Port is a 'fortified' wine that originates in the Douro Valley, Portugal. The valley stretches east from the city of Oporto to the border with Spain. The term "port wine" can only refer to these wines, much like French regions lay claim to certain titles. Port first became popular when the English were at war with France, and could therefore not drink French wines. The English went in search of a new location to set up vineyards, and the Duoro Valley proved to be quite suitable. The vineyards are laid out along very steep hills, terraced to provide footing for the vines. In the seafaring days when this occurred, something had to be done to wine to allow it to survive the long ocean journeys. Brandy was added to allow the wine to last longer, and to be more resistant to temperature changes. Wines altered like this were called "fortified wines", and port is one of the more famous of the fortifieds. There are 48 authorized grape varieties which can go into a port. The most common are 8 red and 8 white, with tinta rariz, tinta francisca, touriga nacional and touriga francesca topping the list. Port is kept in oak for a relatively short time, and depending on the quality of the year, is blended with other years for a consistant taste. It is then fortified and aged in bottles. Every Quinta, or 'house', determines its own vintage years. Port should be served around 65 degrees, in a narrow wine glass, and the glass should only be half filled. This keeps the alcoholic content from overwhelming the flavors. It often needs to be decanted, and is traditionally served with Stilton or cheddar cheese. Port also goes very well with chocolate. Port aromas include pepper, smoke, truffles and black currant. "Standard" port should be drunk within a year or two of purchase. Vintage Port peaks at around 20 years for good quality port. Ports should also be stored differently depending on their type. The Standard port, with the stopper-with-plastic-top, is not meant to be aged. It should be stored upright, so the cork does not have any contact with the liquid within. Vintage ports, on the other hand, are meant to be aged and have a different, "normal" cork. These should be stored on their sides like any other wine. A vintage port, once opened, loses its flavor quickly (again, like wine). It should be drunk within 24 hours of decanting if possible. The standard port, on the other hand, can last much longer. If kept corked (stopped), it can last between one (Ruby) and four (Tawny) months before its flavor is lost. There are five general types of port wine: -White, a simple multi-year blend, can be sweet or dry. -Ruby and tawny ports, also multi-year blends, are usually sweet, and are older ports. -Dated ports are quality wines, usually of a "tawny" type, and are marked as to their age. -Harvest ports are not blended, and are aged at least 7 years. -Vintage port is a single harvest and of the highest quality.

Play more! Seriously, the only way is to keep on playing. Your fingers will toughen up quickly.

Keep playing until you develop callouses on your fingers.

wear mittens

You have to limit your playing at first. You should play to the point where your fingers are sore, but not blistering. Eventually, over several weeks, you will develop callouses and then you can play all day.

They're called "picks."

Practice enough to get calouses. Then it won't bother you anymore. Takes a couple of weeks. It's worth it.

"Dit Da Jow" ... learn how to make & apply it ... http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/285374 .

Beavis is right. That and maybe a product called "FingerEase". It's a string lubricant that comes in a spray can. I'm not sure if it has any bad effects on strings, like aging them quicker or changing sound slightly. Pretty sure it's available at most musical instrument stores or online. It should help on the neck area, not sure about over the pickup area.

Use a pick and be gentle.

You have to keep practicing every day until you develop calouses.

if playin hurts your fingers, than you're not practiced enough. also make sure you grow your nails properly. this is VERY important for fingerpicking. too short fingernails means you have to pick harder which makes it hurt, not to mention sound bad...

it happens to us all. After a while your finger tips will toughen up, and they won't blister so much. Just keep practicing! Use the pain to add emotion into your music, lol!