The Story of Port
Port
Wine is a fortified wine, as defined in EU legislation. It is produced in the
Demarcated Region of the
According
to traditional winemaking methods used for making certain types of Port Wine,
after the grapes have been de-stemmed (separated from the stalks), they are
crushed in “lagares” (open stone treading tanks with a maximum height of 60
cm). This operation, the treading, is traditionally performed by men and women
although it may also be done with mechanical devices that simulate the action of
the feet. After the first such crushing, the fermenting must is left to rest for
some hours, after which it is again crushed until such a time as the fermenting
must is separated from the solid matter in the juice (running off) and the
brandy is added.
Today,
most of these wines are made in highly technical wineries that associate quality
with profitability. In these wineries, most operations are mechanized. Once the
grapes have been fully or partially de-stemmed, the grapes are crushed and
pumped into vats where they ferment for 2 to 3 days. During this period the
juice is pumped over several times to extract the maximum of color from the
skins.
White
wines may be made differently. According to the traditional methods, it is made
with some maceration and in these cases it ages in conditions that lead it to
oxidate. The time of maceration is reduced for wines in which the winemaker
wishes to keep a pale color and the fresh aromas.
Fortification
with Brandy or Benefício
Fortifying
the wine with brandy gives the wine specific organoleptic characteristics,
improves the chemical stability and at the same time helps control the final
degree of sweetness of the wine. Thus, fermentation must continue until the
amount of unfermented sugars in the wine gives it the desired sweetness. The
fermenting must is then separated from the solid matter (run off) and pumped
into vats where the fermentation is stopped by adding grape brandy in set
proportions.
Port
Wine stands out from ordinary wines due to its unique characteristics: an
enormous variety of types that surprise us with the wealth and intensity of
their incomparable aromas, a highly persistent aroma and flavor, a high alcohol
content (usually between 19 and 22% vol.), a vast range of degrees of sweetness
and a assortment of colors. There is a set of categories that identify the
different types of Port Wine.
The
different types of red Port vary in color from deep purple to light gold, with a
range of intermediary hues (tawny, golden tawny, golden and light gold).
In
terms of sweetness, Port can be very sweet, sweet, semi-dry or extra dry. Just
how sweet a wine will be is a choice made during production; it depends on when
the brandy is added to stop the fermentation of the wine
Port Wines can be divided into two major categories according to the manner by which they are aged.
Ruby
Style
Are
wines in which the winemaker looks to restrain the evolution of their deep red
color and maintain the fruit and strength of a young wine.
This is the type of wine that you will find in the following categories,
in ascending order of quality: Ruby, Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and
Vintage. The finest category wines, especially Vintage, followed by LBV, are
good for storing as they age well in bottle.
Tawny
Style
Are
obtained from lots of different wines that have aged for different lengths of
time in casks or in vats. With age, the color of the wines slowly develops into
tawny, medium tawny or light tawny, with a bouquet of dried fruits and wood; the
older the wine, the stronger these aromas. The present categories in this style
are: Tawny, Tawny Reserve, Tawny with an Indication of Age (10, 20, 30 and 40
years old) and Colheita. These are blends of wines from several years, except
for Colheitas, wines of a single year that are similar to an aged Tawny of the
same age. These wines are ready to drink when they are bottled.
Varies
in style according to whether it has aged for a shorter or longer period of
time, and different degrees of sweetness according to the manner by which it is
made. In addition to the traditional White Ports, there now are other wines with
a floral and complex aroma and a minimum alcohol content of 16.5% (
The
various types of Port Wine are all duly regulated and correspond to the
following designations:
Vintage
Is a
wine of exceptional quality made in a single year. It must be bottled between
the second and third year after the harvest; it is deep purple in color and
full-bodied.
Presenting
exceptional organoleptic characteristics, the wine must be very full-bodied and
deep purple when it is approved as a Vintage (when the wine is two years old).
As it ages in bottle it becomes smooth and elegant, and it gradually loses its
initial astringency and acquires a balanced, complex and highly distinctive
bouquet. The aromas of Vintages that have aged several years in bottle are
associated with roasting (chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cigar box), spices
(cinnamon, pepper...) and, sometimes, ripe fruit.
L.B.V.
(Late Bottled Vintage)
Are
wines of a superior quality from a single year that are bottled between the
fourth and sixth year after they were made.
These
are red wines of great finesse and distinction upon them. They are full-bodied,
smooth and with a varying fruity aroma and may reveal some evolution, depending
on the length of time they spent in wood. Usually less astringent and less full
bodied that a Vintage from the same year, although equally well balanced, they
possess a smoothness and elegance that are more or less marked according to the
house style.
Colheita
or Dated Port
Are
superior quality wines from a single year that are aged in wood during varying
periods of time, but never less than 7 years, before bottling.
Whilst
they age in cask, the young, fruity and fresh aromas undergo changes through
oxidation and give way to a bouquet in which the foremost aromas are of dried
fruits, roasting, wood and spices. As they age, they improve in smoothness,
balance, their bouquet becomes more complex, and their color changes towards the
golden; very old wines may even have green nuances.
Port
with an Indication of Age: 10 years old; 20 years old; 30 years old; 40 years
old
These
superior quality Ports are obtained by blending wines from different years in
order to obtain complementary organoleptic characteristics. Aged in wood for
varying periods of time, the age that is indicated on the label corresponds to
the approximate average age of the different wines in the blend. From that age,
one obtains an indication of the characteristics the wine acquired as it aged in
wood.
In the
mouth, they are smooth and well balanced and they have a very persistent aroma.
Reserve
Are
very good quality wines obtained by blending wines with different ages. In this
category, the most notable are the Tawny Reserve Ports. They are medium tawny in
color and present aromas of dried fruits, toasting and wood, resulting from
their compulsory minimum 7 years' aging in wood, with some hints of fresh fruit.
In the mouth, one particularly notes the characteristic smoothness of wines aged
in wood.
In
turn, Ruby Reserve Ports, a blend of younger wines that gives them their ruby
color and intense and fruity bouquet, are full-bodied and tannic in the mouth,
but less so than Vintage and LBV.
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