Port Wine

Port Wine is a fortified wine, as defined in EU legislation. It is produced in the Demarcated Region of the Douro under very specific conditions resulting from natural and human factors. The winemaking procedures, based on traditional methods, include stopping the fermentation of the must by adding grape brandy (benefício), making up lots of wine and ageing the wine.

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 flavour, a high alcohol content (usually between 19 and 22% vol.), a vast range of degrees of sweetness and a assortment of colours. There is a set of categories that identify the different types of Port Wine.

The different types of red Port vary in colour from deep purple to light gold, with a range of intermediary hues (tawny, golden tawny, golden and light gold). White Port comes in various shades (pale yellow, straw and golden white), all intimately related to the winemaking technique used. When aged in cask for many years, white wines acquire, through a natural oxidation, a golden hue that is very similar to that of a very old tawny wine.

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 colour 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. We particularly recommend LBV and Vintage.

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 colour 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. We particularly recommended a Tawny with an Indication of Age and Colheita.

White Port

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% (Light Dry White Port) capable of meeting the demand for less alcoholic Ports.

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Douro Wines

Because of the various technological choices currently available, Douro wines are made in a wide range of styles.

White wines can be fresh, with fruity and floral aromas and an intense bouquet, and these should be consumed young.  One can also find white wines that have fermented or aged in wood.  These are wines with complex aromas of tropical fruit, with a touch of almonds, buttery, full-bodied and with a potential for ageing.

Red wines may be young, with aromas of cherry and raspberry, rounded and ready to be consumed as soon as they are bottled.

The Douro Region is also particularly suitable for making red wines for ageing.  When these are young, they are a deep purple, with aromas of black fruit, chocolate, violet and touches of wood, in the event that one choose this type of ageing.  These full-bodied and powerful wines in their youth become complex and delicate when they reach their peak.

Today, there are two distinctly different ways of making a Douro wine.  The traditional method, where the grapes are trod in a lagar – a wide, shallow granite tank – produces wines with more colour and tannins which, generally speaking, improves their potential for ageing.  On the other hand, there is a more modern method that has risen in popularity, where the wines are made in stainless steel tanks under controlled temperatures.  The latter wines are more elegant and the aromas of the wine are better preserved.  Some winemakers use both winemaking techniques in order to obtain more complex wines.

There have also been changes in the manner by which these wines are aged before they are bottled.  Traditionally, the wines were aged in large wooden vats although these are being gradually replaced by oak casks or by stainless steel tanks.

For more information on Port wines and other wines of the Douro region click on the following link:

http://www.ivp.pt/index.asp?idioma=1