Caves Cálem

This guide to Caves Calem in Porto follows a young Portuguese merchant, Antonio Alves Calem, who broke from the two centuries of tradition that sent all port wine north to London and instead sent his own ships south and west to Brazil starting in 1859. It traces the unusual trade that gamble built, port sailing out, rare timber sailing back, and how a small caravel ended up painted on every bottle the firm makes. Stand in the cellars themselves, steps from the river those ships once left from, while you listen.