

Visit the famed Sunnyslope Wine Trail and enjoy sweeping views of vineyards and the Snake River as you sip delicious chardonnays and merlots. No matter when you visit, you’ll find unique Maine vintages in specialty stores and markets throughout the state. With over 65 wineries and 1,300 acres of vineyards and counting, it’s no surprise that Idaho is home to an award-winning and rapidly growing wine industry. But you still might see the term out there on Port-style wines not from Portugal. Taste a variety of wines, meads, ciders and spirits along the Trail, or at a Maine Winery Guild event, the newest of which is Bangor’s Wine on the Waterfront in summer. It might make you feel better to know that some of those producers are moving away from using the term “Port”-even though they legally can-in a move to honor the geographic significance of true Port wine. But some producers who were already using those names were grandfathered in. Explore our renowned mthode traditionelle sparkling wines, pinot noir, estate vineyards, and tasting experiences at our breathtakingly beautiful chteau in. Things changed around 2006, when a trade agreement between the United States and the European Union prohibited American winemakers from using “Port” on labels (along with other terms including Champagne, Burgundy, Sherry, Chablis and Chianti). For many years here in the United States, there were no legal ramifications of using the term “Port” to refer to wines made in that style, so many producers started calling their sweet bottlings “Port” or “Port-style wine.” But other wine-producing regions have long borrowed the term to refer to their own fortified wines.

True Port comes from the Douro Valley of Portugal (just as authentic Champagne comes only from the Champagne region of France). Why are wineries outside of Portugal allowed to call their fortified wines Port?
