à

160

minha família a partir de Março de 2008. Fico a aguardar com grande ansiedade a possibilidade de falar sobre a minha tese consigo. Estarei disponível para fazer a apresentação da minha tese a partir de fins de Abril, princípios de Maio, numa data à sua escolha e, claro, antes que se inicie a época alta do turismo local. Quaisquer comentários ou sugestões, no que diz respeito ao desenvolvimento de futuras trocas e contactos de colaboração, da minha parte, com o pessoal das caves no que concerne a exposições museológicas, serão muito bem vindos. Com os melhores cumprimentos,

161