Portugal Flashcards
Define Rainwater Madeira
A light dry blended Madeira
Name 6 important red Port grapes
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Francesa
Tinta Roriz (only name for Tempranillo in Portugal)
Tinta Cao
Tinta Baroca
Bastardo (in both Port and Madeira but not important for either)
What was the world’s first demarcated wine region?
1560: Rioja (named after RIver OJA)
Spain’s first DO in 1925
Spain’s first DOCa in 1991
Name the most important DOC of Portugal
Vinho Verde Porto & Douro Dao Bairrada Borba Madeira
Define lagar
a large stone trough traditionally used to tread and ferment grapes when making port or sherry
Lagares- plural
How did Port originate?
Abbey at Lamego: practice of fortifying must during fermentation
Marquis de Pombal: tightened rules; ordered boundary to be marked by granite posts (Pombal stones)
Pombal decreed all port must be fortified with aguardente bought from Portugese government; now, it can come from anywhere but must be tested at Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP)
Grapes for white port.
Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Rabigato, Esgana Cão, and Folgasão
Describe ruby port…
The cheapest & most extensive- aged in concrete or stainless steel so does not age oxidatively. Generally filtered.
Describe ruby reserve port…
A premium ruby port approved by the IVDP tasting panel.
Previously called “vintage character port”
What is vintage port…
Aged in cask & bottled by July 30 of the 3rd yr after harvest. It is the most expensive port (1-3% of production), declared only in exceptional harvests- on average 3 yrs out of 10.
What is a single Quinta vintage port?
The product of one estate’s harvest.
What is a Late-Bottled vintage port?
LBV port is the product of a single vintage & aged in cask for 4-6 years and, generally, filtered prior to bottling. They do not usually improve with bottle age.
What is a tawny port?
Port wines, made from red grapes, aged in wooden barrels.
What is a reserve tawny?
Reserve Tawny Port ages for at least seven years and is a blend of several vintages. It has youthful freshness and a hint of the creamy, delicate nature of a true old Tawny. Tawny Port will not improve with additional bottle age.
What is Tawny with Indication of Age?
A result of high quality fruit, matured in seasoned wood/ may be labeled 10, 20, 30 or 40 yrs old- gaining in concentration & character. They are generally freshened every year to replace the evaporated wine & blended together before bottling. The age indication is not based on actual years but by flavor profiles- evaluated by IVDP.
What is a Colheita Tawny? Name a famous producer.
Colheita Tawny Port is a vintage-dated Port that spends a minimum of seven years in cask—many stay in cask for decades.
Calem.
What are the two most common methods for processing/ heating Madeira?
Estufagem and canteiro
Describe the estufagem process.
The wine is transferred to an estufa, a stainless steel vat, where it is heated for at least 3 months by serpentine metal coils within the tank. It is heated to 113-122 degrees Fahrenheit to slowly caramelize the sugars and give it it’s distinctive taste.
Once the estufagem process is complete, the wine rests for at least __ day; this is called the ______.
90 (at least). Estágio.
It is then transferred to cask.
Estufagem wines may not be released until ________ after the harvest.
Two years
What company employs a gentler heat over a period of a year or more in special rooms called ______________ ?
Madeira Wine Company
Armazens de calor- rooms warmed by nearby tanks or steam pipes rather than the direct heat of the estufa.
Describe the Canteiro process?
Cask aged for at least 2 yrs in lodge attics for a slower process of maturation by the heat of the sun- avoids the over-caramelization of sugars.
What are varietal wines of Madeira, from sweetest to driest?
Malvasia, Boal, Verdelho, and Sercial.
Wines of Madeira are fortified with grape spirits from France of __% abv?
95%
What are the terraces of Madeira called?
Poios.
What are the trellises if Madeira called?
Latadas.
What are the canals, responsible for agricultural irrigation, called?
Levadas
What two islands can produce Madeira DOP wines?
Madeira and Porto Santo.
What is the “torna viagem”?
Round trip- describing the trip that the wines used to take on ocean journeys which were responsible for creating the style.
Malvasia (Malmsey) may only ferment for a few hours prior to fortification. True or False.
True.
Sercial is the driest of all Madeiras but can still contain what?
40-45 g/l rs
Suitable as an aperitif. Citrus and high acid in youth to almond Flavors as aged.
Old or new, Madeira wine without a variety on the label is likely the product of Tinta Negra. True or False.
True.
Madeira regulations are an acknowledgement of Tinta Negra’s poor reputation- the DOP prohibits using its name on labels.
The principal noble white grapes of Madeira today are ….?
Sercial (Esgana Cão), Verdelho (Gouveio), Boal (Bual, Malvasia Fina), and Malmsey (originally Malvasia Candida, now more commonly Malvasia Branca de São Jorge)
Represent the 4 varietal styles- driest to sweetest.
What grape represents 85% of the island’s production?
Tinta Negra (formerly Tinta Negra Mole)
The 1872 phylloxera epidemic led to some plantings of American hybrids and many of the previously regarded vines were not replanted, including which two?
Red Bastardo and white Terrantez. Two great noble varietals. Bastardo is almost non-existent and Terrantez is rare and produces wines with a sweetness level comparable to Verdelho.
