Storms devastate port wine crop

? Much of the port wine crop in northern Portugal has been destroyed by severe storms, local officials said Friday.

The government Port and Douro Wines Institute, which gathers information on the industry, did not provide an official estimate of damage from the storms or what the overall effects could be on this year’s crop.

Several local officials, however, have said that up to 80 percent of the port wine crops in their districts was lost in the storms.

Port wine is produced in northern Portugal only, in three regions located in the Douro valley, expanding over nearly 620,000 acres of land. Vines cover approximately 15.4 percent of all the land in the region.

Portugal sold 24.7 million gallons of port wine in 2005, according to the Port and Douro Wines Institute.