Port Flashcards
Important Cities
Vila Nova de Gaia
Oporto
Climate
Oporto - moderate maritime
Upper Douro - warm to hot continental, warmer the further inland
Soils
Schist - generally poor, thin, forces vines deep
Main Areas of production (three)
Baixa Corgo
Cima Corgo - classic area for permium
Douro Superior
Terrace types (three)
Socalcos - old walled terraces, no mechanisation
Patamares - 1970s, no walls, small tractors possible
Vinhos ao Alto - unterraced, vines planted up the slope, limited mechanisation
Vineyard practices
Irrigation is now permitted
Weed eradication is vital
Black Varieties
Touriga National - low yield, high color, high tannin, best
Touriga Franca - high color, high tannin, good aromatics, most planted
Tinta Roriz - aka Tempranillo, lightweight compared
Tinta Barroca - high mustweights, high tannin, color, acid
Tinta Cão - very rare, low yield, high extract
White Varieties
Gouveio
Malvasia Fino
Viosinho
Red Port - Winemaking
acidification is always necessary extraction of color in 2-3 days - foot treading in lagares - autovinification fortified with 77% abv spirit sweetness dependant on house style Matured in 550L pipes, in Vila Nova de Gaia, or upper Douro - Ruby in larger casks or steel
Ruby
blend of multiple vintages
aged for 2-3 generally
darker color
harsher
Styles cask aging
Ruby Tawny Aged Tawny Colheita LBV
Tawny
applied to wide range of styles
suposed to be indicative of longer aging
often now blends of lighter wines and even white port
Aged Tawny
minimum 6 years
categories for 10,20,30,40
ages are averages
wine must be tasted by panel of IVDP to conform to style
Colheita
‘harvest’ ,or ‘crop’
essentialy a tawny from a particular year
min. 7 years aging, usually longer
Vintage Port
best fruit, usually cima corgo
declared by the houses 3 times a decade, usually
~1% of port sales
IVDP must approve samples, proposed quantities
Houses will also consider market conditions, like recessions, wars
Single-Quinta Vintage
Produced from individual vineyard
Wines often backbone of vintage years
In non-vintage years, sold seperately
Often held back by house for longer in bottle, until readyness to drink
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)
bottled 4-6 years after harvest Three styles: unfiltered, no bottle age unfiltered, bottle aged filtered, no age
Crusted Port
unfiltered
treated similar to LBV
offers experience similar to vintage port
Garrafeira
‘private cellar’, ‘reserve’
single year
aged in glass demijohns for at leat 7 years
longer more common, 20,30,40 years
racked off sediment and bottled
Three dates: harvest, bottling (to demi), racking to 75cl
White Port
much smaller production
usually sweeter?
no to little masceration
can be wood aged, and indicated
Rosé
Invented by Croft in 2008
initially know as ‘light ruby’ by IVDP
Moscatel
single varietal blend of port
