[widdershins]

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.