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It is alleged that two wine merchants in the seventeenth century exploring Portugal�s Douro valley discovered the Abbot of a Lamego monastery adding grape spirit to his wine early on in its fermentation to preserve its sweetness. This was embryonic Port. They decided to use this method of �fortification� to preserve their wines for the long sea journey back to England. This wine took its name from the city where these traders had their base: Oporto (Porto), from where it is to this day shipped to the world. Port is still produced in this way, by intentionally interrupting the fermentation of the grape must (or juice) by the addition of a clear grape spirit called aguardiente, generally referred to as �brandy�. This preserves a large a of the grapes� natural sugars, thereby giving Port its characteristic sweetness and richness. The grapes that are used to make Port must be grown in the ainous Upper Douro region of Northern Portugal, the world�s first officially demarcated wine region in 1756. This protected region is the only place in the world that can produce authentic Port. . Graham�s has always been a pioneer. Graham's was one of the first Port companies to invest in its own vineyards in Portugal�s Douro Valley in 1890 and is now at the cutting edge of innovation in winemaking techniques. Today, five Symington cousins share responsibility for every aspect of the company and personally make the Graham�s wines. They too have been involved with Port and the Douro for many generations, with ancestry dating back to the mid-17th century. To make the Tawny ports, the young wine is matured in smaller seasoned oak vats which allows the wine to come into contact with the oxygen that freely permeates the wood of the barrels. The gradual aging processes impart increasingly richer flavours to the Port.