44. Port Flashcards
How is port made?
adding grape spirit to a fermenting juice to create an alcoholic sweet wine
What are the three subregions of port production?
- Baixo Corgo - lightest wines
- Cima Corgo - top vineyards
- Douro Superior - top quality
Describe the climate of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
Warm Continental Climate
- shielded from cooling rain-bearing Atlantic by the Serra do Maro
- Baixo Corgo: west, coolest, wettest
- hotter as you move inland
- spring frost
- heavy downpours
- hot summers
- very tall, steep slopes
What are socalcos?
- traditional system of terraces
- narrow terraces supported by stone walls
- no mechanization
- expensive
What are patamares?
- newer style of terrace
- each terrace wide enough to allow for tractor access
- wines planted up and down the slope
What are the 5 main varieties in port production? Describe most grapes.
- thick skinned
- high tannin
- black fruit
- floral aromas
- Touriga Franca
- Tinta Roriz
- Tinta Barroca
- Touriga Nacional
- Tinto Cão
Describe the fermentation of port.
- stopped by fortification once abv reaches 5-9%
- 24-36 hr fermentation
- extraction techniques needed to pull color and tannins quicker
1. foot treading
2. autovinifiers
3. piston plungers & robotic lagares
What is the traditional method of extraction in Port production?
Food treading
- large teams of workers tread grapes for 3-4 hours in shallow gravity troughs or lagares
- fermentation starts, pushdowns
- labor intesive
What are autovinifiers?
- crushed grapes put into seal vats
- rising co2 pressure pushes juice up through pips into a holding tank
- similar to pumpovers but more contact
What are piston plungers & robotic lagares?
- created to imitate food treading
- piston-plungers: round, shallow, open topped stainless steel vats
- cap is pressed down with robotic pistons
What is port typically fortified to? What is it typically fortified with?
- 19-22% abv
- spirit (aguardenete) no stronger than 77% abv
Where is port matured typically?
- transported downstream to Vila Nova de Gaia
- cooler coastal climate well suited to slow maturation
-some (tawny) transported up the Duoro
How is port typically matured?
- old oak vessels
- some stainless steel
What are the two types of inexpensive ports? How do they differ?
Ruby Port
- blends of 1-3 years old
- lack concentration
Tawny Port
- browning
- blends of 1-3 year old wines
- color: less heavily extracted wines, lighter wines, blending white port, period of hot maturation in the Douro, heavy fining/filtering
What is a Reserve/Reserva Port?
- can be applied to both Ruby and Tawny
- higher quality than basic expressions
- determined by an official tasting panel
- Reserve Tawny must be wood aged for min of 6 years
