In his book Rich Rare and Red, (Wine Appreciation Guild, SF, 2003) Ben Hawkins writes "...in 1093, a young French adventurer, Count Henry of Burgundy, married Teresa the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso Vi of Castile and Leon; the king threw in the then obscure Country of Portugal as part of the dowry. The count, being a cousin of of the powerful Duke of Burgundy, was partial to the sword and the grape. It is said that the native Galician wines were too thin for his robust taste and that he became homesick for the rich strong wines of his home country; so he imported cuttings of the Pinot Noir grape variety from Burgundy into Portugal hoping to producer fuller wines. The Portuguese, with diluted chauvinism soon renamed this the Tinta Francisca. Today Tinta Francisca is still one of the dominant grape varieties used in the Douro Valley." (page 6.)
Pinot Noir as one of the main grapes of Port? I'd always heard it attributed to other french varietals. Anybody know anything on this point?