'Wine of the Dead' a Throwback to Napoleonic Era

IN THE SMALL TOWN OF Boticas, Portugal, a centuries-old tradition of making “wine of the dead” lives on. Despite its macabre name, this libation has less to do with death than it does with burial. In 19th-century Portugal, during a time of French invasions, people interred scores of bottles. The move, done out of fear that the wine would fall into enemy hands, led to an extraordinary discovery once the dust had settled.

In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte's army first started the march towards Lisbon. It was an attempt to force Portugal to join the Continental System—essentially a large-scale embargo against British trade. Despite Portugal's precarious isolation, and its place on the edge of a continent that bowed to Napoleon's rule, it had refused to join. They would refuse again, choosing instead to honor a long-lasting alliance with the United Kingdom.

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