1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

Off to the U^pper Bouro: the Quinia da Boa Vista. 37

At the Quinta da Boa Vista the antiquated cumbersome beam presses have been done away with,and screws,fixed in the middle of the lagares after the fashion prevalent at Jerez, supply their place. As the Alto Douro is very thinly populated, and a large supply oflabour is needed all at once for the vintage, pickers and treaders have to be brought in from remote parts. The vineyard proprietors employ an agent called a royador,who musters the men and women from ten and even fifty miles around. Many ofthe former come from Galicia, more especially those who perform the heavier work, such as carrying the loads of grapes to the lagar,for the male iJoasantry of the "Upper Dom'o,though by no means idlers, shirk real hard labour. The . vintagers, male and female, arrive at the scene of operations iu gangs,'laTieing and singing on their way. The pay of the men engaged at the Quinta da Boa Vista was at the rate of Is. 3d. per day, while that of the women was no more than 6d. They all provided their own bread, which most of them brought a sufficient supply of to last while the vintage continued—usuallya period ofaboutthreeweeks. Caldo,avegetable soup,wasfurnished them,together with a moderate allowance of bacalhao, or salted codfish,well-nigh thesole animalfood ofthe Portuguese labom-- ingclasses;whilefor drinktheywereindulged with the customary agua pe,a weakish insipid liquor,made bythrowing water onthe refuse skins and stalks of the grapes,and allowing the liquid to ferment. In the Upper Douro the vintagers' ordinary meals consist of potato or bean and other vegetable soup, with a single sardine for breakfast; for dinner a similar soup, with a plate of boiled rice and a piece of salted codfish; and for supper soup and sardine as before. Most quintas have a covei'ed place called the refectorio for the vintagers to take their meals in. It should be mentioned that the pickers eat a vast quantity of grapes, which is one reason why their wages are rather low. At the Quinta da Boa Vista,as at all the better-class quintas in the Upper Douro,a rigid separation of the sexes at night-time is enforced, distinct outbuildings known as cardenhas being pro-