Richard Mayson’s comprehensive classic Port and the Douro is now in its fifth edition. In the 25 years since the first edition was published there have been changes in the vineyard, the cellar and in the way the Port industry itself is organized. In this edition we encounter the world of Port as it enters a new period of flux, driven by climate change and the impact it is having on the region. Sustainability has become critical as growers and the industry seek to undo the mistakes of the past in order to make the vineyards and the trade fit for an increasingly unpredictable future. Yet Port continues to produce classic vintages – with those produced since the previous edition of the book being of a high standard. Consumer interest is shifting towards the premium Port categories, paticularly the tawny Ports, and the drink continues to fascinate wine-lovers.

Richard Mayson is an award-winning wine writer and an authority on Portuguese wine. A lecturer and consultant, he writes for Decanter and The World of Fine Wine and is a contributor to the Oxford Companion to Wine, the Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine and the World Atlas of Wine. His books include Port and the Douro, Madeira: The islands and their wines and The wines of Portugal. He is Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards for Port and Madeira Wine.|Leo Duff was born in Belfast and studied Illustration at Brighton College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. She is currently Course Director of MA Drawing as Process at Kingston University, Surrey, England.