History of Portuguese wine country unfavorable for viticulture, making the country a ready market for imported wines; its proximity to France, made French wines a natural source. At times the supply was threatened by political and military conflicts between the English and French crowns. New sources had to be found such as the wines of Portugal. Documents exist detailing Portuguese wine shipments from the Minho region to England occurring as early as the 12th century. These wines, including those from the wet northern region of modern-day Vinho Verde, were often light and astringent with noticeable acidity. Despite the new source, the variety of French
Giuseppe Verdi except in the matter of sunrise, which he likes to see up and dressed, and I from my bed." Nonetheless on 15 May, Verdi signed a contract with La Fenice for an opera for the following spring. This was to be "Simon Boccanegra". The couple stayed in Paris until January 1857 to deal with these proposals, and also the offer to stage the translated version of "Il trovatore" as a grand opera. Verdi and Strepponi travelled to Venice in March for the premiere of "Simon Boccanegra", which turned out to be "a fiasco" (as Verdi reported, although on the second