I did it! I finished the second edition of Richard Mayson’s book, “Port and the Douro”, which has proven to be a comprehensive, clearly written reference book on one of my favorite fortified wines: port!

When I originally proposed this book, I heard several readers share their interest in reading a single subject wine book, but equally, their fear that it would bore them to no end. I, too, feared that I would find myself the next morning with my nose on page three, oblivious as to what the first three pages contained. Then would come night two, when I would reread the same pages to catch up to where I was, only to land myself with nose in crease…again. Hence, I had bigger hopes for Richard Mayson’s book. I wanted his book to give me the same passion and inspiration that I felt with sherry wine. I not only wanted to hear about the process of making port, but I also wanted to absorb the history of the Douro over the centuries: to feel the dry and rough schistous soils; smell the rich, spicy aromas of the quintas; hear the roar of the Douro River barreling down the valley; see the dramatic transition from the dry, arid upper Cima Corgo all the way down to the humid and heavy Vila Nova da Gaia region; and finally, taste the differences between a nutty and dry tawny port wine to a concentrated and complex vintage port wine. I hoped that his book would take me to the center of a Douro vineyard and walk me through the process step-by-step, providing me a solid foundation for me to …

Early this year, while teaching children full time, I made a brazen attempt at committing to reading a half-dozen Iberian wine books by the end of the summer. And as much as my heart was in the right place, I was hardly successful. In hind site, our recent Sherry adventure taught me an invaluable lesson: I am a hand’s on girl. When we went to Jerez, I had the rare opportunity to combine theory with practice. For me, when learning about a new subject, I want to touch it, breathe it and taste it. To merely read a book without having the physical connection, quite frankly, bores me. I can’t connect. In Jerez, however, I dove into Sherry wine for five days feverishly learning about the Solera system and coming out of the seminar more interested in the topic than when I first walked in the door. I even went so far as to carry the stupidly heavy hardcover book provided by the DO in my carry-on bag just so I could review the information on our way back to Barcelona. That’s passion!

Now, dedicating November to Port, I have decided to, once again, merge theory with practice by reading Richard Mayson’s book, “Port and the Douro”. Mayson retells the story of Port over the centuries, poetically intertwining his personal experience of interacting with the region and the people to the vines themselves.

“It is easy to be possessive about the Douro. Deep valleys, tiny villages and remote quintas engender a strong sense of place among those who live and work there. Ask someone where they come from and they will tell you, with great pride, the …