1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

Some Finlido Quintas—An Upper Douro Village. 67

superior character,wMch Messrs.Silva and Cosens annually con tract to buy. Wevisited the Quintade Celleir6s,wliicbis ■walled inallround, and iutersected •with well-made roads. Altbough not touched by the phylloxera, it showed many blank spots where new vines required to be planted, or where provining—that is, the burying of a -rine-stem in the earth -with several of its shoots above ground—had been recently can-ied out. This, coupled with the unfavourable season, sufficed to account for the diminished produce of this particular vineyard. Senhor Souza had here made various experiments in accordance -with Dr. Gruyot's theories—trainiug the vines on -wires and pruning them after a particular system. The result, however, has scarcely proved satisfactory, for although the yield has been greater, the bunches of grapes, suspended too high above the ground, have never attained the requisite degree of ripeness. The past few years have certainly not been favourable for experiments of this description; still, Senhor Souza has satisfied himself that the Guyot theories are not applicable to the Alto Douro, and he intends returning to the old system of cultivation. Senhor Souza's adega, constructedfromdesigns byMr.Kouse, an English engineer who has established himself at Opoi'to, is probably the finest in the Alto Douro. Entering through the large open doorway, one finds oneself in a vast and lofty apart ment, its roof supported by light iron columns, the difficulty and expense of conveying which from Oporto to this all but inac cessible region were very great. Twenty-one tonels of varying capacity—namely,from twenty to fifty pipes—are disposedround the adega, in the centre of which is a huge vat, chiefly used for amalgamating different parcels of "wine. From the adega a staircase comm-uuicates with the casa dos lagares, situated on a higher level, whence, by means of an elaborate system of pipes, the mosto is conveyed from the lagares to the different tonels. Inthis upper apartment there are sevenlagares, four for red and three for white -wine; for Celleir6s is the great district for the finest whitePorts. Whether the winebe redor white, one-thirdof