macliam

Well, you're in the right place for that! Douro, Dão, Bairrada, Tejo, Alentejo, all good - but the introduction of "foreign" vines is a double-edged sword. Thirty years ago, Portugal used a vast range if native grape types, but little by little these are being replaced.

In the Alentejo, the original "trinity" was periquita, trincadeira and aragonez. Now, periquita has been renamed to castelão (as it was always known in the north) and is less grown because it's a bit problematic. It's largely been replaced by alicante bouschet - which can make fine wines on it's own, but here is used in blends because it crops more readily than periquita and it's a "tintorera" as it's juice is already coloured without needing to be kept with the skins for a prolonged period.

Now there are single-variety Cabernet sauvignon and syrah - very good, but why compete with other countries when other indiginous varieties exist?

Cheers

mfesharne

I had Portuguese cable TV for some years so know how bad it is but hey, if that's your choice then go for it.

macliam

Via satellite, you're paying for the transport rather than the content..... or have MEO suddenly started making programs?

You also won't get UK programming - maybe BBC worldwide - and you get vast numbers of other channels of little use to the expats here. However, horses for courses. Glad you're happy with your service.

mfesharne

I pretty much always drink wine made withing a km or so of home which I think is made from the traditional grape & it's rather similar to a South African merlot but once open, it has to be drunk quite quickly....... but it's not much of a hardship. lol!

EMR

I have got news for you.
You do not live in the UK anymore.
If UK tv is that important for you or anyone else maybe you are in the wrong place.

macliam

Well I have news for you - I do for 6 months of the year - and I have property there and I pay my license fee. So another bad call.

Whether this were the case or not, people feel comfortable with what's familiar - and your suggestion that they are in some way wrong to feel that way says more about you than about them.

EMR

We do the same, we do not expect or believe we are entitled to anything from our UK lifestyle.
If we did we would not be in Portugal.

carvoeiro

i had the pleasure of a Jameson's 15yo pure potstill whiskey Millennium ltd edition over Christmas this year - i'd been saving it for a while - really enjoyable - all Jameson in essence but with a more rounded grown up flavour

i have a few other interesting malts and whiskeys tucked away
perhaps another thread

peterfc

You pay for your TV and leave the rest of use to get on with whatever we want to do.

Peter

carvoeiro

EMR

I will be watching TV while you and others are still scrambling around trying to find something for free.

Lorna at Vicenza

After only having Italian television for years which showed practically nothing but Benny Hill, Colombo, Murder She Wrote, Dallas (all dubbed) and some Italian shite, I was happy to pay for SKY.

SKY TV in Italy is not that great either with no British channels at all. We get American Fox channels.

When digital technology moved on it was great to be able to watch some British dramas or documentaries. Just because I live here doesn't mean that my life has to be 100% Italian.

EMR

I do not disagree with you but be prepared to pay for it and not complain when your previously free service is switched off.

The broadcasters limited by outdated agreements are missing out on a substantial revenue stream from their nationals living outside of their home countries..
Eventually they will catch up with the revenue potential digital technology provides.

macliam

So, now there's nothing wrong, in your opinion, with people wanting to see UK television? Well, I'm glad that's settled.

I have previously said that the national broadcasters are doing themselves a disservice by not catching up with the times, but it is (ironically) copyright law that prevents them, not technology. When national broadcasters actually start to sell "normal" content to the cable and satellite companies, other than just selections, then the market may change - but until then it will stay as now.

Nothing yet has stopped people accessing free-to-air broadcasts from any country, whether via streaming or use of VPNs, or other technologies. All that has happened in the case of Filmon is that a previously "free" service built a substantial user base and decided to monetize their operation. There is no moral or legal reason, their basis in law has not changed, they are just trying to make more cash than they were previously getting. So people will look to the next provider. The market will continue to be differentiated by quality and price. If no "free" option exists, then people will look for best value - and that's unlikely to be any of the existing satellite or cable companies.

Rather than criticising others for their choice of viewing or access, it would be far better if this forum provided REAL information on the options available to people - which is where it started.

EMR

I am not criticising anyone but the atitude that access must be free.
I have seen a report on this forum today that I player has made changes that is affecting access with certain VPNS being blocked.
What ever the reason viewers are finding it less convenient to access UK TV.