Port and Fortified Muscats

Question 1

Name the two coastal cities within which most of the Portuguese Port trade is conducted.

Answer 1

-Porto
-Villa Nova de Gaia

Question 2

Name the three Port regions from west to east.

Which is the coolest?

Answer 2

Baixo Corgo - coolest.
Cima Corgo
Douro Superior

Question 3

Which of Ports subregions produces the lightest wines and why?

Answer 3

Baixo Corgo because it is most westerly and receives some coastal influence

Question 4

In which Ports subregion are most vineyards located?

Answer 4

Cima Corgo

Question 5

Describe the Douro Superior subregion and what it produces

Answer 5

The hottest and most easterly of the subregions
Sparsely planted but produces top quality wine

Question 6

What is the climate of Port?

Answer 6

Warm Continental
Shielded from Atlantic winds by Serra do Marão

Question 7

Name the 3 types of terracing used, list pros and cons

Answer 7

Socalcos - Trad, supported stone walls, no mechanisation
Patamares - Newer type, no walls, allows tractor access
Vinho ao Alto - Unterraced, allows mechanisation but can only be used on gentle slopes

Question 8

List the 5 red varieties used.

What do they all have in common?

Answer 8

-Touriga Franca,
-Touriga Nacional
-Tinta Roriz,
-Tinta Baroca,
-Tinta Cão

Thick skinned with high tannin potential.

Question 9

Describe a Reserve Tawny Port

Answer 9

Tawny in colour, alcohol 19-22%abv, sweet, walnut, coffee, chocolate

Question 10

What is the grape Tinta Roriz otherwise known as?

Answer 10

Tempranillo

Question 11

At what abv is Port fermentation stopped by the addition of spirit?

Answer 11

5~9% abv

Question 12

List 4 key stages for the production of Port?

Answer 12

Rapid extraction of colour
Alcoholic fermentation
Fortification DURING fermentation (to retain residual sweetness)
Ageing

Question 13

Why is rapid extraction before and during fermenation important in making Port?

Answer 13

The fermentation is very short (24~48 hours) with fortification taking place at 5~9% abv

Question 14

Name the equipment used for extraction before fermentation starts? L…….?

Answer 14

Lagares

Question 15

Name the three methods used to rapidly extract colour and tannins from Port grapes

Answer 15

-Foot Treading
-Autovinifiers
-Piston plungers and robotic lagares

Question 16

Which mechanical extraction system is considered most like a traditional Foot Treading?

Answer 16

Piston plungers and Robotic lagares

Question 17

Briefly summarise how an autovinifier works

Answer 17

Crushed grapes in sealed vat
Fermentation pressure forces wine into holding tank
Pressure reached, wine floods back down over cap
Process repeats every 15~20 mins

Question 18

What is the name of the spirit used to fortify Port?
What is its maximum permitted strength?
What abv range is Port fortified to?

Answer 18

Aguardente
77% abv
19%~22% depending on house style.

Question 19

Where is Port wine often sent to and why?

Answer 19

Sent to Villa Nova de Gaia because the cooler coast allows slower maturation

Question 20

Ruby, Reserve Ruby, LBV late Bottle Vintage, and Vintage Port all have in common what on the palate?

Answer 20

Deeply coloured.
Primary fruit flavours avoiding oxidation.

Question 21

What are the defining characteristics of a long (20 years+) bottle aged Vintage Port?

Answer 21

Garnet colour.
Tertiary aromas of cooked fruit, prune, leather and wet leaves.

Question 22

How and in what is a true Tawny Port aged?

Answer 22

Long oxidative ageing in barrels called ‘Pipes’

Question 23

Give simple tasting notes for a ‘true’ Tawny Port

Answer 23

Tawny colour (maybe brown if really old), raisiny, with flavours of walnuts, coffee, chocolate and caramel

Question 24

What production methods define a Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port?

Answer 24

Aged 4~6 yrs before bottling but avoiding oxidation.
Usually fined and filtered and ready to drink on release.

Question 25

What production methods define a ‘Tawny Port with an indication of age’ Port?

Answer 25

Long oxidative ageing in Pipes
Labelled 10, 20, 30, 40 years old
Age is the average age of the wine in the bottle
Label must state year of bottling.
Finest of all Tawny Ports

Question 26

What production methods defines a ‘Vintage’ Port?
Why is decanting recommended for both young and old Vintage Port?

Answer 26

Made with highest quality grapes.
Produced on average 3 times per decade.
The most concentrated and tannic of Ports.
2 years bottle aging only before sale.

Benefits from long bottle ageing (decades)

Throws heavy deposit in youth as well as in maturity, as not filtered or fined.

Question 27

What is the Portuguese word for ‘Estate’?

Answer 27

Quinta

Question 28

When are Ports blended?

Answer 28

Through the entire production process.

Question 29

What is the character of the Muscat variety??

Answer 29

Aromatic.
Perfumed aromas of Orange blossom, Rose and Grape.
Typically low to medium acidity.

Question 30

Give an example and simple tasting notes for an unaged Muscat
How is it made?

Answer 30

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise - S. Rhone
Medium gold, floral and aromatic with pure varietal character
Sweet but rarely luscious
Grapes ripe and healthy, crushed, some skin contact, cool ferment stopped with 96% abv grape spirit. Stored inert before bottling

Question 31

Give an example and simple tasting notes for a fully developed aged Muscat
How is it made?

Answer 31

e.g. Rutherglen, Australia
Amber~brown. Sweet~luscious, oxidative aromas but still retaining varietal aromas.
Grapes picked ripe and healthy, some raisining permitted, fermentation on skins. If luscious ferment stopped at 2% abv then oxidative ageing in old wood

Question 32

What is the minimum ageing requirement for a Reserve Tawny Port?

Answer 32

Aged in wooden barrels for a minimum of 6 years?

Question 33

What type of Port am I?
I have undergone a long period of oxidative ageing in Pipes.
I can be labelled 10, 20, 30, 40 years old?

Answer 33

High quality Tawny with an indication of Age

Question 34

Which Port can benefit from being served lightly chilled?

Answer 34

Tawny Port

Question 35

What Port is considered a close 2nd best to a Vintage Port in terms of both style and quality?

Are they aged for the same duration as a Vintage Port

Answer 35

Single Quinta.

Typically aged in bottle for longer by the producer and released when considered ready to drink.