Port And Fortified Muscats Flashcards
Which are the two towns of the Portuguese Port trade situated, on the coast, North and South of the mouth of the River Douro?
Porto
Villa Nova de Gaia
Working West to East name the three subregions of Port vineyards
Baixo Corgo
Cima Corgo
Douro Superior
Which of Ports subregions produces the lightest wines and why?
Baixo Corgo because it is most westerly and receives some coastal influence
In which of Ports subregions are most vineyards located?
Cima Corgo
Describe the Douro Superior subregion and what it produces
The hottest and most easterly of the subregions
Sparsely planted but produces top quality wine
What is the climate of Port?
Warm Continental
Shielded from Atlantic winds by Serra do Marão
What are the climate risks in the Port Region?
Some frosts in Spring
Heavy rain can disrupt flowering and harvest
Summer temps can be V. High
Rainfall low
What is the soil on the Port subregions and how does it help vines?
Schist bedrock, fractures vertically helping vine roots to dig down deep to water reserves
What is the topography of the Port subregions and how can Vine growers make the most of it?
Quite extreme
Baixo Corgo and Baixo Cima Planted on steep slopes
Temp diff bottom to top - altitude
Some N face slopes used as face away from hot sun
Name the 3 types of terracing used, list pros and cons
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
Two types of terracing in Port region face a potential risk.
What is the risk and which are the terracing types?
Soil erosion dud to no retaining walls
Patamares and Vinho ao Alto
What is the criteria for a Port grape?
List the 5 varieties used
Thick skinned, High tannin, Black fruit and floral notes
Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional
Tinta Roriz, Tinta Baroca, Tinta Cão
Describe a quality Tawny Port
Pale tawny in colour, high in alcohol, sweet, walnut, coffee, chocolate
What is the grape Tinta Roriz otherwise known as?
Which of the Port grapes is similar to Grenache?
Tempranillo
Tinta Baroca
From lowest to highest what is the correct order of price, for these different Port styles? Vintage Port LBV Ruby Reserve Tawny
Ruby, Reserve Tawny, Late Bottle Vintage Port, Vintage Port
At what abv is Port fermentation stopped by the addition of spirit?
5~9% abv
What 4 key steps for the production of Vintage Port?
Rapid extraction of colour
Alcoholic fermentation
Fortification
Ageing
Why is rapid extraction so important in making Port?
Fermentation V. Short, 24~36hrs because fortified with grape spirit when just 5~9% abv
What are troughs used for foot treading called?
Lagares
Name the three methods used to rapidly extract colour and tannins from Port grapes
Foot Treading
Autovinifiers
Piston plungers and robotic lagares
Which mechanical extraction system is considered most like traditional Foot Treading?
Piston plungers and Robotic lagares
Briefly summarise how an autovinifier works
Crushed grapes in sealed vat
Ferment pressure forces wine into holding tank
Pressure reached, wine floods back down over cap
Process repeats every 15~20 mins
What is the name of the spirit used to fortify Port?
What is its maximum permitted strength?
What abv range is Port fortified to?
Approx what % of a bottle of Port is this spirit?
Aguardente
77% abv
19%~22% depending on house style
20% of total
Where is Port wine often sent to and why?
Sent to Villa Nova de Gaia because the cooler coast allows slower maturation
Traditionally which Port style might be matured in the Douro and why?
Tawny Port because they are oxidatively aged so heat is a benefit
In what is Port matured?
Small~large Oak vessels
S. Steel also used now
What is the style of Ruby, Reserve Ruby, LBV and vintage Ports and how are they aged?
Deeply coloured with primary fruit flavours avoiding oxygen
Aged in large Oak vessels or S. Steel for a relatively short period
What is the style of a bottle aged Vintage (and some LBV) Port?
Garnet colour with tertiary cooked fruit, and vegetal (prune, leather and wet leaves) flavours
How and in what is a True Tawny Port aged?
Long oxidative ageing in barrels called ‘Pipes’
Give simple tasting notes for a ‘true’ Tawny Port
Tawny colour (maybe brown if really old), raisiny, with flavours of walnuts, coffee, chocolate and caramel
Which types of Port can be labelled ‘Reserve / Reserva’ and how is it decided to apply the term?
Can be applied to both Ruby and Tawny Ports that are of a higher quality.
Determined by an official tasting panel
A Reserve Tawny must be wood aged for min 6 years
What is LBV Port?
Late Bottled Vintage Port
Aged 4~6 yrs before bottling
Usually fined and filtered
Ready to drink on release
What is ‘Tawny with an indication of age’ Port?
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 as lose freshness soon after
Finest of all Tawny Ports
What is ‘Vintage’ Port?
The most concentrated and tannic of Ports
Usually a producers flagship Port
Only produced av 3 times per decade, up to producer not consensus
Consumer can drink young or age in cellar
Throws heavy deposit
What is the Portuguese word for ‘Estate’?
Quinta
When are Ports blended?
Through the entire production process
What is the character of Muscat grapes?
What climate does it like?
Low~med acidity with perfumed aromas of Orange blossom, Rose and Grape.
Warm climate but some cooling influence to retain acidity and aromas
Give an example and simple tasting notes for an unaged Muscat
How is it made?
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
Give an example and simple tasting notes for a fully developed aged Muscat
How is it made?
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
What’s a ‘Socolos’?
A traditional narrow terrace supported by Stone Walls
What do you call a traditional narrow terrace supported by Stone Walls?
Socolos
What are ‘Patamares’?
A newer type of terrace used in the Port region that allows some mechanisation (tractor access) by not having retaining walls.
What is the name of a newer type of terrace used in the Port region that allows some mechanisation (tractor access) by not having retaining walls?
Patamares
What is the name of the terracing system used in Port than can only be used on gentle slopes?
Vinha ao Alto
What is the single biggest difference between Ruby and Tawny styles of Port?
Ruby Ports are matured protectively to minimise oxidation
Tawny Ports are deliberately oxidised
What type of Port am I?
I am relatively inexpensive and made from a blend of wines typically between 1~3 years old. I lack concentration, complexity or tannins of my more premium peers
Ruby Port
What type of Port am I?
I am inexpensive and Tawny in colour with some browning achieved using lighter wines from Baixa Corgo, I have a period of hot maturation and heavy fining to remove some of my colour. I may even have a little white Port in me?
Inexpensive Tawny Port
What is the minimum ageing for a Reserve Tawny Port?
Wood aged for min 6 years?
What is the labelling term for Ruby and Tawny Ports that are of a higher quality and has been approved by an official tasting panel?
Reserve / Reserva
What type of Port am I?
I’ve been aged in large oak vessels for 4~6 yrs before bottling. I’m fined and filtered before bottling so am suitable for drinking as soon as I’m released.
Late Bottled Vintage Port
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?
High quality Tawny with an indication of Age
If you have a Tawny wine with an age indication of e.g. 20 years, what does 20 years relate to?
The average age of the wines contained within so long as the wine is consistent with the characteristics of a wine of that age.
What must be shown on the label of a bottle of Tawny with an indication of Age Port? Why?
The year of bottling
Because they start to lose their freshness after bottling
What type of Port am I?
I am aged in Large Oak vessels or Stainless Steel tanks.
I must be bottled no later than the third year after harvest.
I am not fined or filtered before bottling. Normally you will age me yourself before drinking.
Vintage Port
How long must a Reserve Tawny Port be aged?
Min 6 yrs in wood