Today, approximately 500 h of vines remain. True or False.
True.
What is largest independent producer, as well as the only company that owns a significant amount of vineyards?
Henriques & Henriques
What is Madeira’s largest producer?
Vinhos Justino Henriques
What are three types of companies involved in the Madeira wine trade?
Production companies (based in Fuchal/ 6 exist that actively export), shipping companies that trade wine but do not make it (generally based in London) and partidistas, who store wine and sell it at maturity to other traders for a profit.
What type of Madeira is produced from a single vintage (85% minimum required) and is aged for a minimum 5 years prior to bottling. It may be a blend or a single varietal wine?
Colheita
What vintage Madeira aged for a minimum 20 years in cask?
Frasqueira. A minimum of 85% of the vintage is required- wines may be topped up.
What are Vinho da Roda/Vinho da Torno/Vinho da Volta?
exceptional rarity, wines so labeled underwent an ocean journey across the equator.
Vintage Frasqueira wines are heated by which method?
canteiro
What style of Madeira, popular in the US, uses 100% Tinta Negra and the youngest wine in the blend is aged a minimum of three years?
Rainwater.
Describe Seleccionado Madeira? Often labeled “Finest”, “Choice”, or “Select”.
Youngest wines are at least 3 years old but less than 5. Dominated Tinta Negra, estufagem process, aged in tanks vs. cask.
What aging distinctions may Madeira use and what are the requirements?
Reserve (Reserva): 5 yrs or older (below 10 yrs)
Special Reserve (Reserva Especial):10 yrs or older (below 15 yrs) Wines of this category (and all older designations) are often made of a single noble variety, heated by the Canteiro method.
Extra Reserve:15 yrs or older (below 20)
20 yr, 30 yr, 40 yr
What is the traditional barrel used for aging and shipping Port wines?
Pipe
Vintage Port is considered a type of Ruby Port. True or False.
True
Which of the following grapes is not a preferred red varietal for Porto wines?
- Folgasão
- Tinta Barroca
- Touriga Nacional
- Bastardo
- Tinta Francesa
Folgasão
What is a Colheita Port?
- A vintage-dated Ruby with a minimum 2 years in cask
- A vintage-dated Ruby with 4 to 6 years in cask
- A vintage-dated Tawny with a minimum 5 years in cask
- A vintage-dated Tawny with a minimum 7 years in cask
- A Vintage Port from a single Quinta
A vintage-dated Tawny with a minimum 7 years in cask
What vin de liqueur is produced in Champagne?
- Floc de Gascogne
- Pineau des Charentes
- Ratafia
- Macvin du Jura
Ratafia
What do the Portuguese call the fortifying spirit used in Port production?
- Aguardente
- Vinho da Torno
- Mitad y Mitad
- Mistela
- Beneficio
Aguardente
Which of the following Marsala styles permits the addition of mosto cotto to color and sweeten the final wine?
- Rubino
- Oro
- Ambra
- Vergine
Ambra
The ambra style is of lower quality and is the only style that permits the practice of concia: the addition of mosto cotto.
Which of the following is the most widely cultivated grape on Madeira?
- Sercial
- Tinta Negra
- Terrantez
- Malvasia
- Verdelho
Tinta Negra
Which of the following styles of Sherry does not undergo any biological aging?
- Oloroso
- Fino
- Manzanilla
- Palo Cortado
- Amontillado
Oloroso
What are the two main style of Port?
Ruby (bottle aged) and Tawny (cask aged).
In port production, choices following fortification, namely the length of aging and the type of vessel, determine the final style of the wine. True or False.
True.
What is the “lei do tergo”?
Law of the third- restricts sales of Port to 1/3 of a house’s inventory.
What are Autovinifiers?
Algerian vinification technology in which the fermenting wine would be pumped over the cap by virtue of its own buildup of gas, became more and more common during labor shortages in the 1960s and 1970s
How long is the fermentation and what is the purpose?
Short (2-3 days), maximize extraction of color and flavor.
When does the fortification of wine with spirit (beneficio) occur?
When approximately 1/3 of the sugar content has been converted into alcohol.
To what level,is Port generally fortified to? What is the abv of the “burning water” used to fortify the wine?
19-22%
77% abv neutral grape spirit
What is the grower’s beneficio authorization and how is it determined?
The maximum amount of wine that can be fortified in a given year.
Determined by the IVDP based on a matrix of 12 factors.
What is the maximum number of points available for the beneficio authorization? Name a few of the factors that determine it.
- “A” is above 1200 points.
Location, altitude, exposure, bedrock, rough matter, slope and shelter. The next five factors relate to the vine itself: type of vine, planting density, yield, training system, and vine age.
What is the French term for beneficio?
Mutage.
What is the size of a pipe in the Duoro? Vila Nova de Gaia? What is the maximum size allowed for shipping?
550L. 620L.
534.24L.
Traditionally, where did Port have to be shipped from?
Vila Nova de Gaia (suburb outside of Oporto)
What is the IVDP?
Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto
When was the Duoro first demarcated?
- One of the world’s oldest.
What does Vinhos ao Alto refer to?
A new system of planting in vertical rows leading directly up the slopes.
Aguardente will be added to the fermenting wine in a ____ ratio.
1:4
