Portugal
A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF PORTUGAL Portugal is a mountainous country carved out of the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula. Its winemaking roots are ancient but its origins are obscured. There is archaeological evidence of seafaring Phoenicians in this region that date back to the 10th century BCE and Greek colonies established by the 7th century, but the first documented record of the vine belongs to the Romans in the 1st century, who introduced more advanced vine training and cultivation methods. After the fall of the Roman Empire, winemaking continued uninterrupted (though diminished) through Germanic invasions and even through the Moorish occupation that followed, a culture that—although itself abstinent—was very tolerant of alcohol consumption by its Christian subjects. As elsewhere in Europe, Christianity played a major force in preserving and developing the country’s winemaking traditions.
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