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port; Porto; Port DOC

A sweet FORTIFIED WINE most often served after a meal. Port originated in northern Portugal’s Douro Valley, and the best ports still come from that area. The name port derives from the fact that these wines are shipped out of the Portugese city of Oporto; in fact, such wines (true ports) are labeled “Porto” rather than port. Today there’s a specific demarcated region (Port DOC) in the Douro Valley. This region has established rules for producing quality port wines. To make port, a neutral grape alcohol is added to the wine partway through FERMENTATION. This stops the fermentation process while the wine still has plenty of natural sweetness (9 to 10 percent RESIDUAL SUGAR) and boosts the alcohol level to 18 to 20 percent. The wines are then generally shipped from the Douro Valley across the river to the town of Vila Nova de Gaia, which is replete with LODGES (warehouses) for AGING the wines. Wines left to age in the Douro often develop what’s called the Douro bake, a baked character that’s a result of the hotter climate there. Although there are many types of port wine (which can make labels confusing), there are four basic categories—vintage, ruby, tawny, and white. Vintage ports are regarded by many as the best; they’re also the most expensive. They are made from grapes of a single VINTAGE and bottled within 2 years. Vintage ports are made only with grapes from the best sites and from the best vintages, and not every year is declared—a port firm won’t produce a traditional vintage port in undeclared years (those not considered the best). Wines from years that aren’t declared go into other types of port wine. The very best vintage ports can age 50 years or more. Ruby ports are made from lower-quality batches of wine, which are aged in wood for about 2 years. The wine is bottled while it still exhibits youth, fruitiness, and a bright red color. Ruby ports are generally the least expensive. Tawny ports are made from a blend of grapes from several different years; they can be aged in wood for as long as 40 years. They’re tawny in color and ready to drink when bottled. The labels on the best tawny ports stipulate the time that they’ve matured—10, 20, 30, or 40 years. Inexpensive tawny ports are created by blending white port and ruby port. Ruby and tawny ports are sometimes called wood ports or wood-aged ports. Many grapes can be used for red (vintage, ruby, and tawny) ports, but the main ones are Tinta Barroca, TINTO CÃO, Tinta Roriz (TEMPRANILLO), TOURIGA FRANCESA, and TOURIGA NACIONAL. White ports are produced the same way that red ports are produced except that they use white grapes—Esgana Cão (SERCIAL), Folgasão, MALVASIA, Rabigato, VERDELHO, and Viosinho. If the producer wants a drier (see DRY) style of white port, a longer fermentation is allowed. The subsequent wine is generally consumed as an APÉRITIF. Within the four basic categories of port are many types. Single-quinta ports are essentially vintage ports produced from a single high-quality wine estate. They’re usually made in years when a port firm doesn’t declare a traditional vintage port; however, some port producers have started to make them in declared years. In many cases, these single-quinta ports are not quite as rich or intense as the standard vintage ports. On the other hand, some port firms believe that single-quinta bottlings should be even better and consider them comparable to RESERVE wines. The Quinta de Vargellas from Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman is an example of a single-quinta port. Second label vintage ports are produced when a port firm thinks that a traditional vintage port should not be declared but that the vintage is still quite good. A second label vintage port, like a traditional one, is made from the better wines from various sites. Graham’s Malvedos is an example of a second label vintage port. Late-bottled vintage ports (LBV) and colheita ports (also called single-vintage ports or dated ports) are made from grapes of a single vintage, even though the quality of the grapes is not as high as that for vintage ports. LBVs are aged in wood from 4 to 6 years and are considered high-quality ruby ports; colheita ports have been wood-aged at least 7 years and fall into the tawny port category. Both are ready to drink when bottled and do not have the aging potential of vintage ports. Crusted ports—a blend of two or three wines from different vintages—are aged for 3 or 4 years before being bottled. Like vintage port, crusted port improves with age in the bottle. It derives its name from the deposit or CRUST that is thrown during this aging process. Crusted port is not often made today and has been replaced primarily by late-bottled vintage port. Vintage character ports are essentially high-quality ruby ports. They’re blended from several vintages and wood-aged, but not nearly as long as tawny port. They’re the lightest and fruitiest in flavor and are ready to drink when bottled. In countries outside of Portugal, port is a generic name for wines modeled after the Portuguese originals. Inexpensive “ports” will usually simply use names like Ruby or Tawny. The better ones will be vintage ports and may possibly be a VARIETAL WINE either made from native Portuguese varieties or perhaps ZINFANDEL or CABERNET SAUVIGNON.
Related Links: fortification, fermentation, residual sugar (RS), Vila Nova de Gaia
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc.
1995 based on THE WINE LOVER'S COMPANION,
by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst.

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