Zastopanje, svetovanje in
trgovina na debelo v tranzitu
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1231 Ljubljana - Črnuče
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PORTUGAL
DOURO - VILLA NOVA DE GAIA - PORT
PORT
Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Oporto, Porto, and often simply Port) is a Portuguese, fortified wine from the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal.[1] It is typically a sweet red wine, but also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties. It is often served as a dessert wine.
The wine received its name, "Port," in the latter half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe from the Leixões docks. The Douro valley where Port wine is produced was defined and established as a protected region, or appellation in 1756 — making it the oldest defined and protected wine region in the world.
Over a hundred varieties of grapes are sanctioned for Port production, although only five (Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional) are widely cultivated and used. Although Touriga Nacional is the most celebrated Port grape, the difficulty of growing it and its small yields result in Touriga Francesa being the most widely-planted variety within the Douro. White ports are produced the same way as red ports, except that they use white grapes—Esgana-Cão, Folgasão, Malvasia, Rabigato, Verdelho, and Viosinho.
Altough most of the grapes grow in the wildernes of the Douro, the cellars where the wine rests, tend to be located in Villa Nova de Gaia. Traditionally, the wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats called barcos rabelos, to be processed and stored. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, several hydroelectric power dams were built along the river, ending this traditional conveyance down the river. Currently, the wine is transported from the vineyards by tanker trucks and the barcos rabelos are only used for racing and other displays.
Port is made from partially fermented red wine, that still contains at least half of its original grape sugar. This wine is led to a barrel containing up to a quarter of brandy. This stops the fermentation, producing a strong but sweet blend.
However the wine also needs pigments to have a deep colour and to benefit from the conservation effect of the tannic structure. In red wine these substances are extracted durig fermentation, whereas the fermentation of port wine is short, keeping the sugar levels high. Therefore these substances need to be acquired otherwise – with foot treading of the grapes before fermentation. Bare feet are the best machine for the job, since they are warm and do not damage the pips thus not exctracting the harsh tannins. The most Port producers have already automatised this part of the vinification and Niepoort remains one of the few still treading its port wines.
Better ports are aged in pipes – wooden barrels containing from 550 – 600L for 2 to 50 years. Younger ones on the other hand are aged shortly in bigger vats.
There is a unique body of English ritual and etiquette surrounding the consumption of port, stemming from British naval custom.
Traditionally, the wine is passed "port to port": the host will pour a glass for the person seated at their right and then pass the bottle or decanter to the left (the port side); this practice is then repeated around the table.
If the port becomes forestalled at some point, it is considered poor form to ask for the decanter directly. Instead, the person seeking a refill would ask of the person who has the bottle: "Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?" (after the notoriously stingy Bishop). If the person being thus queried does not know the ritual (and so replies in the negative), the querent will remark "He's an awfully nice fellow, but he never remembers to pass the port."
A technical solution to the potential problem of a guest forgetting their manners and "hogging" the port can be found in a Hoggett Decanter which has a rounded bottom, which makes it impossible to put it down until it has been returned to the host, who can rest it in a specially designed wooden stand known as "the Hoggett."
PORT STYLES
Port from Portugal comes in several styles, which can be divided into two broad categories:
Wines that have matured in sealed glass bottles, with no exposure to air, and experience what is known as "reductive" aging. This process leads to the wine losing its colour very slowly and produces a wine which is smoother on the palate and less tannic.
Wines that have matured in wooden barrels, whose permeability allows a small amount of exposure to oxygen, and experience what is known as "oxidative" aging. They too lose colour, but at a faster pace. If red grapes are used, in time the red colour lightens to a tawny colour - these are known as Tawny (or sometimes Wood) ports. They also lose volume to evaporation, leaving behind a wine that is slightly more viscous and intense.
BOTTLE AGED PORTS
VINTAGE
The conditions in Douro are almost perfect for Port production in around 3 out of 10 years. In those years vintage ports may be produced. Considered by many as the jewel in the Port Wine crown, this is the only Port that ages in bottle. Produced from the grapes harvested during a single year and bottled two to three years after the vintage, it develops gradually for 10 to 50 years before it is drunk. The charm of Vintage resides in the fact that it is attractive at pratically all stages of its life in bottle. The magic of Vintage port is different in every phase: as a young wine it captures the youthful fruit characters, then after 20 years or more the effects of the slow bottle age integration are revealed and finally after many decades the spirit dominates the wine. Vintage Port is amazing in all the three phases. Maturation in the bottle is more reductive than cask ageing and the wine that results has a fruitiness and power which develops in the traditional ageing vessel, the classic, thick, black port bottle.
LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE
Late Bottled Vintage is port from a single year. The wine is aged 4-6 years in old oak casks making a softer more approachable style to regular Vintage, which has just a couple years oak aging. To many port aficionados LBV fills the gap between the soft, nutty ruby port style and the tougher vintage ports, particularly since a ruby port should be drunk quite young and a great vintage port may need up to 15 or 20 years to really open up and show its full splendour. The 4 to 6 years of aging in large casks before bottling produces a wine with the style of a vintage port with its deep colour and concentration of fruit but with a more mature character caused by the longer ageing in wood. Traditionally an estate’s best grapes would become LBV in year when no ‘Port Vintage’ was declared. One great concern today is that many houses, including the biggest names will use second-quality fruit for their LBVs in order to reduce the price of their wines and saturate the Christmas markets with rather average LBV at compellingly cheap price – don’t be fooled!
