Port Wine

is a Portuguese fortified wine produced with distilled grape spirits exclusively in the Douro Valley

After centuries of port wine's success, other port-style fortified wines started to be produced outside Portugal, in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. However, under the European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only products from Portugal are allowed to be labelled "port" or "Porto".There are no rules to grant the authenticity of selling port wines in the United States, and so the ports sold in American stores can be from anywhere in the world. To solve this problem in North America and other countries, Porto's authentic producers started exporting port with an authenticity stamp on their bottles.

Region and production

The vineyards that produce port wine are common along the hillsides that flank the valley of the River Douro in northern Portugal.

Port is produced from grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro region. The wine produced is then fortified by the addition of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content. The fortification spirit is sometimes referred to as brandy, but it bears little resemblance to commercial brandies. The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a lodge (meaning "cellar") as is the case in Vila Nova de Gaia, before being bottled. The wine received its name, "port", in the latter half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe. The Douro valley where port wine is produced was defined and established as a protected region, and the name Douro thus an official appellation, in 1756, making it the third oldest, after Chianti (1716) and Tokaj (1730).

The reaches of the valley of the Douro River in northern Portugal have a microclimate that is optimal for cultivation of olives, almonds, and especially grapes important for making port wine. The region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira is considered to be the centre of port production, and is known for its picturesque quintas – estates clinging on to almost vertical slopes dropping down to the river.

Wine regions

The demarcation of the Douro River Valley includes a broad swath of land of pre-Cambrian schist and granite. Beginning around the village of Barqueiros (about 70 km (43 mi) upstream from Porto), the valley extends eastward almost to the Spanish border. The region is protected from the influences of the Atlantic Ocean by the Serra do Marão mountains. The area is sub-divided into three official zones: the Baixo (lower) Corgo, the Cima (higher) Corgo and the Douro Superior.

Baixo Corgo – The westernmost zone located downstream from the river Corgo, centred on the municipality of Peso da Régua. This region is the wettest port production zone, receiving an annual average 900 millimetres (35 in) of precipitation, and has the coolest average temperature of the three zones. The grapes grown here are used mainly for the production of inexpensive ruby and tawny ports.

Cima Corgo – Located upstream from the Baixo Corgo, this region is centred on the town of Pinhão (municipality of Alijó). The summertime average temperature of the region is a few degrees higher, and annual rainfall is about 200 millimetres (7.9 in) less. The grapes grown in this zone are considered of higher quality, being used in bottlings of Vintage, Reserve, aged Tawny and Late Bottled Vintage Ports.

Douro Superior – The easternmost zone, extending almost to the Spanish border. This is the least cultivated region of Douro, due in part to the difficulties of navigating the river past the rapids of Cachão da Valeira. This is the most arid and warmest region of the Douro. The overall terrain is relatively flat, with the potential for mechanization.

Grapes

See also: List of Port wine grapes

Over a hundred varieties of grapes (castas) are sanctioned for port production, although only five (Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional) are widely cultivated and used. Touriga Nacional is widely considered the most desirable port grape but the difficulty in growing it and the small yields cause Touriga Francesa to be the most widely planted grape. White ports are produced the same way as red ports, except that they use white grapes – Donzelinho Branco, Esgana-Cão, Folgasão, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato and Viosinho. While a few shippers have experimented with Ports produced from a single variety of grapes, all Ports commercially available are from a blend of different grapes. Since the Phylloxera crisis, most vines are grown on grafted rootstock, with the notable exception of the Nacional area of Quinta do Noval, which, since being planted in 1925, has produced some of the most expensive vintage ports.

Grapes grown for port are generally characterized by their small, dense fruit which produce concentrated and long-lasting flavours, suitable for long ageing. While the grapes used to produce port made in Portugal are strictly regulated by the Instituto do Vinho do Porto, wines from outside this region which describe themselves as port may be made from other varieties.

Styles

Port Wine styles – white, ruby, tawny, vintage

Different port wine styles – white, ruby, tawny, vintage

Aging in wooden barrels

Port from Portugal comes in several styles, which can be divided into two broad categories: wines matured in sealed glass bottles, and wines that have matured in wooden barrels.

The former, without exposure to air, experience what is known as "reductive" ageing. This process leads to the wine losing its color very slowly and produces a wine which is smoother on the palate and less tannic.

