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A couple of tangential comments Firstly, even if you find fortified wines like port a little rich, please don't discount the other wines of the Douro Valley.

• ericmay 6mo ago
  Champagne has an interesting tie to the UK as well. Agree with you about Douro Valley. Separately the oldest port I’ve had was something like a 1928 Seppeltsfield (don’t recall the exact year). The nose was incredible and at that age, not very sweet at all. How was it served? About a spoon’s worth, dip your finger in and rub on your lips haha. You can find the bottles though, it’s not super expensive. Really cool if you haven’t had something like that before.
  • jimnotgym 6mo ago
    It is remarkable, as you say, how inexpensive a very old port can be, versus say a moderately old claret
• widdershins 6mo ago
  Britain and Portugal have one of the world's oldest alliances, established in 1386. At various times, especially starting in the 1700s, British wars with France meant that French wine and brandy became unavailable, or was even banned. In reponse, British merchants discovered that fortified wine from the Duoro valley could sate the British market's taste for strong wines, and could survive the long journey across the Bay of Biscay and the Channel. They began setting up port wine trading houses which became known as 'shippers'. Fun fact: Britain's longest-serving Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, started drinking port at 14 as a cure for gout. He apparently drank a bottle a day for most of his life. Port exacurbates gout. He died at age 46.