Port Flashcards
Name the two towns for Port on the opposite banks of the Duero
Porto
Villa Nova de Gaia
Mother Earth’s New House
Climate of vineyards for Port grapes
Warm continental
Regions protected from Atlantic by mountains Serra do Marão
Where do grapes, in this hot dry climate, get water from?
The rainwater trapped deep in the vertical fractures of the schist rock.
Douro valley’s topography offers options (Port)… how?
Very steep sides offer many aspects to/from the sun and even temperature differences in altitude.
Weather risks on the Douro?
Spring frosts
Heavy rain at flowerset and harvest
Really high summer temperatures
Low rainfall in growing season
Narrow terraces of vines in the Douro are called…
Socalcos
Soc(iety of) Alco(holic)s
Terraced vines in the Douro with a degree of mechanisation possible are called…
Patamares
Fat enough for horses
Fatter Mares
Unterraced Douro vineyard planting system is called…
Vinha ao alto
Problem of vinha ao alto and patamares?
Erosion…
Port grape varieties? Five of ‘em
Touriga Franca - acidity Touriga Nacional - acidity Tinta Roriz - Tinta Barroca - sugar Tinta Cão - Tannin
Fermentation of Port.
ABV reached during fermentation?
Duration of fermentation?
5% - 9% ABV
24-36 hours
What’s the challenge for port producers?
Getting enough extraction given the short fermentation.
Foot treading for Port… method and benefits
Trodden for 3 or 4 hours, then the cap is regularly punched down.
Gentle enough to not crush bitter tasting pips
Autovinifiers - how do they work
CO2 from fermentation drives liquid up into a holding tank until, at the set pressure, it gets dumped back into the fermentor.
An automated pump-over some 4 or 5 times an hour at peak.
Robotic Lagares … describe
In which a self propelled gantry with robotic ’feet’ press grapes against the bottom of a shallow tank (a lagar).
Piston plunging… describe
Robotic pistons punch down the must in a shallow pool
The spirit used to arrest the fermentation of port is called….
What is the ABV of said spirit?
(Big cat?)
Aguardente. (J)aguar Teeth to arrest
77%
Port’s fermentation is stopped at what ABV?
Between 5% and 9%
The typical ABV for a bottle of port is…
How much of a glass of port is added spirit?
19% to 22% ABV
On average, 20% of port is aguardente (77% spirit)
Why are good ports sent to Villa Nova de Gaia on the coast?
Good port needs to mature slowly in a cool place. The coast.
The New Villa of Mother Earth
How does cheap Port become Tawny?
It is kept at a higher temperature (up river where it is warmer) which speeds maturation and causes colour loss.
Ruby ports destined to be Vintage ports are treated differently to Ruby, Reserve Ruby and LBV. How?
They all have minimal O2 exposure to maintain fruit. But… Vintage port is not filtered and thus will bottle age becoming garnet and getting tertiary notes - dried fruit, leather etc.
Do Tawny Ports benefit from bottle age?
Nope.
How is a true Tawny port made?
They undergo long oxidative maturation in barrels called “Pipes”. They turn garnet, tawny and then eventually brown.
Primary fruit dies, tertiary notes (dried fruit, walnuts, coffee, chocolate etc. ad nauseam) come in.
Cheap Ruby… describe
Blended, between 1 and 3 years old.
Lacking concentration, complexity or tannin
Cheap Tawny… describe
Same a Ruby but colour achieved through lighter extraction, blending with white, lighter wines, heavy fining and or hot maturation.
Bit shit really.
Reserve/Reserva… can be applied to Ruby, Tawny or both?
Both
What does Reserve/Reserva mean on a port?
Higher quality as determined by a tasting panel.
Reserve Tawney must be wood aged for a minimum of 6 years. The wood is really old, so no oak flavours. More for oxidisation.
LBV… describe
Little better than a Ruby Reserva.
Aged for between 4 and 6 years in large old oak vessels prior to bottling.
Mostly fined and filtered, so no bottle ageing.
Tawny with Indication of Age… describe.
- Can be labelled 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old.
- This is the average age of the wine and it’s characteristics must be consistent with the stated age.
- Bottles must state when the wine was bottled.
- They lose freshness once bottled.
- Exceptional complexity and concentration.
Vintage Port… what has to happen for the port to become ‘vintage’?
A port vintage must be declared (registered) in the second year after harvest.
Must be bottled in the third year after harvest.
Maturation in stainless steel or oak.
Unfiltered and unfined.
A blend of the best wines