The latter, being matured in wooden barrels, whose permeability allows a small amount of exposure to oxygen, experience what is known as "oxidative" aging. They too lose color, but at a faster pace. They also lose volume to evaporation (angel's share), leaving behind a wine that is slightly more viscous.

The IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto) further divides port into two categories: normal ports (standard rubies, three-year-old tawnies, and white ports) and Categorias Especiais, special categories, which include everything else.

Ruby

Rabelos, a type of boat traditionally used to transport barrels of port down the River Douro for storage and aging in caves at Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto

Ruby port is the least expensive and most extensively produced type of port. After fermentation, it is stored in tanks of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative aging and preserve its bright red color and full-bodied fruitiness. The wine is usually blended to match the style of the brand to which it is to be sold. The wine is fined and cold filtered before bottling and does not generally improve with age, although premium rubies are aged in wood from four to six years.

Reserve

Reserve ruby is a premium ruby port approved by the IVDP's tasting panel, the Câmara de Provadores. In 2002 the IVDP prohibited the use of the term "vintage character", as reserve ruby port had neither a single vintage (usually being a blend of several vintages of ruby) nor the typical character of vintage port.

Rose

Rose port is a very recent variation on the market, first released in 2008 by Poças and by Croft, part of the Taylor Fladgate Partnership. It is technically a ruby port, but fermented in a similar manner to a rosé wine, with a limited exposure to the grape skins, thus creating the rose color.

Tawny

Tawny ports are wines usually made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result of this oxidation, they mellow to a golden-brown color. The exposure to oxygen imparts "nutty" flavours to the wine, which is blended to match the house style. They are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine, but can also pair with a main course.

When a port is described as tawny, without an indication of age, it is a basic blend of wood-aged port that has spent time in wooden barrels, typically at least three years.

Reserve tawny port (produced by Borges, Calem, Croft, Cruz, Graham, Kopke and other houses) has been aged about seven years.

Above this are tawnies with an indication of age, which represent a blend of several vintages. The target age profile, in years in wood, is stated on the label, usually 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. These ports are produced by most houses.

It is also possible to produce an aged white port in this manner, with some shippers now marketing aged white ports.

Note: in some places, such as Canada, tawny may also be used to describe any port-style wine that is not produced in Portugal as per agreement with EU.

Colheita

A Colheita port is a single-vintage tawny port aged for at least seven years, with the vintage year on the bottle instead of a category of age (10, 20, etc.). Colheita port should not be confused with vintage port: a vintage port will spend only about 18 months in barrels after harvest and will continue to mature in bottle, but a Colheita may have spent 20 or more years in wooden barrels before being bottled and sold. White Colheitas have also been produced.

Garrafeira

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Unusual and rare, vintage-dated Garrafeira combines the oxidative maturation of years in wood with further reductive maturation in large glass demijohns. It is required by the IVDP that wines spend some time in wood, usually between three and six years, followed by at least a further eight years in glass, before bottling. In practice the times spent in glass are much longer. The style is most closely associated with the company Niepoort, although others do exist. Their dark green demijohns, affectionately known as bon-bons, hold approximately 11 litres (2.4 imp gal; 2.9 US gal) each. Some connoisseurs describe Garrafeira as having a slight taste of bacon, although many people will neither notice nor understand such a description; the reason being that, during the second phase of maturation, certain oils may precipitate, causing a film to form across the surface of the glass that can be tasted by those who are accustomed to the difference between Garrafeira and other forms of port.

Confusingly, the word Garrafeira may also be found on some very old tawny labels, where the contents of the bottle are of exceptional age.

White port

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White port is made from white grapes, such as Malvasia Fina, Donzelinho, Gouveio, Codega and Rabigato, and can be made in a wide variety of styles, although until recently few shippers have produced anything other than a standard product. Ordinary white ports make an excellent basis for a cocktail while those of greater age are best served chilled on their own. Sweet white port and tonic water is a commonly consumed drink in the Porto region. There is a range of styles of white port, from dry to very sweet. Taylor's introduced Chip Dry, a new style of white apéritif Port, in 1934. Made from traditional white grape varieties, it is fermented for longer than usual to give it a crisp dry finish. Lagrima, meaning "Tears", is the name for the sweetest style of white Port. In addition to this type of wine, there is the White Port Colheita, which is obtained from a single harvest and ages in huge tanks acquiring a straw color, has mature and elegant aromas and flavours, featuring fruity and wooden notes, and the White Port with an indication of age, which is an elegant, full-bodied and rich Port, obtained from the blend of different wines with the same average age. When white ports are matured in wood for long periods, the color darkens, eventually reaching a point where it can be hard to discern (from appearance alone) whether the original wine was red or white.