RUBY
Ruby port is the best priced and most extensively produced type of port. After fermentation it is stored in tanks made of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative aging, and preserve its rich claret color. The wine is usually blended to match the style of the brand to which it is to be sold. The wine is fined and cold filtered before bottling, and does not generally improve with age.
WHITE PORT
White port is made from white grapes and can be made in a wide variety of styles, although few shippers produce anything apart from a basic produce that is similar to a standard Ruby. White Port can be used as the basis for a cocktail, or served on its own. There is a range of styles of white port, from dry to very sweet. When white ports are matured for long periods, the colour darkens, eventually reaching a point where it can be hard to discern (from appearance alone) whether the original wine was red or white.
PORTS AGED IN WOODEN BARRELS
COLHEITA
A Tawny port from a single vintage is called Colheitas (harvest). Instead of an indication of age the actual vintage year is mentioned. However, they should not be mistaken with Vintage port (see below); whereas a Vintage port will have been bottled about 18 months after being harvested and will continue to mature, a Colheita may have spent 20 or more years in wooden barrels before being bottled and sold, at which point it will no longer mature.
TAWNY
When a Port is described as Tawny, without an indication of age, it is a basic blend of wood aged port that has spent at least seven years in barrels. Above this are Tawny with an indication of age which represent a blend of several vintages, with the average years "in wood" stated on the label. The official categories are 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years.
Port, like other wine, should be stored in a cool but not cold, dark location (as light can damage the port), with a steady temperature (such as a cellar), lying the bottle on its side if the bottle has a cork, or standing up if stoppered. With the exception of white port, which can be served chilled, port should be served at between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. Tawny port may also be served slightly cooler.
Once opened, port wines must be consumed within a short period of time. Those with stoppers can be kept for a couple of months in a dark place, but if it has a cork it must be consumed sooner. Typically, the older the vintage, the quicker it must be consumed.
Port wines that are unfiltered (Such as Vintage ports, Crusted and some LBVs), form a sediment (or crust) in the bottle and require decanting. This process also allows the port to breathe.
Conservation
After the bottle has been opened, its conservation will depend on the Port Wine category and its place of storage. The suggested periods are only for guidance purposes
Vintage: 1 – 2 days
LBV: 4 – 5 days
Crusted: 4 – 5 days
Ruby / Ruby Reserve: 8 – 10 days
Tawny / Tawny Reserve: 3 – 4 weeks
Tawny with an Indication of Age: (10, 20, 30, +40 years): 1 – 4 months (Younger Tawnies should be consumed earlier)
White Port with an Indication of Age (10, 20, 30, +40 years): 1 – 4 months (Younger White Ports should be consumed earlier)
Colheita: 1 – 4 months (Younger wines should be consumed earlier)
Standard White Port, depending on the style: Modern (fresh and fruity) – 8 - 10 days; Traditional (wood matured): 15 – 20 days
FOOD PAIRING
WHITE PORT
White Port continues to be an excellent choice for a light meal based on salads or grilled fatty fish such as salmon. This is also an excellent wine to drink with rich, creamy soups.
Toasted almonds, smoked salmon, dry plums or dates, served as an aperitif to a meal, are perfect when accompanied by a chilled White Port. Dry White Port is the key ingredient for a “Portonic”, a fantastic long drink made with Port, tonic water, ice and a slice of lemon.
TAWNY PORT
If you choose to serve a paté, we recommend a 10 years old Tawny. All of these Ports, including Tawny Reserve, may also be served chilled or with an ice cube when you get together with your friends in the summer.
10 YEARS OLD TAWNY
If the appetizers include strong cheeses or patés or if dried fruits and walnuts are part of the dish, you should choose a chilled 10 years old Tawny.
If you have chosen a fruit salad, caramel custard or almond tart, desserts with less intense flavours, vanilla ice cream or dried fruits, we recommend a younger wine such as a Tawny Reserve or 10 years old Tawny that has been chilled to accompany the temperature of the dessert.
Strong and hard cheeses are best when eaten with older Tawnies such as a 20 years old.
COLHEITA
Colheita Ports, although also very enjoyable when drunk on their own, are excellent when drunk with the desserts that we commend for Tawny Port, depending on their age.
RUBY PORT
When enjoying a cheesecake or a mild, creamy cheese, you should select a Ruby Reserve or an LBV.
LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE
Roast meats and steak with rich sauces or well-seasoned with pepper and spices go beautifully with an LVB as it balances the intensity of the flavours.
Cakes and chocolate mousse go extremely well with a young and fruity LBV
THE ULTIMATE PLEASURE
Proof that Port Wine can be drunk at all times during a meal is when you light your cigar and delight in an old Vintage.