2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Port wine or port is a Portuguese fortified liqueur wine that has a pleasant dark golden color and a harmonious taste. Port wine is produced in the northeastern part of Portugal, in the valley of the Douro River.
Although port is considered the epitome of English wine, its roots are in Portugal. Port wine is undoubtedly one of the emblems of the southern European country, the namesake of the second largest city in the country - the beautiful Porto.
History of port
In the middle of the distant 14th century there was a trade agreement between Lisbon, Porto and London. Under Henry III, the British established a number of sales offices in Lisbon, Porto and Vienna. The British have always preferred French wines, but when at war with the French, they turn to Portuguese wines.
In 1678, at the Lamego Monastery on the Douro River (about 90 km from Porto), the abbot offered two English merchants a very light, delicate and sweet red wine, which they preferred to everything served to them so far. The abbot explained that before the final fermentation of the wine he added wine distillate.
In order for this newly discovered wine to become a commercial product that can retain its qualities during transport to England, a way must be found to stabilize it. For this purpose, a certain amount of distillate was added to it before it was loaded on merchant ships, but long after its fermentation was complete. It was not until 1730 that the practice of adding the distillate was finally established during the distillation and the characteristic wine was formed. port wine, known to this day.
A curious fact is that the port wine production area is the first classified wine region in the world. In 1756, the Marquis de Pombal defined the area where port wine was produced in Portugal - along the Douro River and its tributaries, south of the city of Regua to the Spanish border.
Production of port wine
Nowadays most of the wine port wine is produced by modern technologies. However, there are still producers who use traditional methods for its production, among which are crushing the grapes with their feet in special granite baths. It takes 2-3 days to ferment port. Because port wine is fortified wine, alcohol is added at a specific stage and thus its fermentation stops.
The addition of alcohol is done when about ½ of the natural grape sugar has already turned into alcohol. Given the short fermentation period of port wine, it is very important to get the maximum aroma, color and tannins from the grapes.
During the winter months, the wine is aged in oak barrels and then transported to the town of Villa Nova de Gaia. During the ripening period, the port is poured from barrel to barrel to separate the sediment.
The highest quality port wine falls into the special category Vintage Porto. According to their quality, the other wines fall into the categories of Bottled Vintage, Late, Colheita, Rubi, Aged Tawny and others. Most of the wines from the exclusive Vintage category are aged in the cellars of Villa Nova de Gaia.
To enter the exclusive category, a wine must be tasted several times a month for several years.
Undoubtedly the maturation of port wine in barrels affects its properties. Unlike most dry wines, port must be aged in oak barrels for a period of between 3 and 6 years. It is important to note that this is regulated by a special law. This is the defined period, which is considered optimal for the oxidation of wine through the oxygen entering through the pores of the wood.
Meanwhile, the high tannin content decreases. Another interesting point in the production of the unique Portuguese wine is that only three types of barrels made of Portuguese, American and French oak can be used for its maturation.
Characteristics of port wine
Undoubtedly port wine is the most common wine in the category of special wines. It has a harmonious, full, light and very silky taste. Port has well-defined fruit and especially strawberry tones. Some types of port have a taste of floral, almond and orange tones, as well as pleasant shades of honey, strawberry, peach, melon and pineapple.
Like sparkling champagne, port is the end result of mixing several wines. It usually mixes at least 15 wines that have different quality and are of different ages. The youngest of the wines used gives the fresh and rich fruity taste of port, and the oldest forms its consistency. The other wines in the composition are responsible for the softness, saturation and delicacy of the taste. After mixing the wines, the port is aged for at least 3 years.
Port differs from other types of wine in its alcohol content (19-22%), color and sweetness.
Types of port wine
Under Portuguese law, port can only be labeled as 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years old. In order to be entitled to obtain this label, the trader must prove that he has in his store sufficient wine from that vintage and that his character corresponds to the age declared.
The finest and quality representatives of the wine - Tawny Ports are among the elite of the region. They do not form a precipitate, therefore they do not need decantation.
Vintage Port is an exclusive type of port from a special year, produced from the best vineyards. The dense and intense taste develops slowly and reaches its excellent shape after 20 years.
Colheita Port is another type of high quality port from a vintage. It is aged in a barrel before its sale, and the minimum term is 8 years, and it does not need decanting.
White Port is another species port winewhich is made from white grapes. It has a golden color and is almost dry or sweet, which users can find out from the inscription on the label.
The most accessible and widespread port wine is Ruby Port. This is a young and dense wine from different vintages, aged in barrels. It is usually sold after the age of three.
Tawny ports are sweet or semi-dry wines. They are most often consumed as dessert wines. They have a pleasant golden-brown color and taste of nuts.
Serving port wine
The white one port wine is ideal for an aperitif, and the fragrant red and sweet types are a great end to dinner, served with pastries, savory biscuits, nuts and cheese. Dark port is also served at the end of the evening as a great way to improve digestion. Mature Tawny port goes great with rich, sharp and blue cheeses.
The usual Tawny port is served with strong hard cheeses like cheddar. Ten-year-old brown port is a great company of pies with puff pastry and banana cream. In general, experts define dark chocolate cakes and aromatic cheeses as the most pleasant company of this liqueur wine.
Benefits of port
Although port wine has a higher sugar and alcohol content than other types of wine, it also has health benefits because it is drunk in smaller quantities. Port is characterized by excellent content of minerals, vitamins and considerable nutritional value. This wine is an excellent source of resveratrol - an excellent fighter against heart problems, prostate cancer and Alzheimer's.
Recommended:
Wine And The Holidays: A Few Tips On How To Enjoy Them Together
Cheerful, noisy and glamorous - the holidays are here. As fabulous for the gifts, as warming for the toasts. And although the dishes are the heroes of the festive table, you should know - they are as important as the drinks. Wine is the one without which neither oysters nor goose liver, smoked salmon, game or truffles will show their true side.
Cheers For The Great Dinner! 6 Secrets Of Cooking With Wine
Red or white, heavy or light, wine is always a reason for good mood. Loaded with flavors, overflowing with aromas, it boils with enough energy to love it forever. And when all this wealth, gathered in a glass bottle, is combined with food, the charm turns into magic.
The Secrets Of Good Wine
The wine is a good company for every season - in the summer it is more suitable white wine, well chilled, and why not rose. The winter season is great for red dark wine, which warms you up from the first sip. But in order to experience all this pleasure of wines - regardless of their color, some technology must be followed.
White Wine
Every sommelier in the world knows the basic law - meat to be served with red wine and fish - with white. This postulate was even proven some time ago by science, when Japanese experts confirmed the rule. They analyzed almost 100 varieties of wine for months and found that white wine sharpens the taste of fish, and red crosses them and leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Maturation Of Wine And How Wine Ages
The wine e of these products, which over time acquire better qualities. What is the reason for the wine to taste better when stored? Wine is one of the oldest products obtained by man after a process of processing another product, and has existed for centuries.