Late bottled vintage (LBV)

Late bottled vintage (often referred to simply as LBV) was originally wine that had been destined for bottling as vintage port, but because of lack of demand was left in the barrel for longer than had been planned. Over time it has become two distinct styles of wine, both of them bottled between four and six years after the vintage, but one style is fined and filtered before bottling, while the other is not.

The accidental origin of late bottled vintage has led to more than one company claiming its invention. The earliest known reference to a style of port with this name in a merchant's list is to be found in The Wine Society's catalogue from 1964, which includes Fonseca's Quinta Milieu 1958, bottled in the UK, also in 1964. By the 1962 vintage, LBV was being produced in Portugal and bottled as LBV.

LBV is intended to provide some of the experience of drinking a vintage port but without the need for lengthy bottle ageing. To a limited extent it succeeds, as the extra years of oxidative ageing in barrel does mature the wine more quickly.

Unfiltered

Unfiltered LBVs are mostly bottled with conventional driven corks and need to be decanted. After decanting they should be consumed within a few days. Recent bottlings are identified by the label "unfiltered", or "bottle matured", or both. Since the 2002 regulations, bottles that carry the words "bottle matured" must have enjoyed at least three years of bottle maturation before release. Before 2002 this style was often marketed as '"traditional", a description that is no longer permitted. Unfiltered LBV will usually be improved by extra years in the bottle. It can age as long as Vintage Ports and are very difficult to identify as LBVs when inserted into blind tastings of Vintage Ports.

Filtered

A bottle of filtered New York State, Kosher Port wine

The filtered wine has the advantage of being ready to drink without decanting and is usually bottled in a stoppered bottle that can be easily resealed. However, many wine experts feel that this convenience comes at a price and believe that the filtration process strips out much of the character of the wine.

Typically ready to drink when released, filtered LBV ports tend to be lighter bodied than a vintage port. Filtered LBVs can improve with age, but only to a limited degree.

Crusted

Crusted port is usually a blend of several vintages. Unlike vintage port, which has to be sourced from grapes from a single vintage, crusted port affords the port blender the opportunity to make best use of the varying characteristics of different vintages.

Crusted port is bottled unfiltered, and sealed with a driven cork. Like vintage port it needs to be decanted before drinking.

Vintage port

Delaforce 1985 Vintage Port

Vintage ports may be aged in barrels or stainless steel for a maximum of two and a half years before bottling, and generally require another 10 to 40 years of aging in the bottle before reaching what is considered a proper drinking age. Since they are potentially aged in cask for only a short time, they retain their dark ruby color and fresh fruit flavours. Particularly fine vintage ports can continue to gain complexity for many decades after they were bottled. It is not uncommon for 19th-century bottles to still be in perfect condition for consumption. The oldest known vintage port still[when?] available from a shipper is the 1815 Ferreira. A tasting in 1990 described it as having an "intensely spicy aroma – cinnamon, pepper and ginger – hints of exotic woods, iodine and wax."

Vintage port is made entirely from the grapes of a declared vintage year. While it is by far the most renowned type of port, from a volume and revenue standpoint, vintage port accounts for only about two percent of overall port production. Not every year is declared a vintage in the Douro. The decision on whether to declare a vintage is made early in the second year following the harvest. The decision to declare a vintage is made by each individual port house, often referred to as a "shipper."

Much of the complex character of aged vintage port comes from the continued slow decomposition of grape solids in each bottle. These solids are undesirable when port is consumed, and thus vintage port typically requires a period of settling before decanting and pouring.

Single quinta vintage port

Single quinta vintage ports are wines that originate from a single estate, unlike the standard bottlings of the port wine houses which can be sourced from a number of quintas. Single quinta bottlings are used in two ways by producers. Most of the large port wine houses have a single quinta bottling which is only produced in some years when the regular vintage port of the house is not declared. In those years, wine from their best quinta is still bottled under a vintage designation, rather than being used for simpler port qualities.

ref.: wikipedia