Tried and tested

London, July 9: The world’s oldest and largest port producer is finally trampling on 2,000 years of agricultural history.

Paul Symington, the managing director and 13th generation of the English family to run wineries in Portugal, said: “There is sadness. Of course there is. But it has been brought on by force of circumstances.”

The expense of hiring 40 willing workers, prepared to spend four hours at a time, knee high in a vat of fermenting grape juice, has been a key factor in the family company going mechanical.

“You just can’t get the people,” Symington said. “There has been large-scale emigration from this part of Portugal.”

The change means centuries of heritage will be abandoned by some of the finest names in port, Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s, all part of Symington Family Estates.

The tried and tested method of stepping into a vat — or lagar, as the Portuguese call it — and trampling up and down on the grapes to the sound of the drum, was adopted by the Romans in the Douro Valley.

While most of the wine industry started using machines to do the job at the start of the 20th century, the port makers never abandoned the technique.

They said it was the best way to ferment the grapes in as quick a time as possible.

Speed is essential to capture the distinctive rich flavour of port, and the dark colour from the grape skins.

However, after experimenting for the past six or seven years, the Symingtons have designed what they call a robotic lagar.

The machine replicates the effect of 40 heavy men trampling up and down with two rows of heated “feet” made of silicone, which plunge into the stainless steel vat.

While the robots are an expensive investment, they can do the job at any time of the day or night — and don’t need the encouragement of an accompanying musician.

The temperature controls also make the port far more stable, especially during hot harvest time.