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Ch44 Port

Terms in this set (25)

Port has been made since
the 18th century
Port Vineyard Areas from west to east and their relative climatic differences
- Baixo Corgo (coolest, wettest)
- Cima Corgo (hotter, drier)
- Douro Superior (hottest, driest)
The two port cities
- Porto
- Vila Nova de Gaia
Distance from the port cities to the vineyards
- 70 km
Climate of Port vineyards
- warm continental
- shielded from the Atlantic winds by the Serra do Marão
- daytime temperatures can be very high
- rainfall in the growing season is low
Port Climate hazards
- frosts in spring
- heavy rains can disrupt flowering and harvest
Port soil
- schist bedrock fractured vertically, allowing the vine roots access to deep water reserves
Port Topography
- steep slopes rising up from the river Douro and its tributaries
- temperature differences due to altitude
- northerly aspect can be used to avoid the full force of the sun

- narrow terraces (socalcos) supported by stone walls
- no mechanization possible
- expensive to maintain the walls

- newer terraces called patamares built wider to allow the user of tractors
- patameres do not have retaining walls

- vinha ao alto, no terraces, used on less steep slopes, planted in vertical rows running perpendicularly up the hillside

- erosion is always an issue
Port Grape Varieties
- a blend of thick skinned, high tannin, black fruit grapes

preferred:
- Touriga Franca
- Touriga Roriz
- Tinta Barroca
- Touriga Nacional
- Tinta Cão
Port Fermentation
- fermentation stopped at 5-9% abv by fortification
- typically 24-36 hours
- the short time frame requires a different approach to extracting colour
Port Foot Treading
- large teams of workers tread on the grapes for 3-4 hours in shallow granite troughs, or lagares
- once fermentation starts, the cap is regularly punched down
- rarely used today due to labour costs
Port Autovinifiers
- crushed grapes are placed in sealed vats
- CO2 pressure is created by fermentation pushing juice into a holding tank
- when pressure reaches a set level, an automatic value releases the gas
- the juice in the holding tank floods down and over the cap
- similar to pumping over, but cycles every 15-20 minutes while fermentation is most active
- newer models include paddles to aid in further extraction
Port Piston plungers and robotic lagares
- imitates foot treading
- several pistons in an open vat mimic the feet of humans
- continues to punch down the cap when the wine starts to ferment
- generally considered as good as foot treading
Port Fortification
- fortification spirit called aguardente, no stronger than 77% abv is used
- 19-22% resulting abv
- since port is only fermented to 5-9% abv the amount of spirit added is as much as 20% of the final volume
Port Maturation
- transported downstream to Vila Nova de Gaia
- the cooler coastal climate results in slow maturation
- tawny ports held in the Duoro where higher temperatures cause faster aging and result in quicker loss of colour
- air conditioning has made it possible to age in warehouses closer to the vineyards
- blending takes place during the maturation period
Port Maturation - vessel
- neutral oak is traditional, stainless is used now as well
Ruby Port Maturation
- predominantly primary fruit character
- minimal oxygen, short maturation in large vessels
Tawny Port Maturation
- long oxidative maturation in barrels called pipes
- turns garnet to tawny to brown with age
- primary fruit fades
- raisiny, walnut, coffee, chocolate, caramel
- throws their deposit while ageing and require little extra treatment to bottle
Inexpensive Ports - Ruby
- don't benefit from further bottle ageing
- typically a blend of wines from 1 to 3 years of age
- lack concentration, complexity, tannin
Inexpensive Ports - Tawny
- don't benefit from further bottle ageing
- typically young
- colour achieved via lower extraction, blending with white port, a period of hot maturation, and/or heavy fining
Reserve/Reserva Port
- ruby or tawny of higher quality
- suitability determined by an official tasting panel
- tawny must be aged for 6 years in wood to quality
Late Bottle Vintage Port (LBV)
- single vintage, aged for 4 to 6 years before bottling
- typically in large oak vessels
- usually fined and filtered
- ready to drink on release
- the unfiltered unfined type can age better in bottle
Tawny port with age statement
- longer period of oxidative maturation in pipes
- 10, 20, 30, or 40 years of average age of the blend
- must be consistent with the expected characteristics of the age
- label must state the year of the bottling
- complex and concentrated
Vintage Port
- producer must register their intent to produce a vintage port on the second year after the harvest (declaring a vintage)
- must be bottled no later than the third year after the harvest
- pre bottle ageing in large neutral vessels
- unfined and unfiltered
- concentrated and tannic on release
- capable of ageing for decades
- will throw a heavy sediment
- generally only produced 3 times a decade, there is not always a consensus on which years to declare
- generally a blend across a producers vineyards
Single Quinta Vintage Ports
- single estate, or quinta
- producers tend to release single quinta ports in non declared years when some estates have done much better than others.
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